Peace Corps celebrated its 60 years of service on the 1st of March, involving all the Peace Corps volunteers and community in commemorating the 60th anniversary which was under the theme “The Peace Corps through the Decades: Sixty years, Countless stories”.

This year, Peace Corps week ran from February 28 to March 6 with events that almost went virtual which included a leadership forum, a video showcase on the history of Peace Corps, a virtual talk, and a festival. Peace Corps week focuses mostly on commemorating President John F. Kennedy’s establishments of the agency as well as world peace and friendship, volunteerism and service. Since its founding, over these six decades, Peace Corps volunteers have already counted for more than 240,000 American people willing to serve in over 140 countries worldwide.

The story of the creation of Peace Corps
Peace Corps first started with John Fitzgerald Kennedy, who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 to 1963. He established it in 1961 in the form of agency aiming at granting an opportunity to American citizens to serve in developing countries so as to promote peace, friendship and volunteering services. It has even been said that the concept of creating such an agency for peacemakers and volunteers took place at an unexpected moment with an impromptu speech from President Kennedy.

The day after his campaign for presidency, Senator John F. Kennedy was just passing by the University of Michigan for a night but thousands of students from the University waited for him to deliver a speech. In fact, the future of the world’s prominent volunteer community lied in a challenge issued by President Kennedy. He challenged the crowd to contribute two years of their lives to help people from the developing world. This is an extract of his speech: “How many of you who are going to be doctors are willing to spend your days in Ghana? Technicians or engineers, how many of you are willing to work in the Foreign Service and spend your lives travelling around the world? On your willingness to do that, not merely to serve one year or two years in service, but on your willingness to contribute part of your life to this country, I think will depend the answer whether a free society can compete. I think it can! And I think Americans are willing to contribute. But the effort must be far greater than we have ever made in the past”. One year following this speech, he signed an executive order establishing officially the Peace Corps on March 1, 1961. Peace Corps volunteers have now served in over 60 countries which include Madagascar. Peace Corps’ program for Madagascar debuted in 1993, and from that year until 2020 about 1,574 Peace Corps volunteers are estimated to have completed their service within different communities in the regions of Madagascar.

However, due to the pandemic COVID-19, for the first time in Peace Corps history, Peace Corps volunteers around the world have been evacuated from their posts resulting in the suspension of all volunteering activities and projects. Let’s just hope the situation will be getting better soon!

Sources: state.gov/ peacecorps.gov