press releases

Peace Corps Swears In 29 New Volunteers

Kitwe
March 31, 2006

Twenty-nine (29) American men and women on Friday, 31st March graduated as Peace Corps Volunteers after successfully completing an intensive nine weeks training course in health, education, and local languages. The Volunteers’ swearing in ceremony, which took place at Mwekera in Kitwe, was the 12th graduation for the Peace Corps ‘Community Action for Health Project’ (CAHP) and the 3rd graduation for the Peace Corps ‘Learning at Taonga Market’ (LTM) Education Project.

There are 155 Peace Corps Volunteers in Zambia. This represents one of the largest Peace Corps programs in the Africa Region and the world. Since its inception 12 years ago, the Peace Corps program in Zambia has worked very closely with the Government of the Republic of Zambia (GRZ) to address Zambian developmental objectives. The Peace Corps Health and Education projects focus on supporting the decentralization of health services and education to the community level through capacity building, participatory planning, and the implementation and management of sustainable health interventions and educational initiatives in accordance with GRZ reforms and goals.

In addition to their work in the areas of Health and Education, all Peace Corps Volunteers working in Zambia are charged with helping to fight the pandemic of HIV/AIDS. Their work in this area includes informal discussions with co-workers and friends, organizing youth football/netball camps, training youth in peer education, forming Anti-AIDS clubs in schools and communities, and training mentors/teachers in HIV/AIDS.

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