On May 18th, Peace Corps/Belize welcomed back United States Peace Corps volunteers to serve alongside community members across the country. Volunteers have not served in Belize since they were evacuated in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The event marked the first time in the agency’s 60 year history that volunteers were evacuated from all global posts. Since that time, Peace Corps/Belize staff have continued to engage in professional development and training on diversity, equity and inclusion to better support volunteers and host communities. 
“We are so excited to be a part of the historic reentry of volunteers in Belize,” said Peace Corps Belize Country Director, Tracey Hébert-Seck. “This year, Peace Corps Belize will celebrate 60 years of service to and partnership with Belizean communities. Since March 2020, Peace Corps Belize staff members have done a deep dive into analyzing systems that have created inequity and social injustice. We are now ready to relaunch volunteer service and meet this historic moment with our community partners and post staff.” At the request of the government of Belize, these volunteers will engage in the Youth Health and Well-Being Project. They will partner with primary school teachers and principals to: increase the knowledge and skills of youth to improve their health and well-being through health and life skills education, increase the knowledge and skills of adults to effectively support the health and well-being of youth, and increase the capacity of school-based staff to provide youth health and life skills education.
In early June, we are expecting another group of volunteers to arrive in Belize. These are Response volunteers who, under the Literacy Intervention Project, will partner with District Education Officers, Principals and Teachers on literacy intervention for Standard One students to help them read at grade level. From August 1962 to March 2020, 2,091 Peace Corps volunteers served in Belize, working on projects in Education, Health, Agriculture, Youth Development, Business Development, Economic Development, Environment and Technology. Peace Corps Belize looks forward to the continued partnership with the Ministry of Education, Culture, Science and Technology for the betterment of the country.
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.
