About

The Peace Corps has a long history in Panama. The first Volunteers began work in 1963 and continued serving in Panama until May 1971. In February 1990, the Panamanian government asked the Peace Corps to return, and the program has continued without interruption ever since.

Panama has a complex history in which national and international actors have influenced resource management, public services and economic policy. Certain sectors of the population are particularly impacted by the inequality of opportunities to access primary resources. In these areas, Volunteers collaborate with community members and partner agency counterparts to address community goals.

Peace Corps Panama Volunteers are catalysts of hope and inspire the potential of the underserved. We work in coordination with our strategic partners. We are a committed and talented staff, that continuously learn, improving our abilities, creating a fun, creative, and innovative, intercultural environment the promotes work and life balance.

Peace Corps Volunteers in Panama work in partnership with community members to co-facilitate sustainable development in the areas of Youth Development, Environment, Agriculture and Health, encouraging the leadership of the people they serve and their ability to improve their own lives through our main projects:

• Youth Leadership and Development (YLD)
• Community Environmental Conservation (CEC)
• Sustainable Agriculture Systems (SAS)
• Youth Health and Well Being (SABIA)

All Volunteers in Panama support our Cross-Sector Programming Priorities: youth development, and gender equality and women's empowerment.

Peace Corps Response

The Peace Corps Response program in Panama provides high impact, short-term (three to twelve months) technical assistance and capacity building to members of organizations, institutions, NGOs, and government entities in Panama. This model of Peace Corps service directly supports host country strategic partners to fulfill goals and objectives within their agencies, organizations or institutions that other sectors may not be able to reach. Peace Corps Response amplifies the impact of the traditional 2 year programs in Panama—Community Environmental Conservation, Sustainable Agricultural Systems, Youth Health and Well-Being and Youth Leadership Development—by supporting their local stakeholders, government entities, NGOs, and organizations in sustainable and creative ways. As such, the Peace Corps Response model allows for opportunities for service that appeal to people with diverse volunteering interests.