What is the Peace Corps?



"Life is calling. How far will you go?"


The Peace Corps is an organization created by John F. Kennedy in 1961, and funded by the U.S. government.

Its three goals are:
     1. Helping the people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women
     2. Helping promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the people served
     3. Helping promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans

It attempts to show the United States as a people, not as a country, and to counter the stereotypes of the Ugly American.

The Peace Corps does not send money, but motivated and educated volunteers.

Peace Corps volunteers complete 3 months of language, technical, and cross-cultural training before becoming full-fledged volunteers. After that, they spend 2 years in a community, living in a similar way as their neighbors.

Peace Corps volunteers work in countries and communities that have specifically asked for their help, and in collaboration with motivated local counterparts.

The Peace Corps is in no way associated with the CIA or the U.S. military (unfortunately for me, I will not be surrounded by Marines for the next two years).

Go to the people.
Live with them.
Learn from them.
Love them.
Start with what they know.
Build with what they have.
But with the best leaders, 
when the work is done, 
the task accomplished,
the people will say
"We have done this ourselves"

- Lao Tzu