Twenty-four American Peace Corps
Volunteers – the second group since the organisation suspended its operations
in Nepal in 2004 – were were sworn in by the US ambassador to Nepal Peter W Bodde
in a ceremony in Kavre today.
Prior to the swearing-in, the
Volunteers completed an eleven-week Nepali language, culture, and technical
training programme in Sindhupalchowk District, according to a press release
issued by the US Embassy in Kathmandu.
The volunteers join 16 other
second-year volunteers working with Nepali counterparts to promote food
security through agriculture, sanitation, and health activities with villages
in the Western and Mid-Western Region districts of Baglung, Syangja, Parbat,
Dang, Pyuthan, and Surkhet districts.
The volunteers join the ranks of
more than 4,200 volunteers that have served in Nepal in the past, and the more
than 8,000 volunteers currently serving in 76 other countries across the world,
the press note read, adding that Peace Corps is an independent US government
agency that provides trained volunteers for countries requesting assistance
around the world.
The agency traces its roots and
mission to 1960, when then-Senator John F Kennedy challenged students at the
University of Michigan to serve their country in the cause of peace by living
and working in developing countries.
Although times have changed, the
Peace Corps continues to promote peace and friendship by remaining true to its
mission, established in 1961.
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