A hallmark innovation of the Kennedy administration, the Peace Corps sent Americans to Third World countries as volunteers in the struggle against poverty, hunger, illiteracy, and disease. While working to improve conditions in communities all over the world, they exemplified American idealism for the people they served. Upon their return home, their knowledge of their host countries helped to promote international understanding.
Dugout Canoe
Wood, iron
192 x 19 in.
This canoe was handmade in Tanganyika (now Tanzania) and presented to President Kennedy by the Rufiji District Council in gratitude for Kennedy's work in creating the Peace Corps. Tanganyika was one of the first countries to receive Peace Corps volunteers.
Woven Basket
Fiber
Diameter: 18 1/2 in.
This basket woven in the Rufiji District of Tanganyika (now Tanzania) accompanied the canoe presented to President Kennedy by the Rufiji District Council.
Adze
Wood, Iron
19 ¼ in.
This hand tool was presented to President Kennedy by the Rufiji District council in Tanganyika (now Tanzania) together with a dugout canoe and other tools. Some of the first Peace Corps volunteers served in this part of East Africa.
Peace Corps Volunteer Joe Grant Playing Baseball
Silver Gelatin print
Joe Grant, a Peace Corps volunteer from the Bronx, N.Y., coached baseball as part of his duties as a physical education instructor in Chimbote, a town on the coast of Peru.
Sargent Shriver and John F. Kennedy
Silver Gelatin print
President Kennedy hands a pen to R. Sargent Shriver, the first director of Peace Corps, after signing the Act permanently establishing the agency on September 1, 1961.