Most of the volunteers had just completed college. About half of them taught English or health care.

STEVE EMBER: In the fifty years since then, more than two hundred thousand Americans have served as Peace Corps volunteers. They have worked in one hundred thirty-nine countries.

The Peace Corps is a government agency that was created to promote world peace and friendship. There are three goals: First, to help the people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women. Second, to help promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the people served. And, third, to help promote a better understanding of other people on the part of Americans.

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FAITH LAPIDUS: By nineteen sixty-six, there were almost sixteen thousand volunteers and trainees. This was the height of the Peace Corps' popularity. It was also around the time when many young men were seeking an alternative to military service because of the Vietnam War.

Today, the Peace Corps has more than eight thousand volunteers and trainees in seventy-seven countries. They work in agriculture, economic development, education, the environment and health care. Some work in programs related to youth development.

The agriculture programs are designed to teach people how to produce food while protecting natural resources. In Thailand, for example, volunteers have taught farmers how to improve soil conditions. And in parts of Central Africa, Peace Corps volunteers have taught farmers how to raise freshwater fish.