Is the Peace Corps today much different from when President Kennedy launched it?
HODGKINSON: The Peace Corps is certainly reflecting different generations, responding to different time periods. I know a lot of adults who joined the Peace Corps when new democracies were emerging in Eastern and Central Europe. They went there to help people learn English. That was terrific. OIP: Do you think the Peace Corps is as valuable today as ever? HODGKINSON: It is terribly important that we continue the Peace Corps, because it’s only through such efforts that we can address one of the underlying causes of what we experienced on September 11, conditions of enormous poverty and hopelessness throughout the world. The Peace Corps provides services but it also creates more understanding among Americans of what people have to cope with in other parts of the world. OIP: What do you think Americans are searching for in turning to the Peace Corps? HODGKINSON: One of the benefits of the Peace Corps is that it gives Americans an understanding of the obligations of citizenship. We no long
