Peace Corps

Roll over each image above to view the description of each story, then click on the image to watch the slide show—or scroll down to see the list of stories.

Antigua and Barbuda: Preserving a Balanced Diet with Solar Dryers

In the Caribbean islands of Antigua and Barbuda, Peace Corps Response Volunteer Elyse Petersen worked with agroprocessors, schools, and families to build solar food dryers that can preserve local produce for year-round consumption. (2011)

Bolivia: When Success Is Truly Sweet

In a remote region of southern Bolivia, Peace Corps Volunteer Kristina Owens helped farmers to protect and improve their harvest of the cherimoya fruit. She interviews, observes, and even employs techniques of DNA analysis. (2008) Transcript available in Spanish.

Bulgaria: Growing Up in Bulgaria

Visit a Bulgarian community and learn about the lives of local children.  Peace Corps Volunteer Stephanie Dunnam describes school and family life in her village, including the daily activities, celebrations, cuisine, and cultures that make it unique.      

Cameroon: The Eve of the Festival of Ramadan

Peace Corps Volunteer Daniele Fogel reveals the sights, sounds, and excitement of her northern Cameroonian community as it gears up for this important Muslim holiday. (2009)

Cameroon: Water Source Protection

Peace Corps Volunteer Lauren Fry uses her background in engineering to work with her community in Cameroon to create a springbox to protect their source of water. (2007) Lesson plan | Transcript available in French

Chad: Africa Colors A Destiny

Michael Varga served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Chad from 1977–1979. Learn about culture and daily life in his village, and hear how his experiences prepared him for life as a global citizen, diplomat, and writer. (2009) Lesson plan

Chad: Spotlight on Chad

Peace Corps Volunteer Fan Yang comments on her experiences in Chad nearly three decades after Peace Corps Volunteer Michael Varga sent his "Notes to the Varga Family" in the 1970s. While listening to her commentaries, enjoy viewing photographs she took during her service in Chad in 2005-2006. (2009) Lesson plan

China: A Taste of Tongren
Exploring Chinese Culture Through Food

Join Amy Throndsen on a culinary tour of Tongren City in China's Guizhou Province. Gain new insights into Chinese culture by experiencing markets, mealtimes, and specialty dishes of the region, and consider the ways people connect with each other through food. (2010) Lesson plan | Slide show available in English and Mandarin

China: Out With the Old, In With the New

Riley Graebner, having served in China in 2002 and 2003, discusses the complexity of the culture as manifested in its propaganda, architecture, and people. (2006) Lesson plan

Costa Rica: Alliance of Environmental Leaders

Visit Costa Rica with Peace Corps Volunteer Leader Brittany Johnson, who worked with other Peace Corps Volunteers and Costa Rican youth to build skills in environmental leadership. Find out how youth-led environmental projects began to transform communities across the country. (2011) Slideshow available in English and Spanish

Costa Rica: New Opportunities for Women

Meet the women of Peace Corps Volunteer Liz Lowe's rural Costa Rican community and learn about their important and diverse roles as mothers, grandmothers, entrepreneurs, athletes, and community leaders. (2011) Slide show available in English and Spanish

Costa Rica: Sustained by the Sun

In Costa Rica, Peace Corps Volunteer Katie DeWitt worked with her community to use one of their most abundant resources—the sun—to power their local biological reserve. Find out how the newly installed solar panels generated not only power, but also community-wide enthusiasm for renewable energy. (2011)

The Gambia: Oyster Women's Sustainable Harvests

Travel to The Gambia with Peace Corps Volunteer Adrian Croke, who collaborated with groups of female oyster harvesters to improve the economic and environmental sustainability of their work. Learn how the oyster women worked together to create a promising future for their families and their communities. (2011)

Georgia: Hazelnuts, Hemingway, and Heat

Follow Joshua O’Donnell’s vast range of experiences as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Republic of Georgia. Living on his host family’s farm, he helped to grow lemons and harvest hazelnuts. As a teacher, he created a library and taught Hemingway. And as a community member, he helped to secure a water supply and celebrated at traditional feasts. (2007)

Ghana: Breaking the Cycle of Guinea Worm Disease

Peace Corps Volunteer Peter DiCampo worked with community members and health organizations to reduce Guinea worm disease in his village in West Africa. (2009) Lesson plan

Guatemala: Building Communities One Bottle
at a Time

By creating bricks made from plastic bottles packed densely with trash, Peace Corps Volunteers work with Guatemalan communities to meet the needs for ecological health and educational opportunities. (2010)

A Community Effort

Peace Corps Volunteer Laura Kutner reflects on the value of engaging in service as a community, as they construct classrooms from bottles found around their town in Guatemala. (2010)

Building a Better Future

Visit Alta Verapaz and see how Peace Corps Volunteer Chris Barry collaborated with local leaders to organize the community and construct a junior high school. (2010)

Building Construction 'How-To'

Try your hand at building your own bottle structure by following these step-by-step instructions. (2010)

