The first group of Peace Corps Volunteers arrived in Ecuador on August 7, 1962. Since that time, more than 5,700 Volunteers have served in almost every imaginable capacity, from working on rural electrification and organic family gardens to teaching in preschool centers and universities. There are few communities in the country where Peace Corps Volunteers have not left their mark over the past 40 years. One town even has a main street named for a Volunteer who served there many years ago.
As conditions in Ecuador have changed, the Peace Corps has refined and adapted its programs to target those areas most in need of the support the Peace Corps can provide. Peace Corps/Ecuador defines its mission as follows: Peace Corps/Ecuador promotes sustainable development that will improve the quality of life of the populations with whom we collaborate. Through activities focused on income generation, nonformal education, strengthening local organizations, and protecting the environment, our three programs — Health and Well-Being, Youth and Families, and Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL)—are our tools to achieve our goals.
