Peace Corps World Wise Schools

World map indicating Peace Corps Countries

Happy New Year! Coverdell World Wise Schools invites you to visit “new” Peace Corps countries. After years without a Peace Corps presence, Volunteers are re-entering past Peace Corps countries, some of them post-conflict such as Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Rwanda.

Nearly 30 years after the last group of Peace Corps Volunteers left Colombia, twenty Peace Corps Response volunteers arrived in the fall of 2010. With U.S.-Colombia relations growing, TEFL volunteers will help Colombians develop additional skills for the global market.

The Peace Corps enjoyed a rich history in Sierra Leone from 1962 until 1994 with programs in agriculture, education, and health. Due to an ongoing national conflict, Peace Corps Volunteers were evacuated and the post closed. While Sierra Leone is a major producer of gem-quality diamonds, two-thirds of the population engages in subsistence agriculture. A new group of education volunteers arrived in 2010 to teach English, math, and science, helping meet the need for qualified individuals in a rebuilt education system.

The first group of Peace Corps Volunteers arrived in Rwanda in 1975. Due to civil war, the program closed in 1993. Rwanda is a beneficiary of one of the largest U.S. Government relief programs, the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). Supporting this effort, thirty-five public health volunteers arrived in 2008, working to decrease HIV/AIDS rates.

Peace Corps Volunteers served in Indonesia from 1963-1965. Today, Indonesia is home to the world’s largest Muslim population and the world’s third largest democracy. In 2010, a group of Peace Corps Volunteers began service as English teachers in high schools and teacher training institutions.

Rediscover these Peace Corps countries using Coverdell World Wise Schools’ resources below.

Q: What's it like to be a Volunteer returning to a newly re-opened Peace Corps post?

A: One of my neighbors, Prince, loves to tell me about a man named Skip from Arizona who was a volunteer in my village in the late 60s.

Prince tells me about how Skip was not only his teacher but also his mentor. Prince even learned how to swim from Skip.

This is a constant reminder that I am part of the Peace Corps Sierra Leone tradition and helps motivate me to be part of re-establishing that great tradition of becoming members of the community with a permanent impact.

—Martin Dertz,
Secondary Education: Math Peace Corps Volunteer,
Sierra Leone

... More responses

Did you know that Peace Corps Volunteers had served in Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, Venezuela, Haiti, Iran, and Somalia? Learn more about the countries in which Peace Corps Volunteers have served and are currently serving through this interactive map.

Peace Corps Director Sargent Shriver visits the English class of Peace Corps Education Volunteer John Gallivan in Akhisar, Turkey.

Asha's Village in India

Designed for K-5 students by returned Peace Corps Volunteer Mike Gannett who served in India in the 1960s, this e-book takes the reader on a virtual journey through a young girl’s village, offering a glimpse into her culture and daily life. E-book requires Flash player or download pdf. Lesson plan available.

A Taste of Tongren: Exploring Chinese Culture Through Food

Join Peace Corps Volunteer Amy Throndsen on a culinary tour of her community in China. Extend students’ learning with a lesson plan exploring what food can reveal about a place and its people. Transcript available in Mandarin.

Remembering
Sargent Shriver

Peace Corps celebrates the life of Sargent Shriver (November 19, 1915 – January 18, 2011). Called upon by his brother-in-law, President John F. Kennedy, he served as Peace Corps’ founding director. View photos and a tribute to his life and work.

Peace Corps Volunteer in Belize with local students in library.

The holiday season can be a difficult time to keep up with your Peace Corps correspondence; now is a great time to get back on a regular schedule and reconnect with your Volunteer!

Peace Corps Month 2011 is March 1–March 30; consider planning an event at your school or in your classroom to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Peace Corps and to honor the work being done by your Correspondence Match Volunteer and Volunteers around the world.

Encourage your colleagues to take advantage of this wonderful program to help U.S. students learn more about other countries and cultures by corresponding with a Peace Corps Volunteer.

Please don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions or concerns about Correspondence Match.

Twice in My Life Maureen Orth, a well-known American journalist, served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Colombia from 1964 to 1966. She dreamed of going back to visit her site and see the school that she helped build. Listen or read Maureen's story about her return in 1995. Transcript available in Spanish.
Living Deep in West Africa In the early days of the Peace Corps, Roger B. Hirschland worked in a remote village in the hilly grasslands of Sierra Leone. See and hear what his daily life and jobs were like where the grass grew 12 feet high.
The Talking Goat Enjoy a folk tale told to John Acree while he served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Liberia from 1983 to 1985. Listen \| Read \| Lesson plan
Peace Corps Digital Library Get a glimpse of Peace Corps' early years in Colombia with photos from the Peace Corps' photo archives and submissions from returned Volunteers and staff.