Information AboutPeace Corps |
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The Peace Corps is an Independent United States Federal Agency . The Peace Corps was established by Executive Order 10924 on March 1 , 1961 and authorized by Congress on September 22 , 1961 with passage of the Peace Corps Act (Public Law 87-293). The Peace Corps Act declares the purpose of the Peace Corps to be: “to promote world peace and friendship through a Peace Corps, which shall make available to interested countries and areas men and women of the United States qualified for service abroad and willing to serve, under conditions of hardship if necessary, to help the peoples of such countries and areas in meeting their needs for trained manpower.” Since 1960, more than 187,000 people have served as Peace Corps Volunteers in 139 countries.123 The current director is Ron Tschetter , who served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in India during the 1960s.45 PURPOSE AND FUNCTION The Peace Corps works in over 70 countries around the world. Peace Corps Volunteers work with governments, schools, non-profits, NGOs, entrepreneurs, in the areas of education, health, HIV/AIDS, business, information technology, agriculture, and the environment. The program officially has three goals:
The Peace Corps works by first announcing its availability to foreign governments. These governments then determine areas in which the organization can be involved. The organization then matches the requested assignments to its pool of applicants and sends those volunteers with the appropriate skills to the countries that first made the requests. HISTORY Following the end of the Second World War , various members of the United States Congress proposed bills to establish volunteer organizations in the Third World . In 1952 Senator Brien McMahon (D-Connecticut) proposed an "army" of young Americans to act as "missionaries of democracy". Privately funded non-religious organizations began sending volunteers overseas during the 1950s. Only in 1959, however, did the proposal for a national program of service abroad first receive serious attention in Washington when Congressman Henry S. Reuss of Wisconsin advanced the ideas of a “Point Four Youth Corps.” In 1960, he and Senator Richard L. Neuberger of Oregon introduced identical measures calling for a non-governmental study of the “advisability and practicability” of such a venture. Both the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee endorsed the idea of a study, the latter writing the Reuss proposal into the Mutual Security Legislation then pending before it. In this form it became law in June 1960. In August the Mutual Security Appropriations Act was enacted, making available $10,000 for the study, and in November ICA contracted with the Maurice Albertson , Andrew E. Rice, and Pauline E. Burkey of Colorado State University Research Foundation to make the study.6 John F. Kennedy first announced his own idea for such an organization during the 1960 Presidential Campaign at a late-night speech at the University Of Michigan in Ann Arbor on October 14 . During a later speech in San Francisco, California on November 1, he dubbed this proposed organization the "Peace Corps". Critics of the program (including Kennedy's opponent, Richard M. Nixon ) claimed the program would be nothing but a haven for Draft Dodger s. Others doubted whether college-aged volunteers had the necessary skills. The idea was popular among college students, however, and Kennedy continued to pursue it, asking respected academics such as Max Millikan and Chester Bowles to help him outline the organization and its goals. During his inaugural address, Kennedy again promised to create the program: "And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country".7 Establishment and authorization On March 1 , 1961 , Kennedy signed an Executive Order which officially started the Peace Corps. Concerned with the growing tide of revolutionary sentiment in the Third World, Kennedy saw the Peace Corps as a means of countering the notions of the " Ugly American " and " Yankee Imperialism ," especially in the emerging nations of postcolonial Africa and Asia. [http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/jah/87.1/br_135.html On March 4 , Kennedy appointed his brother-in-law Sargent Shriver to be the program's first director. Shriver was tasked with fleshing out the organization, which he did with the help of Warren W. Wiggins and others. Shriver and his Think Tank outlined the three major goals of the Peace Corps and decided the number of volunteers they needed to recruit. The program began recruiting volunteers that following July. Until about 1967, applicants to the Peace Corps had to pass a placement test that tested "general aptitude" (knowledge of various skills needed for Peace Corps assignments) and language aptitude. After an address from Kennedy, who was introduced by Rev. Russell Fuller of Memorial Christian Church, Disciples Of Christ , on August 28 , 1961 , the first group of volunteers left for Ghana and Tanzania . The program was formally authorized by Congress on September 22 , 1961 and within two years over 7,300 Peace Corps volunteers were serving in 44 countries. This number would jump to 15,000 