Happy Peace Corps Day!

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I was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Morocco from 2005-2007. There are old blogs you can read about my experience, but if you want to really learn about Peace Corps check out the website.

www.peacecorps.gov

This short history of Peace Corps was written by Mike Philley, who was a volunteer in Malaysia 1969-1972. He wrote it for the exhibit "Idaho Celebrates 50 Years of Peace Corps Service," which ran from March 1 to May 1, 2011 at the Idaho State Historical Museum.

"The Peace Corps traces its roots and mission to October 14, 1960, when Senator and presidential candidate John F. Kennedy challenged students at the University of Michigan to serve their country in the cause of peace by living and working in developing countries.

Ten thousand students at the University had been waiting well past midnight to hear Senator Kennedy speak. Their enthusiastic reaction to the future president’s call to service quickly became a grassroots movement. Within weeks, students organized a petition drive and gathered over a thousand signatures in support of the idea. From this inspiration, a bold new experiment in public service was launched, giving rise to a new federal government agency devoted to world peace and friendship.

Throughout its 50-year history, the Peace Corps has adapted and responded to the issues of the times. In an ever-changing world, Peace Corps volunteers have met new challenges with innovation, creativity, and determination. From early assignments in public schools, health clinics, and rural cooperatives to more recent work in AIDS education, new environmental technologies, and small-scale business development, Peace Corps volunteers have helped people build better lives for themselves. Their contributions in villages, towns, and cities across the globe represent a legacy of service that has become a significant part of America’s history and positive image abroad.

Since 1961, more than 200,000 American citizens have joined the Peace Corps, serving in 139 countries. Today, over 7,600 volunteers live and work in countries where their energy and skills make a difference every day in the lives of men, women and children, families, and entire communities. This year, as the Peace Corps commemorates its 50^th Anniversary, Idaho joins the rest of the nation in celebrating a uniquely American heritage of international friendship and achievement."

If you are a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer please consider signing up with Speakers Match so people can hear your story. Lots of teachers look to Speakers Match to connect their students with RPCVs.

http://www.peacecorps.gov/wws/speakersmatch/

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Photos

Peace Corps Morocco
One of the summer projects I worked on in Morocco was youth camps. Both American Peace Corps Volunteers and Moroccan volunteers worked together at grant-funded camps.

Tazert School
This photo was taken in Tazert, which is a village close to the town I lived in. Another Volunteer lived there, but I visited often.