Peace Corps News

Peace Corps/Kenya Program Reopening

After a four-month hiatus due to unrest after elections in December, a group of 24 Volunteers arrived in Nairobi on June 10. All of the returning Volunteers had been serving in Kenya when the instability began and the Peace Corps program was temporarily suspended. In announcing the return, Director Tschetter said, "We are absolutely delighted to see Peace Corps Volunteers return to Kenya. I visited the Volunteers in Kenya last summer, and I know the outstanding work they were doing and the goodwill and friendships they had developed in their Kenyan host communities. The Peace Corps has a deep relationship with the Kenyan people and we look forward to resuming our partnerships, particularly through this period of recovery."

A group of over 40 new Peace Corps Volunteers will be arriving in November, 2008, and focusing on education, small enterprise development, and ICT. A subsequent group of over 30 public heath Volunteers will arrive in June 2009. As a result of preliminary discussions with the Government of Kenya, the Peace Corps is also exploring the expansion of its youth-related programming.

Since 1965, more than 5,000 Peace Corps Volunteers have served in Kenya. In addition to the deaf education program, Volunteers have worked in the areas of education, small business development, and health and HIV/AIDS prevention. To learn more about the Peace Corps/Kenya, visit the Where Do Volunteers Go? web page.

Peace Corps/Kenya had a total of 144 Volunteers serving at the time of the elections in December, 2007. During the initial post-election unrest, Volunteers were consolidated in a variety of safe locations. On February 5, 2007, the Peace Corps temporarily suspended its program in Kenya due to the growing security concerns. Read more.

Kenyan Prime Minister Visits Peace Corps Headquarters

Peace Corps Director Ronald A. Tschetter welcomed the newly-appointed Prime Minister of Kenya, Raila Amolo Odinga, to address the Peace Corps staff as part of the Loret Miller Ruppe Speakers Series. The series is a forum for distinguished individuals to speak about issues related to the Peace Corps' mission, such as volunteerism, international peace and development, and public service.

The Prime Minister reaffirmed the Kenyan government's partnership with the Peace Corps, and joined in celebrating the return of Volunteers to his country. "Kenya has developed immensely because of the Peace Corps," said Prime Minister Odinga. "I see the Peace Corps as part of a bigger cooperation between Kenya and the United States. The Peace Corps has united the American people with the people of Kenya. I have had the opportunity to meet some Peace Corps Volunteers...they work with a lot of dedication."

Said Peace Corps Director Tschetter of the recent return of Volunteers to Kenya, "I am delighted to say that 24 Volunteers arrived in Kenya last week, and they are already back at work. This November, over 40 new Volunteers will arrive in Kenya, and we are working to have the program back up to capacity as quickly as we can."

Prime Minister Odinga also spoke about the unrest in Kenya following elections in December of 2007, and how the Kenyan people are now working together to move the country forward. "I want to extend a message of hope and welcome," he said. "We deeply express our thanks to the United States for the assistance that they have given us. By getting involved they have demonstrated that they are really true friends. We are ready for business again, Kenya is safe once again." Read more.

Peace Corps Returns to Rwanda

In 1994, the Peace Corps officially closed its program in Rwanda due to political instability in the country. At the invitation of the Government of Rwanda, Peace Corps will re-establish its presence in Rwanda this year and will play a role in assisting the government to meet its goals as outlined in Rwanda’s Vision 2020: “to reconstruct the nation and its social capital; develop a credible and efficient state governed by the rule of law; develop human resources in line with the objective to turn Rwanda into a prosperous knowledge-based economy; develop basic infrastructure including urban planning; develop entrepreneurship and the private sector; and modernize agriculture and animal husbandry.”

“We’ll be sending the Peace Corps back into Rwanda,” said President Bush. “First time it’s been here since 1993. These are good, decent folks, coming to your country simply to help—help people realize their God-given talents and realize the blessings of a peaceful, hopeful life.”

