Peace Corps Belize Hosts Swearing-In Ceremony for 5th Group of Response Volunteers

BELMOPAN, BELIZE August 25, 2023 – Peace Corps Belize swore in a group of six new Peace Corps Response Volunteers at a ceremony in Belmopan. For the next nine months, Response Volunteers will focus on transferring skills to 13 primary schools’ lower-division teachers, empowering them to offer small-group literacy intervention instruction to children reading below grade level. The short-term, high-impact program includes senior professionals and returned Peace Corps Volunteers with advanced degrees and specialized certifications.
Response Trainees arrived in country on August 13th and for the past two weeks they have learnt about Peace Corps’ approach to development, Belizean culture, and technical sessions to meet the needs of service. The new Response Volunteers work under the Literacy Intervention Project and will partner with Ministry of Education, Culture, Science and Technology via District Education Officers, Principals and Teachers.
Mr. David Cano, keynote speaker from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Science and Technology, gave remarks on behalf of the Government of Belize and expressed his profound appreciation for the agency’s continued support and partnership to the people of Belize.
Country Director, Dr. Nadine Rogers, administered the oath of service and Peace Corps pledge to the group on behalf of the Peace Corps. Dr. Rogers remarked that “We restarted the Response program with last year’s cohort so that seasoned professionals might respond to the nation’s call for an intervention to assess and address the literacy need of primary-school aged learners.”
The first cohort of Response Volunteers under the Literacy Intervention Project arrived in May 2017 and with today’s cohort, a total of 30 Response Volunteers have been sworn in. This is the second group of Peace Corps Response Volunteers following the Covid pandemic in 2020.
The new group supplements the 27-month Volunteers already in service in six communities across Belize. On September 5, 2023, another group of 20 volunteers will arrive in Belize, followed by another group in May 2024 to support the Youth Empowered by Sports in Partnership with the Ministry of Youth, Sports & Transport.
Since President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps by executive order on March 1, 1961, more than 240,000 Americans have served in 143 host countries. Peace Corps Volunteers reflect the diversity of America and return to the United States as more informed global citizens and with increased understanding of the people and countries in which they worked. The Peace Corps extends its gratitude to the people and Government of Belize for their collaboration and opportunity it offers these Volunteers to assist in the pursuit of the nation’s development. For more information on Peace Corps in Belize, please visit: https://www.peacecorps.gov/belize/.