Washington, D.C., March 20, 1998—President Clinton will visit with three Peace Corps volunteers in Uganda on Tuesday, March 24, the second day of his historic 10 day trip to Africa.
The first U.S. President to visit Africa in more than 20 years, President Clinton will meet with the Peace Corps volunteers at the Kisawera Primary School and resource center, where he make an announcement about his Education for Development and Democracy Initiative.
Three Peace Corps Volunteers will give the President a tour of the school and the resource center: Monica Ford, 30, of Philadelphia, Michelle Meekins, 23, of Wallingford, Penn., and Jane Shreyas, 62, of Sumner, Wash.
"We are delighted the President has chosen to meet with our volunteers in Uganda, just one day after visiting 30 volunteers in Ghana" said Peace Corps Director Mark Gearan. "It demonstrates the importance the President places on the work of our volunteers."
Ford, Meekins and Shreyas are just three of the 48 Peace Corps volunteers currently serving in Uganda, working in education, small business development and environmental education.
Because interest in the Peace Corps remains so strong at home, President Clinton has proposed expanding the Peace Corps, putting the agency on the path to 10,000 volunteers serving overseas by the year 2000. The proposal is the largest funding increase requested for the Peace Corps since the 1960s.
Currently, about 6,500 Peace Corps volunteers are working in 84 countries to help fight hunger, bring clean water to communities, teach children, protect the environment, start new businesses, and prevent the spread of AIDS. Since 1961, more than 150,000 Americans have joined the Peace Corps.