PHNOM PENH, Cambodia – Peace Corps held a ceremony to swear in the 15th group of American Peace Corps volunteers today at the Himawari Hotel in Phnom Penh. Guests at the ceremony included U.S. Ambassador W. Patrick Murphy as well as partners from the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport (MoEYS), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the Ministry of Interior, and representatives from Takeo province.
Before being sworn in to begin their Peace Corps service, the 34 new volunteers first completed 10 weeks of pre-service training – including Khmer language, cultural introduction, and technical teaching instruction – in Takeo province. The volunteers are now assigned to 12 different provinces across the Kingdom, where they will live with Cambodian host families for two years while co-teaching English education alongside Cambodian national teachers in primary and high schools. They join 27 current volunteers who also co-teach English at primary schools, high schools, and teaching institutions across Cambodia as part of the English Teacher and Teacher Training (ETTT) project of Peace Corps Cambodia.
“The global Peace Corps mission is ‘World Peace and Friendship,’ and volunteers pursue this mission through service,” said U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia W. Patrick Murphy. “As a former Peace Corps volunteer myself, I am confident they will contribute to Cambodia’s development and write a new chapter in the already strong and enduring U.S.-Cambodia people-to-people ties.”
“We are so pleased this new group of volunteers will join their Peace Corps colleagues who are currently partnering with Cambodian teachers in communities throughout the country,” said Peace Corps Cambodia Country Director, Kim Mansaray. “The support from teachers, community members, and host families has been a positive and essential aspect of volunteer contribution to those schools and communities.”
The ETTT Project works closely with MoEYS to advance Cambodia’s educational priority. The project develops the English language skills of Cambodian students, teachers, and community members to help them gain access to personal, professional, and academic opportunities. The project was on hold from March 2020 until October 2022 due to Peace Corps’ global evacuation following the outbreak of COVID-19; however, since returning to Cambodia late last year Peace Corps volunteers have taught over 10,000 students alongside Cambodian counterparts across 11 provinces. Peace Corps has also expanded its partnership through its work with the Volunteer for My Community (VMC) program led by MoEYS.
Peace Corps welcomed its first group of volunteers to Cambodia in 2007. Since then, 750 Peace Corps volunteers have served in Cambodia, working on projects in English education. A health education program ran from 2011 to 2018.
About the Peace Corps: The Peace Corps is an international service network of volunteers, community members, host country partners and staff who are driven by the agency’s mission of world peace and friendship. At the invitation of governments around the world, Peace Corps volunteers work alongside community members on locally-prioritized projects in the areas of education, health, environment, agriculture, community economic development and youth development. Through service, members of the Peace Corps network develop transferable skills and hone intercultural competencies that position them to be the next generation of global leaders. Since President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps in 1961, more than 240,000 Americans have served in 142 countries worldwide. For more information, visit peacecorps.gov and follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
