Peace Corps

From ArticleWorld

Peace Corps is a program that was started by President John Fitzgerald Kennedy by an executive order in the year 1961. Under this program Americans volunteered to help people in underdeveloped countries. This program sent thousands of Americans to different countries in Latin America, Africa and Asia. Since its inception 45 years ago, more than 182,000 American volunteers have worked in over 130 countries helping to build schools and clinics, improve living conditions, and introduce better farming methods in villages.

Idealism and mission

The guiding spirit behind this program was the vision of President John F. Kennedy to help people of underdeveloped and developing countries and to promote mutual understanding between people from these countries of varied cultural background and Americans. Thus, the three goals defined by the Peace Corps Mission are:

1. 1 To help the peoples of interested countries and areas in meeting their needs for trained men and women;
2. 2 To help promote a better understanding of the American people on the part of the peoples served; and,
3. 3 To help promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of the American people.

Through the years

The Peace Corps was set up on March 1st, 1961 and by August of the same year the first batch of volunteers was ready to leave the American soil for Ghana, Tanzania, Chile, Colombia, St. Lucia and Philippines. After some initial problems, that were mostly related to acceptance, Peace Corps was received with absolute faith in the 44 countries that it was serving within two years of its birth.

Within a decade people with professional skills – doctors, engineers, horticulturists - had joined the ranks of volunteers and were able to contribute significantly to transfer their talents to host country nationals. Since the 9/11 attacks the American government has pledged to double the number of volunteers abroad to counter the anti-US feeling, especially in the Middle East.