The US Peace Corps has deployed 48 new volunteers who will collaborate with Filipino community members on local projects aimed at fostering relationships and exchanging knowledge and skills.
The volunteers will undertake a range of responsibilities in various host communities across Aklan, Antique, Batangas, Benguet, Bohol, Capiz, Cebu, Iloilo, La Union, Nueva Ecija, Oriental Mindoro, Pampanga, Pangasinan, and Tarlac starting in September 2024.
Donald James Gawe, Executive Director of the Philippine National Volunteer Service Coordinating Agency (PNVSCA), extended a warm welcome to the 281st batch of US Peace Corps volunteers and expressed his optimism that they will “continue to serve as builders of hope and catalysts of change.”
US Peace Corps volunteers aim to promote service and cultural exchange among Filipino communities in the Philippines through education, youth development, and environmental protection programs.
“U.S. Peace Corps Volunteers come from all over the United States and represent the diversity of the American people. They come with a variety of skills and experience to contribute during their service in the Philippines,” U.S. Ambassador MaryKay Carlson said.
“The Peace Corps’ goal is to promote world peace and friendship, and what better way to do this than to serve with cultural humility and mutual respect to our Filipino friends and partners,” she added.
Before deployment in local communities, the Peace Corps volunteers will undergo an intensive 11-week pre-service training that includes technical, language, and cultural studies to prepare them for their assignments.
The volunteers will “co-teach English in public elementary and secondary schools, serve as youth development facilitators in organizations and residential shelters accredited by the Philippine Department of Welfare and Social Development, and assist local governments in establishing marine protected areas and implementing coastal resource management plans.”
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