50 Years!!!

Can you believe it?? Peace Corps is 50 years old! 50! That's oooollllddd! Seriously, though, on October 14, 1960, then-Senator John F. Kennedy spoke in the early morning to a gathering of the students at the University of Michigan who were waiting for hours to hear the presidential candidate speak in Ann Arbor.

On the steps of the University of Michigan Student Union, President Kennedy challenged the students to serve their country in the cause of peace by living and working in developing countries, an idea that inspired the creation of the Peace Corps.




On March 1, 1961 President John F. Kennedy signed executive order 10924 to establish the program, and in September of that year congress authorized the program with the passage of the Peace Corps Act. The act declares the program's purpose:

"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 1961, over 200,000 Americans have joined the Peace Corps and have served in 139 countries. Currently 8,655 volunteers serve in 77 countries in the areas of education, youth & community development, health, business and information & communication technology, agriculture, environment, HIV/AIDS, and food security. Although times have changed, the Peace Corps continues to promote peace and friendship by remaining true to its mission, established in 1961:
1. To help the people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women.
2. To help promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served.
3. To help promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans.

Peace Corps volunteers and RPCVS (Returned Peace Corps Volunteers) around the world will be celebrating Peace Corp's 50 years all year long. Wanna join in the celebrations?! If you haven't seen it yet, check out Peace Corps Kazakhstan's website celebrating the 50th anniversary. The site has great information on how you can get involved in celebrations this year. One of my favorite features is our PC Kaz Family Mapping. On the top menu click "Map" to see where the supporters of Peace Corps Kazakhstan are. You can participate by printing out the PDF sign, filling it out, taking a picture and emailing back to us with your location. I can't wait to see this map fill up!