Peace Corps

We are the Peace Corps, an independent agency of the United States government. Our fundamental purpose is to promote world peace and friendship, a mission that has guided us for over half a century. To understand our story, it helps to look back to the period known as the Cold War, a time of deep tension and mistrust between many of the world's nations. It was in this environment that a new idea for international service began to take shape. On a late night in October of 1960, a presidential candidate named John F. Kennedy visited the University of Michigan. There, on October 14th, he spoke to a crowd of students and issued a powerful challenge: he asked them if they would be willing to serve their country and the cause of peace by living and working in developing nations around the world.

The response to this idea was tremendous. After he was elected president, John F. Kennedy acted on this vision. On March 1st, 1961, he created us with an official document called an executive order. From our very first day, our mission has been built on three specific goals. Our first goal is to help interested countries meet their need for trained and skilled volunteers. Our second is to help the people of other countries gain a better understanding of Americans. And our third goal is to help Americans gain a better understanding of the people of other cultures. These three goals work together, forming the foundation for everything we do.

Our volunteers are the heart of our work. They are American citizens from all walks of life who make a serious commitment to serve abroad for 27 months. This period includes intensive training before they begin their work in a community. A core principle of our approach is partnership. Our volunteers don't decide what a community needs; instead, they work alongside local leaders on projects that the community itself has requested. This ensures that our efforts are welcome, relevant, and sustainable. The work is incredibly diverse because the needs of communities are diverse. Our volunteers serve in many different sectors, including education, health, agriculture, environmental protection, youth development, and community economic development. This means a volunteer’s role can take many forms.

For example, one volunteer might serve as an English teacher in a rural school, helping students open doors to new opportunities. Another might work with local farmers to introduce sustainable agricultural techniques that protect the environment and improve crop yields. A different volunteer could be part of a team working to build a system for clean water, improving public health for an entire village. The very first groups of our volunteers traveled to the nations of Ghana and Tanzania in 1961, beginning a long history of service on the African continent and beyond. Since those early days, our reach has expanded significantly. More than 240,000 Americans have served as Peace Corps Volunteers, living and working as members of their host communities in 142 countries all across the globe. By sharing daily life, they build relationships based on trust and respect, helping to create lasting positive change.

Our journey has not been without its difficulties. Serving as a volunteer presents many personal challenges, such as learning a new language and adapting to unfamiliar customs and living conditions. These experiences require great flexibility and resilience. As an organization, we also face challenges on a global scale. The world is always changing, and sometimes we must suspend our programs in countries that are experiencing political unrest or instability, ensuring the safety of our volunteers. As the world’s needs have evolved, so has our work. In the 1980s, when the global HIV/AIDS epidemic emerged as a major health crisis, we developed programs to support prevention and care efforts. More recently, our volunteers have been involved in projects focused on modern challenges like climate change and expanding access to technology.

A major test for our organization came in March 2020. The global COVID-19 pandemic created an unprecedented situation, making it impossible to continue our work safely. For the first time in our history, we made the difficult decision to suspend all of our operations worldwide. Every single volunteer was brought home to the United States. It was a moment of great uncertainty, but this historic challenge did not end our commitment or our mission. We used that time to reflect and prepare for a safe return to service, staying in close communication with our global partners.

Our mission continues today. We began returning volunteers to their posts in 2022, carefully restarting our programs and renewing our partnerships with communities around the world. The need for person-to-person connection and mutual understanding is as important now as it was when we were founded. When our volunteers complete their service and return home, they carry out a vital part of our mission: the third goal. They share their stories, experiences, and a deeper understanding of other cultures with their fellow Americans in classrooms, workplaces, and their own communities. These Returned Peace Corps Volunteers, as they are called, often continue a lifetime of service, inspired by their time abroad. Our legacy is measured not only in the schools, clinics, and projects we have helped support, but in the countless friendships and bridges of understanding that we have helped build between people for more than 60 years.