Washington, D.C. – Peace Corps Director Ronald A. Tschetter announced today the launch of the new Peace Corps Kids World website at the National Service-Learning Conference in Minneapolis. The website, www.peacecorps.gov/kids, will provide an opportunity for kids to participate in a Peace Corps Challenge simulation game that exposes them to life as a Peace Corps Volunteer.

The Peace Corps Challenge game gives children the opportunity to work in the fictional village of Wanzuzu as a Peace Corps Volunteer. Kids must work with local villagers and Peace Corps members to solve eight different challenges facing Wanzuzu: water contamination, sanitation and disease, microfinance, barren fields, malaria, soil erosion, education of girls, and agroforestry. The game aims to teach kids about sustainable development at the grassroots level, as well as topical lessons on development, and expose kids to what Peace Corps Volunteers do as a way to spark their interest in volunteering.

In cooperation with the World Wise Schools program, the game will be supplemented with corresponding lesson plans for classroom use. Lesson plans, found at http://www.peacecorps.gov/wws/educators/enrichment/wanzuzu/, are available for grades 3-12, and teachers will have access to lessons on each of the eight challenge topics the game features.

Director Tschetter said, “This brand new tool will give schoolchildren the opportunity to experience being a Peace Corps Volunteer. The Peace Corps Kids website allows schoolchildren, and children of all ages, the ability to live and work like a Volunteer.”

The Peace Corps website draws over eight million visitors a year. In addition to the Kids World website, the Peace Corps maintains a website for teachers (www.peacecorps.gov/wws), a website for teens (www.peacecorps.gov/teens), and a website for 50+ Volunteers (www.peacecorps.gov/50plus).

The Peace Corps is celebrating a 47-year legacy of service at home and abroad. Currently there are 8,000 Volunteers abroad, a 37-year high for Volunteers in the field. Since 1961, more than 190,000 Volunteers have helped promote a better understanding between Americans and the people of the 139 countries where Volunteers have served. Peace Corps Volunteers must be U.S. citizens and at least 18 years of age. Peace Corps service is a 27-month commitment. To learn more about the Peace Corps, please visit our website: www.peacecorps.gov.

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