GLOW: Girls Leading Our World. Way back before Denver, the original name of this blog was "Glow 4 Hillary." I used a lighthouse theme at the time.
Remarks at Camp GLOW, Peace Corps, PEPFAR Event
Remarks
Hillary Rodham Clinton Secretary of State
Camp GLOW
Lilongwe, Malawi
August 5, 2012
SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you so much. Good afternoon. AUDIENCE: Good afternoon. SECRETARY CLINTON: It is such an honor and a pleasure for me
to be here. I want to recognize all of the ministers and thank them for
coming, for representing the Government of Malawi. I want to thank the
head teacher and all of the teachers who are part of this program and
who also provide the education for young women and young men throughout
the year here in Malawi. I want to thank the director and all the
volunteers from the Peace Corps who are here working. We are very proud
of all of you. I wish to recognize the Ambassador from the United States
to Malawi. And as it is said in southern Africa, all protocols
observed. (Laughter.)
Thank you for this warm welcome. And thank you very much for being
here and being part of this program about which I have already heard so
much. And I have seen an excellent example of one young woman who is
fulfilling the promise of the slogans and the curriculum and the efforts
here at the camp to imbue young women with an understanding of their
own internal talents and opportunities and aspirations, and then to
develop your own God-given potential and make a contribution not only to
your families and communities but indeed to your country.
And I’m very proud of our Peace Corps volunteers because they too are
standing up for the idea that every young woman can make a difference
in her own life and in her community. And it is a great pleasure for me
always, as I travel around the world, to meet Peace Corps volunteers,
who represent the great values and ideals of our nation.
I think your being here illustrates how important it is to give young
people in the world today a chance to come together and to learn skills
that will last you a lifetime. I had that opportunity growing up. I was
a girl scout. I would go to camp. I would learn how to do things. I
would feel good about myself because I had learned a new skill. I would
have fun with the other girls. And it was a very worthwhile experience
and important part of my development. And because I had role models that
I could look up to, I knew that there were opportunities for me if I
worked hard in school, I learned what I could, and then I put my
education to work.
But of course, my biggest role model was my own mother and the work
that she did not only raising us, but instilling in me the importance of
an education and the importance of service of those of us who are
educated, of those of us who can speak as well as you just did, making
it possible to contribute.
And I had a wonderful meeting this morning with your President,
President Banda. And I am so proud to come to a country with a woman
President, who is setting an example, who herself is a leader and a role
model. (Applause.)
I think it’s so important for those of us here this afternoon to
realize that change is inevitable. We do not know what tomorrow or next
year will bring, but we know that we have the opportunity, if we are
well prepared, if we work together, to try to make it a better future.
And when I think about your futures here in Malawi, I want you to know
that the United States is your partner. You know that the Peace Corps
volunteers are not only working with you, they’re cheering for you. They
really believe in you. And to other programs of the United States
Government – Feed the Future, we’re trying to help more farmers in
Malawi do a better job to make more income for their own families. To
our health programs, we’re trying to make sure that babies are born
healthy, that mothers are healthy, that people can fight against
HIV/AIDS and malaria and tuberculosis and other diseases.
And we also believe strongly in the human potential of Malawi,
because after all, those are the greatest treasures that any country
has. Some countries may have oil or gold or diamonds, but the greatest
treasure are the people of every country, which is why investing in the
future of the children of a country is the best investment that we can
make. So we’re establishing an internship program at the Peace Corps
office for a few graduates of Camp GLOW. We’re supporting nurse training
for over 2,400 Malawians between 2010 and 2015. We will soon be
recruiting American doctors and nurses to help train more health workers
here in Malawi. And there’s many more of these kinds of activities
because the United States really believes that the future of Malawi is
bright. (Applause.)
But we know that most of the work has to be done here in this
country. You can have friends like us and others who are around the
world who are helping you or providing assistance or running programs
like this, but ultimately, as it is in every country, it is up to the
people. What kind of government do you want? Do you want an accountable,
honest government where leaders are responsible to the voters? What
kind of economy do you want? Do you want an economy that empowers
individuals to start their own businesses, to dream big dreams? Do you
want an education system – and the Minister of Education is here – that
will give you the tools you need to make not just a living but a life
here in Malawi?
I’m here as the first Secretary of State from my country ever to
visit your country – (applause) – because President Obama and I believe
that when Malawi stood up for democracy, when you stood up for your
constitution, you showed the world something very important. (Applause.)
You showed the world what kind of people you were. And that sent a
message everywhere. Your Minister of Foreign Affairs travels all over
the world on behalf of your country, and I’m sure he has heard what I
have heard about the great admiration people have for what Malawi did.
So I am here to send a very simple message: The United States wants
to be your partner and your friend. But we believe in you. We believe
that you will make a difference. And we want to be there supporting you
as you do.
