The History of Friends of Colombia

Friends of Colombia (FOC) first began to form in 1988 when Tom Bauder, a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer (RPCV) from one of the earliest volunteer cohorts, gathered other Colombia RPCVs who were attending the 25th anniversary of the Peace Corps in Washington D.C. This gathering initiated a chain reaction of letters, phone calls, and informal meetings that slowly led to the creation of the organizational by-laws, allowing Friends of Colombia to be incorporated in Maryland as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in December 1990.

The creation and initial growth of FOC was led by Tom and fellow RPCVs Bob Colombo, Pat Wand, Ruth Ann Gieser, and Gale Gibson. In 2001, Arleen Cheston was elected to replace Bob as board president, and Arleen and fellow RPCV Pat Wand, along with several others, took FOC into a new direction through the sponsorship of community-based projects and organizations in Colombia. FOC was also instrumental in reestablishing the Peace Corps in Colombia in 2010.

Peace Corps in Colombia Timeline

March 1, 1961

President John F. Kennedy signs an executive order establishing the Peace Corps.

June 25, 1961

The first group of Peace Corps Colombia volunteers reports for training.

September 18, 1961

Colombia I, the first group of Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs) to serve in Colombia, arrives in Colombia. They were just the second Peace Corps group to ever arrive overseas.

1961–1981

During the 1960’s, there were on average 1,200 PCVs serving in Colombia at any given time.

Many of the first PCVs in Colombia worked in community development, known as Acción Comunal. They helped organize rural communities to build or improve roads and schools, and, most importantly, provide training and complementary skill sets to contribute to the community’s goals for forward progress.

Subsequent cohorts worked in sports, university teaching, cooperatives, health and nutrition, architecture, educational television, literacy, agricultural development and diversification, and small business development.

1981

Due to safety and security concerns, Peace Corps closed the Colombia post. Between 1961–1981, more than 4,600 PCVs served in Colombia.

February 2008

FOC held a Reconnection Conference in Cartagena for RPCVs. Following this conference, FOC worked closely with Ambassador Barco and her staff to get Peace Corps back to Colombia.

February 2009

The Peace Corps is invited by the Colombian government to return to Colombia to support the Ministry of Education’s initiative to make all public schools fully bilingual by 2019.

May 11, 2010

The Peace Corps and the Colombian government sign an agreement to re-establish the Peace Corps in Colombia.

September 2010

Nine Peace Corps Response Volunteers (PCRVs) arrive in Colombia. The return was made possible in part by support from Friends of Colombia. Initially, all volunteers served predominantly in or near cities on the Caribbean coast.

Fall 2011

The first group of two-year PCVs arrives in Colombia, working in a program known as Teaching English for Livelihoods – TEL.

Summer 2016

The ninth group of volunteers since Colombia’s reopening, known as CII-9, becomes the first group of two-year volunteers to serve in the Community Economic Development (CED) program.

Fall 2019

Peace Corps Colombia expands beyond the Caribbean coast into the Andean region, including the department of Boyacá, with a group of TEFL volunteers arriving in December.

March 2020

Peace Corps evacuates all PCVs globally amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, including 96 PCVs in Colombia.

April 2022

The first group of Peace Corps Volunteers return to Colombia after a two-year hiatus.