50th Anniversary
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50th Anniversary of the Peace Corps
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Remarks of Ambassador Harry K. Thomas, Jr. at the Peace Corps 50th Anniversary Reception, March 1, 2011, Ambassador's Residence
Magandang Gabi!
Greetings to all the Peace Corps Volunteers from all over the world who are living and working here in the Philippines. I know we have folks from as far away as Samoa, Tonga, Ukraine, Estonia, Bulgaria, Kyrgystan, South Africa, Mali, Burkino Faso, Mauritania, Korea and Thailand, just to name a few. Welcome to you all!
Welcome also to our Peace Corps Philippines Partners who have joined us this evening in celebration of Peace Corps’ 50th birthday.
Fifty years ago today, on March 1, 1961, the historic Peace Corps Act was signed. Since that day, generations of volunteers from the United States have dispersed around the globe, pursuing a vocation of service to others.
I had no idea there were so many Returned Peace Corps Volunteers from all over the world currently working or living here in the Philippines. Those gathered here today represent an impressive span of Peace Corps history. In fact, between all the current and returned Peace Corps volunteers present here today, all 5 decades of Peace Corps’ existence are represented.
You all joined for different reasons. Some of you may have been inspired by President John F. Kennedy’s famous charge to “ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.”
Some of you may have joined the Peace Corps to see the world through a lens of public service; to experience and live among cultures other than your own and serve your fellow man. And some of you may not have known why you joined, but only that you wanted to help people.
Regardless of the reasons you joined, you all chose service and a commitment to a better world. And we can see from the continued increase in the numbers of Volunteers that Americans continue to be inspired by that vision of world peace and friendship.
President Kennedy inspired a nation by sharing his vision of world peace through service and true engagement. In fact, these volunteers embody a life and a career summed up perfectly by President Kennedy so many years ago: “[I]f the life will not be easy, it will be rich and satisfying. For every young American who participates in the Peace Corps—who works in a foreign land—will know that he or she is sharing in the great common task of bringing to man that decent way of life which is the foundation of freedom and a condition of peace.”
No matter what your assignment area, what location you served, or in which decade you served there, Peace Corps Volunteers have created personal relationships with many groups of people. These personal relationships have a profound effect on human friendship, tolerance and understanding. They affect sometimes deeply-ingrained perceptions of the United States, and they spread the truth of our commitment to development and peace. This soft diplomacy is not only part, but is a pillar of the U.S. Government mission here in the Philippines and around the world.
In the fifty years of Peace Corps’ existence, thousands of host families have opened the doors to their homes and their hearts to Peace Corps Volunteers around the world. In the spirit of true generosity and mutual respect, scores of host countries have opened their school doors, their office space, and their communities to work hand in hand with Peace Corps.
Let us not forget, ladies and gentlemen, that Peace Corps would not exist if it were not for the invitation of governments all over the world that believe as we do—as President Kennedy did 50 years ago—that a dedicated people can cross barriers of language and culture to hear the voice of the human heart in any language. We owe these countries a debt of gratitude for welcoming our volunteers in peace and friendship.
Since 1961 more than 8,300 Peace Corps Volunteers have worked in every region of the Philippines. They have worked hand in hand with school teachers, college professors and fisher folk; with youth providers, businessmen and -women, and farmers. They developed long lasting bonds of friendship with the people they lived amongst and with whom they worked so very hard. Many of those Volunteers continue that relationship to this day by continued engagement with their Filipino colleagues and friends through the Peace Corps Alumni Foundation for Philippine Development.
Some, after serving as Volunteers, have returned to the Philippines to make it their home. I thank all Peace Corps Volunteers present here this evening for their service to their country through their service to other nations. Your commitment to making this world a better place through dedication to your fellow man is a cornerstone of our Nation’s commitment to world peace.
I also thank representatives of our Filipino hosts and partners that are here this evening. Thank you for your strong support to Peace Corps Philippines and for coming to celebrate this occasion.
It is truly a pleasure to have you all here with us today. I look forward to working with you all as we move in to the future together. Mabuhay!