To the Editor:
This is Peace Corps Week, marking the 64th anniversary of the March 1, 1961, start of the Peace Corps through an executive order signed by President John Kennedy. Congress would pass legislation officially authorizing the Peace Corps later that year.
Since then, nearly a quarter-million U.S. citizens from every corner of our country have served as Peace Corps Volunteers in 140 countries from every corner of the world. This includes the more than 3,500 volunteers who are currently serving our nation with distinction in more than 60 countries. I am proud to say that my daughter is one of those, serving in Namibia, Africa since August 2023.
At a 1983 Rose Garden ceremony, then President Ronald Reagan proclaimed that “By the example of…Peace Corps Volunteers, people throughout the world can understand that America’s heart is strong, and her heart is good.” Many Returned Peace Corps Volunteers have extended their Peace Corps commitment to the service of others by working for USAID or other organizations involved in these critical, global, life-saving programs.
It is extremely disturbing that the current administration is retreating from this sentiment, as evidenced from recent attempts to freeze all foreign assistance programs (without any thought of impacts) and dismantling the exemplary work of the US Agency for International Development (USAID). It is imperative that Senators Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal and Representative Jim Himes continue to stand up to the ideals of President Reagan and every other president over the past six decades.
Support the Peace Corps. Support our nation’s humanitarian and development assistance around the world. To do otherwise, places our nation in peril.
Rev. Shannon White
