The Peace Corps was invited to El Salvador and sent its first Volunteers in 1962. During the next 15 years, more than 1,500 Volunteers worked in 15- 20 sectors, serving primarily as project partners to government agencies and offices. In 1980, increasing violence prior to the civil war led the Peace Corps to close its offices. The destruction of economic and social infrastructure during the war sent El Salvador back to 1950s levels in most economic...