FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Hundreds of New Peace Corps Volunteers Sworn-in around the Holidays

WASHINGTON, D.C., Dec. 21, 2010 During the holiday season, nearly 450 Americans will be sworn into service as Peace Corps volunteers in Burkina Faso, Costa Rica, Jordan, Kenya, Niger, Rwanda, Tonga and Ukraine.

For the past two to three months, each of the new volunteers has undergone intensive cultural, language and technical training in their country of service. After they are sworn-in, each volunteer will leave for their assigned Peace Corps site in a local community. The volunteers will serve for a total of two years in their host communities.

The Peace Corps recruits, places, and trains Americans for volunteer service in 77 host countries throughout the year. Volunteers work across six program areas. There is no deadline to apply to serve with the Peace Corps.

The following list summarizes the Peace Corps swearing-in ceremonies scheduled to occur from December 9, 2010-January 4, 2011.

Burkina Faso
On Thursday, Dec. 16, 30 Peace Corps volunteers were sworn into service by the U.S. Ambassador to Burkina Faso Thomas Dougherty at his residence. The volunteers will work in small enterprise development and health. The volunteers, who completed nine weeks of training, were taught French and more than 10 local languages. After the ceremony, the volunteers left for their sites.

Costa Rica
On Friday, Dec. 17, 44 new Peace Corps volunteers were sworn into service by the U.S. Ambassador to Costa Rica Anne S. Andrew at Ambassadors residence. The newly sworn-in volunteers will work as English teachers and in community economic development. The volunteers, who completed 10 weeks of training, also learned Spanish.

Jordan
On Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2011, 40 new Peace Corps volunteers will be sworn into service at the Al al-Bayt University campus in Mafraq by U.S. Ambassador to Jordan, Robert Stephen Beecroft. The volunteers, who have all completed intensive Arabic training, will work as English teachers, special education teachers and youth development volunteers.

Kenya
On Wednesday, Dec. 15, 35 new Peace Corps volunteers were sworn-into service by U.S. Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission Lee Brudvig at the Ambassadors residence. The volunteers will work in deaf education, and math and science education. The volunteers, who completed eight-weeks of training, learned the language Kiswahili. After the ceremony, the new volunteers left for their sites.

Niger
On Thursday, Dec. 30, 41 new Peace Corps volunteers will be sworn in by the U.S. Ambassador to Niger, Bisa Williams, and the Peace Corps/Niger Country Director. The ceremony will take place at the Nigerien Chief of Missions residence. The new forestry and agricultural management, and community health volunteers, who have completed nine weeks of training, learned the languages of Hausa and Zarma. Following the ceremony, the volunteers will have lunch in Niamey before departing for their sites.

Rwanda
On Monday, Jan. 3, 2011, 67 new English, math and science Peace Corps volunteers will be sworn-in by U.S. Ambassador to Rwanda W. Stuart Symington at the Ambassadors residence in Kigali. Following the ceremony, the volunteers, who learned the language Kinyarwanda, will have lunch at the Peace Corps office before departing for their sites the following day.

Tonga
On Wednesday, Dec. 15, 26 new community education Peace Corps volunteers were sworn-in by Peace Corps/Tonga Country Director on the main island of Tongatapu. The volunteers, who completed 10 weeks of training, learned the language Tongan. Following the ceremony, volunteers serving in Tongatapu left directly for their sites. The volunteers serving on outer islands departed for their sites the following Friday.

Ukraine
On Thursday, Dec. 9, and Thursday, Dec. 16, 165 educations Peace Corps volunteers were sworn-in during two separate ceremonies. The volunteers, who completed 10 weeks of training, learned Ukrainian and Russian. Both ceremonies occurred at the Post Graduate Institute in Kyiv, and were administered by Deputy Chief of Mission, Eric T. Schultz. The new volunteers will work with secondary schools, universities, pedagogical colleges and teacher re-certification institutes to promote English language learning and to help teachers and students master English skills.

About the Peace Corps: President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps on March 1, 1961, by executive order. Peace Corps will commemorate 50 years of promoting peace and friendship around the world through 2011. Historically, more than 200,000 Americans have served with the Peace Corps to promote a better understanding between Americans and the people of 139 host countries. Today, 8,655 volunteers are working with local communities in 77 host countries. Peace Corps volunteers must be U.S. citizens and at least 18 years of age. Peace Corps service is a 27-month commitment.

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