The Peace Corps will establish an office in Rwanda this summer, and by December, 35 Peace Corps Volunteer-trainees will arrive in the country. Fifteen of the Peace Corps Volunteers will work in the education sector, teaching English, math, science or information technology, while also addressing health and HIV/AIDS prevention and awareness. Twenty Peace Corps Volunteers will be funded by the President’s Plan for Emergency Relief (PEPFAR) and will focus on HIV/AIDS, collaborating directly with PEPFAR implementing organizations and the Rwandan Ministry of Health. These Volunteers will focus on three main components under PEPFAR: 1) care and treatment; 2) orphan and vulnerable children services; and 3) treatment, including home-based care services.

In the first year, Volunteers will be assigned to and collaborate closely with Rwandan administrative authorities at the district, sector, cell and local levels; international and Rwandan NGOs; associations; cooperatives; and private sector partners.

All Peace Corps Volunteers will receive training in Kinyarwanda and French, live and work for two years at the community level, and collaborate with their counterparts to build capacity and support sustainable HIV prevention efforts. Volunteers will also help build the capacity of rural communities to develop comprehensive HIV/AIDS prevention strategies, and will conduct community-based training and other outreach efforts focused on prevention through abstinence and being faithful. Education Volunteers will incorporate HIV/AIDS prevention activities into their classrooms, train fellow teachers, and organize after school programs.

Read more.

Jack Vaughn writes: Finally, candidates 'discover' Peace Corps

After nearly half a century of staying out of politics, partly by intent but mostly by law, the Peace Corps now is on the verge of political greatness - or at least bipartisan flattery. And as with so many other Peace Corps triumphs over the years, this latest political achievement was reached through coincidence.

During my six years in the Peace Corps, I can recall but one other instance where political flirtation raised its pretty head. It came after a senior staff meeting to which I had invited Republican senatorial icon Barry Goldwater. After serious questioning on what Kennedy's new agency was all about, Arizona's Goldwater swore that the Peace Corps embodied virtually every one of the most noble aspects and values of the Republican Party.

What the Peace Corps set out as its goals in 1961 coincides almost exactly with what most of our presidential candidates in 2008 have promised to seek at home, e.g. bringing real change, better health care, improved environmental protection, peace by means other than bludgeoning, burnishing the U.S. image abroad (an area in which the Peace Corps has no rival), promoting nonpartisan solutions, better education at all levels, with a major focus on helping the poor and disadvantaged.

As gratifying as it is for us old Peace Corps types to see our presidential candidates getting real about what the world needs now, a very significant question remains. Literally every Peace Corps volunteer comes home recognizing he or she got more than they gave, learned more than they taught and were changed for the good forever. Question: Is there a chance our next president, having talked the Peace Corps talk so faithfully and so long, will be able to stay real and walk the Peace Corps walk (while increasing the Peace Corps budget)?

Read more.

A majority of adults (55%) support increasing the federal budget to allow everyone who is qualified and wants to serve in full-time service programs such as the Peace Corps and AmeriCorps to do so

A majority of adults (55%) support increasing the federal budget to allow everyone who is qualified and wants to serve in full-time service programs such as the Peace Corps and AmeriCorps to do so
In a recent Harris Poll, nearly three in four (73%) U.S. adults agree that it is important for young people to serve their country, but that this service should be voluntary. When given an array of non-military civilian service opportunities, like tutoring and mentoring disadvantaged youth, improving health services, building affordable housing, cleaning parks and streams and helping communities respond to disasters or a military option, almost two-thirds of adults (63%) agree that there should be another option in which young people can serve their country.

These are some of the results of a Harris Poll of 2,337 U.S. adults conducted online between January 11 and 18, 2007 by Harris Interactive(R). This survey was conceived and developed by Harris Interactive and was not commissioned by any organization. However, valuable input was sought and received from the National Youth Leadership Council.

Adults are not ready to reinstitute drafting young adults into service -- military or civilian. Slightly more than four in 10 adults (43%) support a draft of young adults where they could choose to serve in the military or in non-military civilian service. Only one in four (24%) support a draft for military service and far fewer adults support a draft of young adults only for non-military civilian service (14%). However, over three-quarters (77%) disagree with the concept that it is not important for young people to serve their country.

