[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 34 (Friday, February 29, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Page S1417]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       NATIONAL PEACE CORPS WEEK

  Ms. MURKOWSKI. Madam President, on March 1, 2008, the Peace Corps 
celebrates its 47th year of operation. I congratulate all past and 
present volunteers and staff members on 47 years of international 
service and I welcome many more years to come.
  Since 1961, the Peace Corps has served as a creative and productive 
outlet for U.S. citizens to spread some of the very best of our 
society--our desire to help those less fortunate than ourselves--around 
the world. The year 2007 was no exception.
  I am proud to recognize that the spirit of that movement is still 
strong in America's youth, and our young at heart. Last year witnessed 
the highest number of volunteers since 1970, with 8, 079 volunteers 
serving in 74 countries as of September 30th.
  The Peace Corps is expanding in breadth as well as numbers, with a 
new program opening in Cambodia. Also in 2007, Ethiopia welcomed the 
Peace Corps back after 8 years, making it the 10th nation that is also 
a focus country for the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief to 
host volunteers. In fiscal year 2007, over 1 million people affected by 
the HIV/AIDS epidemic were assisted by Peace Corps volunteers and their 
activities.
  Constantly rotating their personnel, the Peace Corps is well 
accustomed to adapting to and taking advantage of new ideas, thinking, 
and technology. In the coming year PeaceWiki will launch, allowing 
volunteers to share experiences and information with each other. They 
are even creating an online ``role-play'' game to teach middle 
schoolchildren about international service.
  Many people mistakenly believe the Peace Corps is only about helping 
those distantly removed from our daily life here in America. This could 
not be further from the truth. Peace Corps volunteers return with a 
sense of accomplishment and the skill sets to that are often 
desperately needed or in short supply here in the United States. 
Volunteers have had to learn approximately 250 different languages and 
dialects, not to mention how to handle different cultures with 
dexterity and ease. Twenty-two percent of all current volunteers serve 
in predominantly Muslim countries.
  Returned volunteers' paths after service are as varied as their 
tours. They include Assistant Secretary of State Christopher--Chris--
Hill, who served in Cameroon in the 1970s, several of my colleagues in 
Congress, CEOs and founders of major companies such as Netflix and The 
Nature Company, authors, journalists, teachers, government employees, 
and businessmen.
  Volunteers often return to service later in life as part of the Peace 
Corps Response, which sends former Corps members to assist in crisis 
and natural disasters around the world for brief intervals. Over 200 
served in our own country after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
  Across the globe, 36 intrepid Alaskans currently serve their country 
as members of the Peace Corps. I would like to take this opportunity to 
extend a special thank you to them in particular. Whether they are in 
El Salvador, Ghana, or Kazakhstan, I know they are not only fulfilling 
the Peace Corps' mandates of providing trained personnel to developing 
nations and promoting cross-cultural understanding, but they are also 
learning important life lessons which will be a credit to them in their 
future endeavors and to our State. I look forward to welcoming them 
back to Alaska as I do all who choose to serve our Nation abroad.

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