The Peace Corps is an independent agency of the United States government that sends volunteers to different countries to promote peace and friendship at the international level. Peace Corps was established by executive order of President John F. Kennedy in 1961 and authorized by Congress shortly thereafter by the Peace Corps Act.

President Kennedy supported the establishment of a Peace Corps in part because it promoted volunteerism and self-sacrifice among the American people, a central theme of his campaign. The Peace Corps Act authorized Peace Corps to “make available to interested countries. . . [people] of the United States qualified for service abroad and willing to serve, under conditions of hardship if necessary, to help peoples of such countries. . . .” The Act also set out the three goals of Peace Corps, which remain at the core of the agency’s mission:

1. To help the people of interest countries in meeting their need for trained people.
2. To help promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the people served.
3. To help promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans.

Central to the Peace Corps mission is that its presence in any country is requested by that country. The Peace Corps does not initiate invitations to make a volunteer available, and the projects are developed at the request of the host community.

Peace Corps Paraguay is one of the oldest continuously operating posts. The first volunteers arrived in Paraguay in 1967. Volunteers in Paraguay work across four sectors: Enviornmental Conservation, Agriculture, Community Health, and Community Economic Development.

Today, the Peace Corps is a service opportunity for motivated change-makers to immerse themselves in a community abroad, working side-by-side with local leaders to tackle the most pressing challenges of their generation. Peace Corps Volunteers are currently serving in more than 60 countries around the world. And since Peace Corps’ inception, more than 240,000 Americans have served in 142 different countries.