A majority of adults (55%) support increasing the federal budget to allow everyone who is qualified and wants to serve in full-time service programs such as the Peace Corps and AmeriCorps to do so. Just under one-third (30%) oppose this idea. Support for increasing the federal budget for these programs is consistent across the generations as well as between the genders. There is also strong support for this idea amongst those who have earned post graduate degrees (64%).

Looking across party lines, somewhat stronger support for increasing the federal budget comes from Democrats (61%) and Independents (59%), than from Republicans (52%). Nevertheless, it appears to have bipartisan support. When we look at political ideology, it is a little different. While two-thirds of Liberals (66%) support an increase in the federal budget, only 44 percent of Conservatives feel the same way.

"What is significant about these results is the agreement across demographic groups and ideological lines. Republicans, Democrats and Independents all support higher funding for non-military civilian service opportunities," said Chris Moessner, Research Director in the Youth and Education Research Practice at Harris Interactive.

Jim Kielsmeier, President and CEO of National Youth Leadership Council offered these comments, "When the need is clear, America's youth respond. Military enlistments went way up after 9/11. Likewise, the volunteer response by AmeriCorps members and college and high school students to Hurricane Katrina was dramatic. Hundreds of thousands of young people headed to the Gulf Coast to help out -- often filling in for deployed National Guard troop. The current generation of draft-eligible youth and their younger counterparts are volunteering at record rates according to the Corporation for National and Community Service, the government's primary volunteer service agency and AmeriCorps manager. An estimated 55 percent of youth ages 12 to 18, about 15.5 million, volunteer." Read more.

Senator Chris Dodd says he would like to expand the Peace Corps to 100,000 from the 7,000 currently serving
A former Peace Corps volunteer, Dodd said he would like to expand the corps to 100,000 from the 7,000 currently serving. There are only two Arab-speaking countries — Jordan and Morocco — with Peace Corps volunteer programs. "We haven't been asked to be something larger than ourselves for a long time," he said. Read more.

"John Kennedy, when he sent off the first Peace Corps volunteers...said you know it’s going to be a great thing in 40 or 50 years from now there will have been a million young people in this country that will have served their nation in a foreign nation..That’s going to help us in the conduct of foreign policy with a better understanding of what’s going on."

"Well, there have only been 170,000 of us that have come back as Peace Corps volunteers, but that experience was life altering and changing. You respected other people, you listened to them. It gives you a better perspective on your own country. I came back with a deeper appreciation of what the United States was and what it could do as a result of that experience." Read more.

Read more about National Service and the Peace Corps.

First Cambodia Peace Corps Volunteers sworn in

Peace Corps sends first ever mission to Cambodia
Three Americans sang the Cambodian national anthem in the Khmer language at a ceremony in Phnom Penh on Wednesday to herald the official start of the U.S. Peace Corps' first volunteer program in this impoverished Southeast Asian nation. All 400 attendees stood as Sam and Kara Snyder, a couple from Buffalo, New York, and Autumn West, from Greenback, Tennessee, opened the event by singing the national anthem in Khmer. They then sang the U.S. national anthem while their fellow volunteers and American officials stood to attention with their hands on their chests.

Conor Cronin, from Scarsdale, New York, delighted the audience by delivering a speech in Cambodian, with Felicidad Garcia, from Miami, Florida, acting as his translator for the American guests. The crowd laughed when Cronin joked that he was chosen to give the speech because he was "the most handsome volunteer." "We, the volunteers, have come to Cambodia from different parts of America, each with a different history. But we are all here ... with the same commitment to serve as best as possible in every way," Cronin said. Read more.

