Bernstein, whose wife died two years ago, said he was looking for something to make his life rewarding.
"If I weren't working, I'd say: 'What am I getting up in the morning for?"' the engineer and Yale graduate said in a telephone interview from Ghana, where he teaches biology, chemistry, and physics to children in secondary school.
When the Peace Corps was created in 1961, the idea of promoting world peace by supplying developing nations with trained manpower was irresistible to many young volunteers.
Today, about 5 percent of the Peace Corps' 8,079 volunteers are 50 or older, many of them serving as teachers. The number of applications from people in that age group has jumped nearly 40 percent this year. That's 9.4 percent of the total number of applicants, the highest percentage in the 47-year history of the corps.
"It seems this generation is still looking to put their skills and knowledge to work," said Christine Torres, Peace Corps spokeswoman.
The agency still recruits the young heavily. But the experience of older volunteers qualifies them for higher-level programs, Torres said, and they command an instant respect because elders are revered in many cultures.
A Peace Corps website has been created for this group. Brochures and direct mailings target those 50-and-older who fit the Peace Corps profile.
Former volunteers who served when they were 50 or older were hired and placed in the agency's 11 regional offices to recruit people their own age. Information sessions for older prospective volunteers are being held at libraries, Rotary Clubs, AARP meetings, and colleges that offer courses for seniors.
To make it easier to learn foreign languages, more emphasis is being placed on oral and visual teaching and less on written materials.
Offices are being stocked with more and different medications and medical equipment directed at illnesses common to seniors.
The oldest volunteer in Peace Corps history was Arthur Goodfriend of Honolulu. He finished his second tour in Hungary in 1994 at 86.
Older volunteers don't always complete their service. Sometimes health problems or family obligations come up.
Margaret Pratley, 82, of Berkeley, Calif., joined the Peace Corps at 60 after retiring as a schoolteacher and went to Africa to teach English, then to Sri Lanka. Pratley returned home because arthritis and headaches were slowing her down. But she rejoined the Peace Corps at 79 and worked in Thailand before finally leaving.
She misses it.
"When you retire, what do you do? You don't just shut down," she said.