Guinea: Fighting Soil Erosion

Steven Jacobson, a Peace Corps Volunteer who returned from the African countries of Zimbabwe, Lesotho, and Guinea, takes a look at Guinea's soil erosion crisis. Steve worked with locals to build terraces and reduce runoff of fertile topsoil. (2006) Lesson plan | Transcript available in French

India: Settling In to Village Life

Experience bullock carts, a weekly bazaar, life in India’s caste system, and hard work in an Indian village decades ago. Nancy Tschetter recalls her Peace Corps service in a small village in Maharashtra, India from 1966–1968. (2009)

Kenya: My Life in East Africa

Cynthia Chenault lived in part of a tiny house in a rural village in Kenya as a Peace Corps Volunteer. Hear how she taught her students computer literacy, while fresh milk was delivered by a three-year-old girl with a pitcher. (2006)

Kyrgyzstan: Life is Wonderful

By painting a large, colorful mural Peace Corps Volunteer Theo Davis and his artistic community members found an innovative and effective way to educate others about the importance of AIDS/HIV prevention.  With a message of “Life is Wonderful” this mural shows that what is often a difficult subject to talk about can be expressed in a way that not only educates, but shows that life is full of hope and celebration. (2011) Lesson Plan

Morocco: Artisans of Al-Maghrib

Wander through the colorful souqs of a Moroccan artisan community. Hear how Peace Corps Volunteer Rob Revere advised artists and craft cooperatives on developing their businesses and accomplishing their goals. (2011)

Morocco: You Can Dream; Stories of Moroccan Women Who Do

Discover the importance of non-traditional gender roles and how Peace Corps Volunteer Cortney Healy traveled the country of Morocco filming the stories of six women who are role models for global change. (2011) Lesson Plan

Namibia: Go to School for a Day in Namibia!

Through studying, working, eating, and living together—and through playing together as well—Namibian schoolchildren form new families as they grow and learn. Peace Corps Volunteer Elissa Milanowski provides a unique glimpse into this world in her narrated slide show. (2009)

Namibia: Texting Across the Desert

Learn how Peace Corps Volunteer Rashid Khan used a mostly-broken cell phone, a mostly-broken computer, and his IT expertise to create a virtual health education hotline in Namibia, fielding thousands of sexual health and HIV/AIDS questions sent anonymously via text message. (2011)

Niger: Healthy Girls, Healthy Villages

Enjoy vivid scenes of Nigerienne girls and women as they work and live in their village, learn about health and nutrition, and play American games during Peace Corps Volunteer Vivian Nguyen’s Girls Leading Our World Camp. (2008)

Palau: Tracking Turtles in the Western Pacific

For two years, Peace Corps Volunteer Sarah Klain helped lead efforts for sea-turtle conservation in the Pacific Island country of Palau. With local partners, she researched and tracked the marine reptiles and encouraged educational efforts to protect turtle populations. (2007) Lesson plan

Philippines: Protecting Philippine Reefs

As fish populations plummet, Peace Corps Volunteer Tommy Schultz works with Filipinos to restore the sea life depended on for food. (2007) Lesson plan

Peru: Explore Back-Country Peru

Kurtis Shank served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Peru, South America. His primary assignment was to work with the community to develop small businesses, and to emphasize the use of information technology. (2008) Slide show available in English and Spanish

Peru: Get Cooking With the Sun

In the mountains of Peru, Peace Corps Volunteer Brian Lange worked with families to build simple solar ovens using cardboard boxes, newspaper, plastic, and aluminum foil. Find out how this project contributed to personal and ecological health in the community, and learn how to build a box cooker of your own. (2011)

Romania: Nothing Says Home Like Homemade!

To complement the traditional food movement in her community and to help promote a better understanding of American culture, Peace Corps Volunteer Natalie Montanaro teaches a class in international cooking for English language learners in Romania. (2011)

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines:
Little Yellow House by the Sea

Tour Saint Vincent and the Grenadines with returned Peace Corps Volunteers Amber and Brian Lewandowski. (2010)

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines:
Raising Chickens, Empowering Youth

Peace Corps Volunteer Brian Lewandowski works with local sixth-graders to construct a chicken coop and begin a student-operated poultry business. (2010) Lesson Plan

Sierra Leone: Living Deep in West Africa

In the early days of the Peace Corps, Roger B. Hirschland worked in a remote village in the hilly grasslands of West Africa. See and hear what his daily life and jobs were like where the grass grew 12 feet high. (2006)

Slovakia: Working Alongside the Roma, or Gypsies

Igor Naumovski served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Slovakia, in Central Europe. His primary assignment was to work with Roma children in a former mining village. (2008)

Sri Lanka: Starting Over

Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Amelia Sparks spent three months in Sri Lanka as a Crisis Corps Volunteer, working on everything from database entry to construction projects. Gain a unique perspective on the effects of the tsunami from her own words and pictures. (2006) Lesson plan

Uzbekistan: Welcome to Uzbekistan!

Peace Corps Volunteer Diego Rivera will introduce you to his host family and show you much about the family life, food, architecture, religions, and history of Uzbekistan. Slide show available in English and Spanish. (2006)