Caption: Peace Corps Cambodia volunteers clap during a swearing-in ceremony at National Institute of Education in Phnom Penh on April 4, 2007. Thirty English teachers, the first group of Peace Corps volunteers will serve in Cambodia teaching English at the upper secondary level and supporting teachers in Cambodian provinces and districts to improve their English language and teaching skills. Reuters/Chor Sokunthea

Tschetter swears in first Cambodia Peace Corps Volunteers
Peace Corps Director Ron Tschetter swore-in Peace Corps' first group of Volunteers, signifying the beginning of an historic new partnership with the Kingdom of Cambodia. “This first group of Peace Corps Volunteers is bringing with them the great tradition of service and friendship to an extraordinary country and a remarkable people,” said Director Tschetter. “They are not only trained professionals, but they are dedicated Americans who share in common a spirit of service and a commitment to make a difference in the lives of the citizens of Cambodia.” New Peace Corps Volunteers during their swearing in ceremony in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia Joseph A. Mussomeli also participated in the swearing-in ceremony. He remarked, “Cambodia is the kind of country President Kennedy had in mind when he created the Peace Corps. Peace Corps Volunteers do more to advance freedom and justice in the world and protect American ideals and principles than any other program of the United States government.” Director Tschetter thanking His Majesty King Sihamoni of Cambodia for the warm hospitality and friendly welcome of the Cambodian people

Following the swearing-in ceremony, Director Tschetter had an audience with His Majesty King Sihamoni and thanked His Majesty for the warm hospitality and friendly welcome of the Cambodian people. In return, His Majesty said, “On behalf of the Cambodian people, we are grateful for your initiative and cooperation and we thank the Peace Corps and the American people for their work in advancing peace and stability in Cambodia.” Read more.

Read more about Peace Corps Cambodia.

First Peace Corps Volunteers to Serve in Cambodia

First Peace Corps Volunteers to Serve in Cambodia
Peace Corps is launching its program in Cambodia with an English as a foreign language project. Volunteers will teach English at the upper secondary level and support teachers in Cambodian provinces and districts to improve their English language and English teaching skills. The scope of the Volunteers’ work, however, will not be limited to classroom teaching. Volunteers will also collaborate with community groups and individuals to develop sustainable community activities to enhance the quality of life for Cambodians in the communities where they serve.  "We are excited to begin this historic new program for the Peace Corps in Cambodia," said Peace Corps Director Ron Tschetter. “The Cambodian people have extended their warm invitation, and we look forward to working with them. We are enthusiastic about this opportunity to build lasting friendships and a mutual understanding with the people of Cambodia.”  Read more.

Emi Caitlin Ishigooka is among first Peace Corps volunteers to be assigned to Cambodia
Ishigooka is one of 30 volunteers who will leave for Phnom Penh Jan. 31. After three months of training in Cambodia's capitol, the volunteers will disperse to rural areas. Like Ishigooka, they will teach English as a second language to high school-aged children. To prepare for her assignment, Ishigooka has been spending the last three weeks receiving Khmer language lessons from Nanh Toun. On a Wednesday afternoon, Ishigooka and Toun sit together in Toun's upstairs apartment on 17th Street near Poly High. On a couch beneath a picture of the Angkor Wat temple complex taped to the wall, Toun and Ishigooka work through the Khmer alphabet from a first-grade level book. Toun patiently guides Ishigooka through subtle sound variations in the Khmer language. Occasionally, he gives her phrases and tips for conversation that she jots down in a notebook.  Read more.

From 2004: Peru RPCV John McAuliff, Executive Director of the Fund for Reconciliation and Development, hosts reception for Her Excellency Mme. SUN Saphoeun, Under Secretary of State, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Kingdom of Cambodia
"At the outset, I wish to take this opportunity to thank the Fund for Reconciliation and Development (FRD), in particular Mr. John McAuliff, for organizing this regular meeting as well as for inviting the Cambodian delegation to take part in this important event. Every year, on the sideline of the UN General Assembly meeting, the Fund for Reconciliation has been constantly organizing this particular forum as an important venue for exchanging views and updating information on the latest development in countries, such as the Kingdom of Cambodia, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam."  Read more.

Read more about Peace Corps Cambodia.