Director's Welcome

Welcome to Peace Corps Sri Lanka

Greetings from Sri Lanka!

I hope this website has given you some insights on what service and life will be like in Sri Lanka. This country has a unique and complex history, a vibrant culture and a bright future. As a Peace Corps Volunteer, you will have the great privilege of living among Sri Lankans who are warm and welcoming and eager to work alongside you. You will be supported by a Peace Corps Staff team that is passionate about the development of their country and the contributions that Peace Corps Volunteers will make working with their local counterparts.

The Government of Sri Lanka invited Peace Corps to return to Sri Lanka after a 20-year hiatus to support English language education across the island. Volunteers will take on the highly respected role of teacher in public middle and high schools in working side-by-side with Sri Lankan teachers of English in rural, under-served areas. Peace Corps Volunteers are well-suited to build students’ confidence and speaking skills through the development of student-centered, communicative language learning classrooms. Counterpart teachers will also gain confidence and new techniques in implementing these methods, as well as improve their own English language skills, through co-teaching. Beyond formal teaching assignments, Volunteers will be encouraged to support the school, working with community members, to improve the school environment and conduct after-school activities to support student development.

Serving in Sri Lanka will be both rewarding and transformative, but it will not always be easy. You will go through a rigorous pre-service training where you will live with host families for about ten weeks and focus on acquiring language (Sinhala or Tamil), cross-cultural, technical and health/safety skills. Once you are “sworn-in” at the end of your training, you will move to your permanent site where you will live with a host family for the next two years. Every day, you will interact with your family, your students, school colleagues, and community members. No day will be the same, some will be routine and others will be unforgettable. You will establish friendships and connections that will last a lifetime and exchange ideas that will challenge your perspectives. You will be changed and will change others.

As part of the first batch of Volunteers to re-open Peace Corps Sri Lanka, you will need extra reserves of flexibility, patience and resilience. You will be called upon to provide recommendations and feedback that will benefit the generations of Volunteers who will follow you. If you are serious about service, excited to immerse yourself in a new culture, eager to work as a teacher and with teachers and students, we look forward to welcoming you to Peace Corps/Sri Lanka.

In peace and friendship,

Kavita Pullapilly
Country Director
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer, Ukraine