in June of 1966, the largest number in the organization's history. Early stumble The organization experienced major controversy in its first year of operation. On October 13 , 1961 , a Postcard was written by a volunteer named Margery Jane Michelmore in Nigeria to a friend in the U.S. She described her situation in Nigeria as "squalor and {Link without Title} absolutely primitive living conditions".89 However, this postcard never made it out of the country. The Ibadan University College Students Union demanded deportation and accused the volunteers of being "America's international Spies " and the project as "a scheme designed to foster Neo-colonialism ".10 Soon the international press picked up the story and this led several people in the U.S. administration to question the future of the program as a whole. Nigerian students protested the program, and the American volunteers sequestered themselves and eventually began a Hunger Strike . After several days, the Nigerian students agreed to open a dialogue with the Americans.11 Independent status The effect of the Peace Corps at this time was minimal. By 1966, more than 15,000 Volunteers were working in the field, the largest number in the Peace Corps' history. {Link without Title} In July 1971, President Richard Nixon , an opponent of the program, brought the Peace Corps under the umbrella agency ACTION. President Jimmy Carter , an advocate of the program said that his mother, who has served as a nurse in the program, had "one of the most glorious experiences of her life" in the Peace Corps.12 In 1979, he declared it fully autonomous in an executive order. This independent status would be further secured when Congress passed legislation in 1981 to make the organization an independent federal agency. Programs diversified , photographed by a Peace Corps Volunteer]]At this time, the Peace Corps began branching out past its traditional concerns of education- and agriculture-related projects. In 1982, President Reagan appointee Director Loret Miller Ruppe initiated several new business-related programs. For the first time, a large number of conservative and Republican volunteers joined the contingent of overseas volunteers, and the organization continued to reflect the evolving political and social conditions in the United States. Funding cuts during the early 1980s dropped the number of volunteers to 5,380, its lowest level since the organization's early years. Funding began to increase in 1985, and Congress passed an initiative to raise the number of volunteers to 10,000 by 1992. After the September 11, 2001 Attacks alerted the nation to growing anti-U.S. sentiment in the Middle East , President George W. Bush pledged to double the size of the organization within five years as a part of the War On Terrorism . For the 2004 fiscal year, Congress passed a budget increase at $325 million, $30 million above that of 2003 but $30 million below the President's request. Now, the Peace Corps is trying to double the number of volunteers it sends abroad by 2007. This is in accordance with President Bush's request in 2002. According to Joseph Kennedy, "The American reputation has taken a hit in the last couple of years. The need for the Peace Corps couldn't be more urgent. The Peace Corps shows what is best in America, the generosity of spirit." The Peace Corps is trying to get more diverse volunteers of different ages. This is important so that the Peace Corps can look, according to former Director Gaddi Vasquez , "more like America." An article published by the Harvard International Review in 2006 argues that the time has come not only to expand the Peace Corps but also to revisit its mission and equip it with new technology to transform it into a 21st-century engine for peace through the global sharing of knowledge. The author, N.J.Slabbert, a writer on policy issues for the Washington DC-based Urban Land Institute, cites support for his argument from, among others, former President Jimmy Carter and a former Vice Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral William A. Owens. Slabbert,N.J. The Technologies of Peace, Harvard International Review [http://hir.harvard.edu/articles/1336/ In 1961 only 1 percent of volunteers were over 50, compared to 6 percent today. Peace Corps spokeswoman, Gretchen Learman states "Age is no barrier to joining the Peace Corps. In many cases, it's an asset, since senior volunteers bring so much knowledge to their work."Vann,K:The Chicago Tribune, sect.5 Sept 28, 2006 Married couples are welcome and can work together. CRISIS CORPS Crisis Corps is a new addition to the Peace Corps. The program sends former Peace Corps volunteers to foreign countries to take on short-term, high-impact assignments that typically range from three to six months in duration. Crisis Corps volunteers generally receive the same allowances and benefits as their Peace Corps counterparts, including round-trip transportation, living and readjustment allowances, and medical care. Minimum qualifications for Crisis Corps volunteers include completion of at least one year of Peace Corps service, excluding training, in addition to medical and legal clearances. EXECUTIVE ORDERS
DIRECTORS OF THE PEACE CORPS FILMS
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