Thirty new cohorts of the United States Peace Corps Volunteers were sworn in yesterday to officially start volunteer service in health, education and agriculture.
The new cohorts, the largest in Ghana, have already completed their 10-week peace service training in Ghana and have met the full requirement for the government of Ghana.
They comprised 24 trainees who will be serving for the first time for two years in Ghana; three transferred volunteers from Sri Lanka, who will be doing their second year in Ghana and three transferred third-year volunteers from the Philippines, who will be doing their one-year volunteer.
They will serve in eight regions of the country, namely Ashanti, Bono, Bono East, Eastern, Greater Accra, Northern, Oti and Volta, working alongside community members, local leaders and government partners to foster sustainable development and deepen people-to-people ties.
The Chargé d’Affairs of the US Embassy in Accra, Rolf Olson, swore the volunteers in at the residence of the US ambassador to Ghana in Accra.
Peace Corps
This year marks the 65th anniversary of the US Peace Corps Volunteers in Ghana. In 1961, Ghana became the very first country in the world to welcome Peace Corps volunteers, an initiative launched by former US President, John F. Kennedy and warmly embraced by Ghana’s first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah.
Over the past 65 years, Ghana has hosted nearly 5,000 Peace Corps Volunteers who have contributed to capacity-building initiatives, supported underserved areas and fostered deep cultural exchange.
Volunteers
Swearing them in, Mr Olson said as volunteers, they were expected to bring their expertise, creativity and compassion to drive innovation and strengthen the Ghana-America partnership.
The Country Director of Peace Corps Volunteers, Tamu Daniel, said it was important for people to understand that Peace Corps was the place they could still give back and contribute in very real ways.
The Deputy Minister of Health, Dr Grace Ayensu-Danquah, paid tribute to the nearly 250,000 volunteers who had served in 144 countries across the world, adding that their courage, dedication and willingness to live and work alongside communities had left a legacy of service, which in Ghana was clearly visible.
Citing Ghana’s fight against Guinea Worm as an example, she said Peace Corps Volunteers, working alongside Ghanaian counterparts, played an important role in the country’s effort to achieve zero transmission by 2015.
“They helped promote behavioural changes, conducted case searches, and supported access to safe water in affected communities.
Their work formed part of the national movement that ultimately helped Ghana defeat a disease that once devastated many communities,” she explained.
Sharing his experience with Peace Corps Volunteers during his secondary school years at Sandema, the Deputy Minister of Education, Dr Clement Apaak, said the contribution of Peace Corps Volunteers to Ghana’s development, especially in education, had been significant and enduring.
Source:
www.graphic.com.gh