This is an archived USAID document retained on this web site as a matter of public record.

Administrator J. Brian Atwood
USAID/Peace Corps Partnership Ceremony
Washington, D.C., January 21, 1998
U.S. Agency for International Development

--    Like USAID, the Peace Corps began under the shadow of nuclear devastation, in the midst of the long Cold War. Far more of the world's people lived under authoritarian oppression than under democratic governments, and bloody conflicts marred the beginnings of many newly independent nations. The "Peace" in "Peace Corps" reflected a dream of what might be, not what was.

--    "It was good to be young then," as the old song says, but it was not a "season of plenty" for most of the world's people. Our agencies were born in the hope and confidence of a young President that dedicated Americans could help people help themselves and change that troubled world.

--    He saw the possibility and felt the responsibility for Americans to take practical actions that would help to bring about a time of peace and plenty for people around the world.

--    Less than a month before he was killed, President Kennedy summarized his dream for America's future. He began by saying, "I look forward to a great future for America -- a future in which our country will match its military strength with our moral restraint, its wealth with our wisdom, its power with our purpose." He closed with, "I look forward to a world which will be safe -- not only for democracy and diversity -- but also for personal distinction."

--    We are here today because we continue to share that vision of a better world.

--    We are also here to recognize individuals who saw the possibilities and accepted these responsibilities, and who have distinguished themselves by fostering the cooperation between our two agencies to carry out that vision and meet those the responsibilities.

--    Both our agencies have come through hard times, our existence as independent agencies threatened, our purposes challenged. The Peace Corps and USAID have survived because the American people still believe in those possibilities and accept those responsibilities. Millions of lives have been saved and millions have been changed for the better because we were there. Democracy and free market economies, respect for human rights and the rule of law have taken root in nations all over the world.

--    Aware of the depth and scope of the problems still ahead, we are also buoyed by the knowledge that we have played important roles in the changes for the better. USAID and the Peace Corps can face the new year with renewed confidence and new initiatives. We have made a difference in the past. We will continue to make a difference in the future.

--    USAID and the Peace Corps have different missions, use different means, but we have the flexibility to work together for our common goal -- to help people in other nations help themselves, to give them the tools to build better lives.

--    Our two agencies have long worked together in the field, and in the last 15 years, the relationship has been more structured to draw on our respective strengths.

--    We have been partners in vital sustainable development efforts at the local level in more than 70 countries around the world.

--    The Peace Corps has played an important role in bringing USAID programs to the local level in areas such as Small Project Assistance (grants to community projects for such things as building materials or host-country training), disaster relief, microenterprise development, Farmer-to-Farmer (pays travel and living expenses for U.S. farmers to give short-term technical assistance to volunteers on request), child survival, micronutrient improvement, Guinea worm eradication, forestry and natural resource management, Guinea worm eradication, and HIV/AIDS prevention.

--    I have seen the results and what these joint efforts mean in the lives of the people in host countries.

--    The Peace Corps has special skills in human capacity building at the grassroots level. We have learned from you and will continue to learn from you. We are impressed with your efforts to measure results. We understand how valuable your work is in making the most of scarce U.S. dollars for development.

--    In the next few weeks and months, USAID will be launching two new worldwide initiatives to eliminate Vitamin A deficiencies and combat and control infectious diseases. I believe both of these important initiatives may provide fertile fields for additional Peace Corps/USAID cooperation.

--    USAID welcomed Peace Corps volunteers to South Africa and Jordan last year, and we will welcome you to Bangladesh, Mozambique and Georgia as you join us in these countries in the coming year.

--    As you increase the number of Peace Corps Volunteers, you not only will be serving more communities around the world, you will be recruiting more future leaders for development agencies such as ours. As I learned when Argentine President Carlos Menem raised the issue of creating a domestic PC -- White Hats -- PC is the model. The best. But forgive us for considering your volunteers to be our farm team!

--    The severity of the major threats facing our world in the coming century will require cooperative efforts by all nations, both rich and poor, by governments and private industry and business, by private voluntary agencies and non-governmental organizations, in both donor and host countries.

--    USAID and the Peace Corps can serve as a model of cooperation. Together we can help provide the tools, and the understanding, to make a major impact in meeting the challenges of the 21st century.

--    People in the developing world need the technology for clean water and solar energy, immunizations and oral rehydration therapy. But they need more. They also need the tools of democracy and free markets, to create institutions that will strengthen the rule of law and respect for human rights.

--    These are not just ideals, they are practical essentials for economic growth and the creation of free societies in a peaceful world.

--    By your words and actions -- and by your willingness to share the lives of the people you seek to help -- the Peace Corps has helped to bring the world the best that America has to offer. Together, USAID and the Peace Corps are sharing America's ideals and institutions, our experience and ingenuity, our faith in the capacity of human beings to build a better world. Let us continue our work together!

This is an archived USAID document retained on this web site as a matter of public record.

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