And on a personal note, I know how important it is that everyone in a
country contribute. That’s why women and girls have to be involved just
as much as men and boys, have to go as far as you can in education,
have to be committed to building a good life for yourselves and your
family, have to be citizens voting and caring about what kind of
government you have. That’s what I see for the future of Malawi. And I
see it here at Camp GLOW, where it’s not just singing songs, although
I’d love to hear you sing again. (Laughter.) It is about the lessons you
learn, the people you meet, the leaders and the mentors who are here to
answer questions and offer guidance, because they’re preparing you for a
new Malawi and for the opportunities that will bring to each and every
one of you and to your country.
I’m very excited about what you will accomplish in the future. I’m
very excited to have had a chance to hear Anna speak for all of you. And
I want you to know that we are here because we think you can make a
difference, and we’re going to count on it.
So thank you for the very warm welcome that you have given to me and
to my delegation. And I’m going to ask the Peace Corps to give me many
reports about how you are doing – (laughter) – so that when I come next
to Malawi, which I hope to do in the not too distant future, I will see
more young women alongside young men as the new leaders of your country.
Thank you all very much. (Applause.)
These remarks were pre-recorded and shown at today's event at the State Department.
Remarks at the Reception Marking the 50th Anniversary of the Peace Corps
Remarks
Hillary Rodham Clinton Secretary of State
Judith A. McHale Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs
Ben Franklin Room
Washington, DC
March 15, 2011
UNDER SECRETARY MCHALE: Thank you, Aaron. And thanks to all of the volunteers past and present for answering the call to service. I’m honored to be part of the Peace Corps’s golden anniversary and to celebrate all its contributions to the world.
I’d also like to add my welcome to the members of the Kennedy and Shriver families joining us today. Your families have set the standard of public service in our country for many years, and we appreciate your ongoing dedication.
I’m delighted to welcome our distinguished ambassadors representing Peace Corps host countries, including the ambassadors from Ghana and Tanzania, the first countries to host volunteers 50 years ago. The Peace Corps would never have gotten off the ground if other nations hadn’t thought it was a good and worthwhile venture, so thank you all for taking this journey with the United States.
And welcome to the members of the Congress, the former Peace Corps directors, and my colleagues from the State Department and throughout the Obama Administration. Thank you for all the time and involvement you have put into making the Peace Corps a signature achievement of American outreach and service to the world.
As you all know, and as Aaron mentioned, Secretary Clinton is traveling, and unfortunately, she could not join us today. I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that she’d far rather be here than where she is at the moment. (Laughter.) But she asked me to share this special message with you:
SECRETARY CLINTON: (Via videotape) I am delighted to send my very best wishes as you celebrate the more than 200,000 Americans who have answered the call to service first issued by President Kennedy and Sargent Shriver in 1961.
For 50 years, Peace Corps volunteers have been our ambassadors to the world. They’re often the first American in their host community and the first American that many have ever met. They share their generosity, creativity and skills in ways that change lives and deepen understanding across cultures.
I have seen first-hand the enthusiasm and commitment of our volunteers around the world. I will never forget meeting volunteer Muriel Johnston in Morocco, who at age 86 reminds all of us to dream big and follow our hearts. Many of my colleagues as the State Department and at USAID began their careers in the Peace Corps, and it gave them the foundation to bridge cultural divides and inspired them to think about what we can accomplish together so around the world countless individuals have the opportunity to pursue their dreams and live up to their potential because a Peace Corps volunteer changed their lives.
The world has moved on since 1961, but the agency’s mission to promote world peace and friendship is timeless. On behalf of the State Department and USAID, I would like to thank all Peace Corps volunteers past, present, and future for your commitment to peace and friendship. Thank you all very much. (Applause.)
UNDER SECRETARY MCHALE: Secretary Clinton’s remarks reminded me of another famous Secretary of State. In 1961 Dean Rusk predicted – and I quote – “If the Peace Corps can let other peoples find out what this country is all about, we shall be surprised to discover how many allies America has all over the world.” Fifty years later, we can see just how accurate Secretary Rusk’s prediction was and how important it remains today.
In the era of internet connections and mobile communications, citizen diplomacy has taken on a new level of significance. America’s best ambassadors no longer wear three-piece suits, and I often say that even if every member of our missions overseas did nothing but public diplomacy all day, it would not be nearly enough. We need an avalanche of unique American voices speaking about their beliefs and representing our country abroad.
Our Peace Corps volunteers are those fulltime citizen diplomats. Even dressed in sandals or covered in mud, they have shown the best of America day in and day out to the people of almost 140 nations. Instead of Blackberries, they carry seeds and schoolbooks and soccer balls. They live and work outside embassy compounds and alongside the people they serve.
As Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy, I focus on strengthening the indispensible people-to-people connections that the Peace Corps helped pioneer, the simple conversations that grow into friendships and become lifelong bonds, bonds that cross continents and cultures to help us discover how much more unites us than divides us, bonds that allow us to explore differences openly and learn something new about ourselves and about each other.
It’s telling that Peace Corps volunteers don’t refer to themselves as former anything. They are simply returned. As is so often the case, Peace Corps volunteers commit to making a difference for others and in turn find themselves forever changed.
As Secretary Clinton mentioned, we have over 400 returned Peace Corps volunteers working in positions throughout the State Department, from entry level officers all the way up to ambassadors. They are a testament to the spark of service and the global awareness the Peace Corps ignites in its volunteers. From the beginning, we have recognized the two-way power of the Peace Corps to build acceptance and understanding between people. The first two Peace Corps goals emphasize American service and promoting understanding abroad, but the third recognizes the crucial role the Peace Corps plays in promoting a better understanding of other cultures at home. America is enriched each time a new idea or a different tradition touches us. So returned volunteers aren’t finished when they cross our borders.
You are responsible for sharing your experiences and new understandings with your local communities. And as the ripples of friendship spread outward from Peace Corps volunteers and host communities, they bring about big changes: big changes in the families where girls as well as boys grow up glowing with confidence and empowered to be leaders; big changes in the schools where skilled teachers shape generations of eager students long after the Peace Corps volunteer who helped train them returns to the United States; big changes in the communities across America that embrace their returning sons and daughters as well as new families in Indonesia or Ukraine or Ecuador.
For 50 years, the Peace Corps has strengthened our nation and forged connections with the formerly far places of the world. Imagine what another 50 years will bring both for us and our partner countries. In February of 1961, a young woman named Jackie Marie Cipiti was one of thousands of energized youth who wrote a letter to President Kennedy. Jackie was preparing to graduate from Bowling Green State University in Ohio. She was eager to know more about President Kennedy’s proposed Youth Corps and to find out how she could serve. She wrote, and I quote, “We as Americans, but more than Americans, as people of a world community, must think big. And these thoughts must be accompanied by small actions – small actions which are as building bricks, placed one upon the other, until the idea becomes a reality.” Well, for over half a century, Peace Corps volunteers just like Jackie have been building their big ideas into a better reality for us all – brick by brick, classroom by classroom, village by village, in countries all over the world.
Our world today changes from moment to moment. People can make and break connections with the click of a mouse. But the Peace Corps remains an unshakable emblem of America’s enduring friendship with the world and of our shared commitment to work towards a brighter future for us all. So with Secretary Clinton, and on behalf of everyone at the State Department, I want to thank the Peace Corps and more than 200,000 American volunteers for 50 years of service. Your work has touched the lives of millions of people around the world. You make a difference every day. And I wish the Peace Corps many more decades of good work.
And now I’d like to invite Director Williams, back along with Tim Shriver, to honor the man who turned President Kennedy’s big idea into an even bigger reality, Sargent Shriver. Thank you very much. (Applause.)
Fifty years ago a pilot program called the Peace Corps started with President Kennedy’s signature, led by Sargent Shriver and fueled by the compassion and generosity of the American people. Today this is the foundation of a public service movement that represents the best the United States has to offer. More than 8,600 Peace Corps volunteers from all 50 states serve in 77 countries as community leaders, teachers and mentors. They are united by a desire to create a more peaceful, prosperous world from the ground up. Peace Corps volunteers make a difference, whether it is teaching in a classroom, distributing bed nets to assist in malaria prevention, or sharing ideas that inspire the planet’s young people.
As Secretary of State, I was fortunate to swear-in a group of new volunteers who are now serving in the Philippines. I have seen firsthand the enthusiasm of volunteers and staff in Guatemala, Ukraine, the Kyrgyz Republic, Cambodia and in other countries around the world. I have met volunteers who are old and young, first generation Americans, and the sons and daughters of returned volunteers. In Morocco, I met volunteer Muriel Johnston, who at 86 years old encourages all of us to think about what we can accomplish at any age. Peace Corps volunteers represent the diversity of our great country and share one common attribute: they inspire millions of people around the world to think about what we can accomplish together.
Every day, I work with dedicated colleagues at the State Department and USAID, many of whom paved the foundation for their careers in the Foreign Service and civil service with their years in the Peace Corps. The Peace Corps taught them compassion, patience, and continues to bridge cross-cultural divides.
On this 50th anniversary, the United States honors the over 200,000 Americans who have answered the call to serve and thanks the 139 countries that have welcomed Peace Corps volunteers as family and friends for half a century. Let us take this opportunity to remember President Kennedy and Sargent Shriver’s vision and rededicate ourselves to a world of deeper cultural understanding where every man, woman and child has the opportunity to live up to his or her potential.
