Co-signers (all are RPCVs from Missoula): Melissa MacKenzie, Pamela Bishop, Mary Younger, Kelsey McFarland, Lauren Redmore, Diann Stewart, Tony Hoyt, Russ Lawrence, Merry Hutton, Dennis Bangs, Rebecca Stumpf, Tim Leifer, Lynne Koester, Otto Koester, Eloise Thompson, Bruce Sims, Bunny Sims, Karen Booker, Sharon Sweeney, Pat Sweeney, Joe Elliott, Katherine Chase, Leah Fitch, Andrew Beltz, Kyra Hall, Patricia Herris, Pam Haglund, Heidi Halverson, Martha Whitman, Jennifer Watkins, Mike Lee, Elizabeth Marshall, Jeri Titus, Mark Crowley, Shannon Parsons
As members of The Western Montana Returned Peace Corps Volunteers, we wish to announce that this month celebrates the 65th birthday of the Peace Corps. On March 1, 1961, President John F. Kennedy signed the Executive Order establishing the Peace Corps, for “service abroad of men and women of the United States in new programs of assistance to nations and areas of the world.” By September 1961, Congress had passed The Peace Corps Act, permanently establishing the Peace Corps. The agency’s mission identified three goals: “To help the countries interested in meeting their need for trained people; (2) To help promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the people served; and (3) To help promote a better understanding of other people on the part of Americans.” Over 240,000 have served in the Peace Corps in 144 countries since 1961. Today there are roughly 3,000 Volunteers in 60 countries. Although we can only speak for ourselves and not for the Peace Corps or the quarter of a million other Volunteers, we write this letter to support the Peace Corps’ third goal.
We are proud to have served our country in the Peace Corps. If you’d like to challenge yourself with the “toughest job you’ll ever love,” you can contact the Peace Corps at www.peacecorps.gov. You simply need to be older than 18 and demonstrate a willingness to share your skills for the adventure of a lifetime.
It seems appropriate to consider the mission and impact of the Peace Corps in this trying time when our nation has initiated a war with Iran that is setting aflame much of the Middle East. Several of us served in this region, and our memories of the people and cultures remain with us, as well as the significant lessons that we gathered while living overseas. We learned that we are at our best when we are open, humble, and respectful of one another. Progress, characterized by widespread access to health, education, and economic opportunity, advances via an understanding of our interdependence and a willingness to work toward common goals. A more just, peaceful, and sustainable world emerges not through the imposition of violence, or a manifestation of military might, but by purposefully supporting one another.
It would be hard to overestimate the level of generosity, sacrifice, and tender assistance that we received from the people within the villages and communities where we served. We were continually moved by the dignity and resilience of everyday people, many of whom had far fewer resources or opportunities than we take for granted here in the United States. We became aware that people in other nations live with the same desires as ours, strive for the same acceptance, and hope for the same better future for their children.
Our Peace Corps experiences taught us that humanity’s primary duty is to discover how we can live together. We know full well that this is not achieved with bombs. We are not number one. We are all one.
James Burchfield, Missoula, RPCV Guatemala, 1973-1977
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