Peace Corps Director Jody Olsen’s Statement on the Passing of President HW Bush

WASHINGTON – Peace Corps Director Jody Olsen released the following statement on the passing of President George H.W. Bush.  https://www.peacecorps.gov/news/library/statement-peace-corps-director-jody-olsen-passing-president-george-hw-bush/

“As we pause for a National Day of Mourning today, we send our deepest condolences to the Bush family. We also express our tremendous gratitude for President Bush, for his leadership, his kindness and his lifetime of serving others.

“George Bush was a steadfast friend to the Peace Corps and we will miss him dearly. His close friendship with Peace Corps Director Loret Miller Ruppe during his eight years as vice president made it natural for him to reach to out to volunteers whenever he or First Lady Barbara Bush traveled.

“Based on his earlier visits to Peace Corps volunteers, when the Soviet Union fell, President Bush recognized possibilities for the Peace Corps in that region of the world. In a Rose Garden ceremony in 1990, he celebrated the Americans departing to serve as the first Peace Corps volunteers in Hungary and Poland—60 to each country. At that event, he stated, ‘It is as if the Peace Corps has been in training for this historical moment. It shows our mission, our desire for peace knows no political or geographical bounds.’

“He knew that Peace Corps could offer unique support as no other U.S. Government agency could. Subsequent to that historic ceremony, Peace Corps volunteers have served in 19 countries that were formerly part of the Soviet orbit.

“President Bush gave us the courage to boldly step forward towards regions of the world with which we now have enduring friendships. Who Peace Corps is today can be drawn in part from this extraordinary person who led our country.”