THE SPIRIT LIVES ON

Peace Director Tim Hartman, with the help of JFK,
spoke movingly of the ideals and the practical
successes of the Peace Corps after 50 Years.

We went Gaborone on October 22 to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the founding of the Peace Corps.  Volunteers, trainees and staff were joined by returned volunteers from many countries, by former Botswanan President Festus Mogae, by United States Ambassador Michelle Gavin, and by many other friends of the Peace Corps.

Carol shows some of the other volunteers how
to celebrate!

Tim Hartman, Director of the Peace Corps in Botswana, stood next to a picture of John F. Kennedy and shared some thoughts that brought back the spirit of the New Frontier, when JFK implored Americans to "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country."  Powerful words that resonate strongly after half a century.  Most of the volunteers and trainees, as well as Hartman and Ambassador Gavin, were not yet alive when Kennedy was inaugurated in 1961, or when Congress approved the creation of the Peace Corps later that year.  We were old enough to have seen him deliver these words, and like all present, were moved by how much meaning they have for us today.

Volunteers just want to have fun - at the Embassy
compound in Gaborone

So we are excited about being here.  We dearly miss our children, our grandchildren, our friends, our community, and the many wonderful things that Portland has to offer.  And yet, we feel gratitude for this opportunity to be here, trying to do something, however small, to make the world a better place.