[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 2]
[Senate]
[Pages 2447-2448]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  49TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE PEACE CORPS

  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, today I rise to celebrate service--
specifically the dedication of Americans volunteering in the Peace 
Corps, which this week marks its 49th year of connecting committed 
volunteers with meaningful work around the globe.
  There are a lot of ways to give of ourselves. We donate food. We 
donate money. We donate time. But the Peace Corps takes community 
service--global service, really to another level, with volunteers 
committing 27 months to

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improve the quality of life in developing countries.
  Some projects focus on agriculture; others business. Some improve 
health, while others emphasize education or the environment, but all 
programs build a unique international relationship with a spirit of 
volunteer service at its core.
  As Chairman of the U.S. Helsinki Commission, I recently saw one 
program up close during a congressional delegation I led to Morocco, 
which is an active Mediterranean partner country in the Organization 
for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
  Meetings with local government officials there were informative. And 
the briefings from the embassy staff were important. But the time we 
spent with a Peace Corps volunteer in rural Aitourir was nothing short 
of inspiring.
  The Youth Development Program there run by Peace Corps volunteer Kate 
Tsunoda, with help from local community volunteers, is giving children 
from kindergarten through high school critical education, language, and 
art skills.
  Inside a small community center, below a library still in need of 
dictionaries and elementary schoolbooks, we sat down with a group of 
young men, some in college, some recently graduated. In a part of the 
world where unemployment tops 15 percent, these are the people one may 
see as most susceptible to recruitment by extremists, but not these 
men. They spoke of dreams that included higher education, better jobs, 
and a transforming of their local towns.
  These men credit the Peace Corps program for empowering them and 
building their language skills. I credit the Peace Corps for something 
even greater--forging international understanding, something the Peace 
Corps has excelled at now for 49 years in 139 countries through 7,671 
volunteers.
  On the other side of town, several members of our delegation visited 
a start-up small business, the brainchild of retiree and Peace Corps 
volunteer Barbara Eberhart, whose second career is dedicated to 
empowering the women of Morocco.
  The group visited a fabric and embroidery shop developed by a 
community of Berber women aided by a microcredit loan and Barbara's 
guidance and unbounded energy. These women, unable to read or write and 
essentially marginalized in Moroccan society, have formed a cooperative 
where they create fine embroidered goods and sell them in local 
markets. Their small business not only provides desperately needed 
income, but gives these women a stronger sense of themselves, their 
community and hope for their future and that of their children.
  With Peace Corps volunteers coming from all backgrounds, ages and 
various stages of life, this program is as diverse as our country. The 
local citizen collaboration inherent in all Peace Corps work helps 
build enduring relationships between the United States and Peace Corps 
partner countries.
  The Peace Corps invests time and talent in other countries, but it 
pays dividends back here in the United States as well. Those who are 
taught or helped by Peace Corps volunteers are likely to have more 
favorable opinions of the United States. More than that, many of the 
volunteers themselves are inspired to public service upon their return 
to this country, some becoming Governors and Members of Congress, 
including our own colleague and fellow Helsinki Commissioner, Senator 
Dodd of Connecticut.
  I left Aitourir thinking Kate was the exemplary Peace Corps volunteer 
with her welcoming smile, passion for service and genuine love for the 
Moroccan people. But aware of the success of so many other Peace Corps 
programs around the world, I know Kate is one of many volunteers--all 
of whom would have left as great an impression.
  The Peace Corps is a program that works. Volunteers year in and year 
out continue to fulfill the Peace Corps mission of bringing training 
and education to interested countries and strengthening understanding 
between Americans and our neighbors in the global community. 
Congratulations to the Peace Corps for 49 remarkable years. I look 
forward to its continued success.

                          ____________________