On the recordMarch 1, 2011
As a returned Peace Corps volunteer, I rise to recognize the work of the Peace Corps on its 50th anniversary. The Peace Corps has played an instrumental role in establishing prosperous foreign relations while fostering cross-cultural understandings. Countries from all over the globe celebrate the contributions of the Peace Corps and look forward with anticipation to its continued growth. In representing the Ethiopian Caucus here, I was in Ethiopia a couple of years ago and traveled extensively through Ethiopia during the 8 days I was there. I ran across some folks in the upper part of Ethiopia, and we talked about the Peace Corps. Immediately, a lot of the young people there brightened up, and asked, Do you know Garamendi? It was at that moment I remembered that our colleague Garamendi had served in Ethiopia. What struck me the most were the memories of people and the fact that we touched them in their youth. The influence that we had on the young people in the different countries had stayed with them, and they have become leaders in their own right in the countries in which we served.
