The volunteers taking the Oath of Office
US Ambassador Virginia Palmer has sworn in 12 Peace Corps Volunteers to begin their service in the Eastern and Volta regions.
The volunteers are the first to return to Ghana following the global evacuation during the pandemic in 2020. Volunteers will serve in the education, agriculture, and health sectors. Kwaku Agyemang-Manu, Minister of Health, Yaw Frimpong-Addo, Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture, and Mr. Divine Ayidzoe, Chief Director for the Ministry of Education also attended the ceremony.
In her remarks, Ambassador Palmer said, “Peace Corps is a significant marker of the deep and resilient partnership between the United States and Ghana. Today we celebrate twelve trainees who join a legacy of excellence – the 5,000 grassroots ambassadors, who have served in Ghana over the past 61 years.”
The Ambassador was joined at the ceremony by Deputy Chief of Mission, Nicole Chulick, Peace Corps Country Director Tamu Daniel, Peace Corps staff, and other US Embassy officers who previously served as Peace Corps Volunteers.
The Peace Corps’ swearing-in ceremony officially transitions Trainees to Peace Corps Volunteers. The cohort of skilled, diverse trainees arrived in June to begin 11 weeks of training in their respective sectors, languages, and cultural adaptation and resilience.
Peace Corps Ghana traces its roots and mission to 1961, when President John F. Kennedy sent the very first 52 Peace Corps Volunteers to serve their country in the cause of peace by living and working in Ghana.
Those volunteers were received warmly by Ghana’s first President, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, on August 30, 1961. As Peace Corps Ghana is fond of saying: “Peace Corps was born in America, but learned to walk here in Ghana.”