Peace Corps marks 50 yrs
Published:Tuesday | March 1, 2011 | 12:00 AM
TODAY MARKS the 50th anniversary of Peace Corps' inception as a worldwide organisation.
Since 1961, more than 200,000 Americans have served as Peace Corps volunteers in 139 host countries around the world. Peace Corps has been in Jamaica since 1962, the same year Jamaica gained its independence from Britain.
Notably, Jamaica was the seventh nation in the world to receive Peace Corps volunteers.
More than 3,000 Americans have come to Jamaica to share their skills and learn about Jamaican culture to share with the American public. Currently, more than 60 Peace Corps volunteers are serving throughout the island, working in the fields of agriculture and the environment, education focusing on literacy and numeracy, and also youth development through the teaching of life skills, HIV prevention and sports.
Peace Corps Jamaica will in June 2011 welcome 35 new volunteers who will serve for the standard 27-month period.