Seven new Peace Corps Volunteers have been sworn in during a ceremony held in Monrovia, attended by President Joseph Nyuma Boakai and U.S. Embassy Chargé d’Affaires a.i. Joseph Zadrozny, who is also a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer. The volunteers will serve for two years, working with Liberian partners on education and health initiatives identified as local priorities.
In the education sector, the volunteers will co-teach subjects such as math, science, and literacy in Liberian schools. Their responsibilities include teacher training, mentoring school administrators, developing libraries and science laboratories, setting up computer labs, providing student career counseling, and leading boys’ and girls’ clubs.
For the health sector, volunteers are set to collaborate with Community Health Workers in rural areas to support child and maternal health programs. Activities will focus on nutrition education for children under five years old, assistance with pre- and post-natal wellness visits, and capacity-building for community health projects.
Prior to their assignments, the volunteers underwent ten weeks of intensive training covering language skills—including Kpelle, Bassa, and Liberian English—technical knowledge, and cultural understanding while living with host families in Liberia.
Sargent Shriver was quoted at the event: “It is not what you get out of life that counts. It’s what you give and what is given from the heart.”
The ceremony was also attended by Dr. Jarso M. Jallah, Minister of Education; Cllr. J. Cole Bangalu, Minister of Youth and Sports; among others. Since 1962 when the Peace Corps established its presence in Liberia, over 4,300 American volunteers have served alongside Liberians in agriculture, health, and education sectors. With this latest group sworn in today, there are now thirteen Peace Corps Volunteers serving across various communities in Liberia.
Further information about Peace Corps activities in Liberia can be found at www.peacecorps.gov/liberia.