BELMOPAN, BELIZE July 22, 2024 – US Ambassador Michelle Kwan swore in a group of 23 new Volunteers at a ceremony in Belmopan last Friday. For the next two years these Volunteers will support the Youth Empowered by Sports (YES) Project in partnership with the Ministry of Youth, Sports & Transport. The goal of the YES Project is to see Belizean youth lead healthy and empowered lives and realize their full potential.
Trainees arrived in country on May 7th and for the past eleven weeks participated in pre service training and learnt about Peace Corps’ approach to development; YES project objectives and technical sessions; health and safety; Kriol or Spanish and Belizean culture which has prepared them to be successful volunteers.
Keynote Speaker, Demetrie Meyers, 2024 CARIFTA Games Gold Medalist inspired the new volunteers with his attribution of success to hard work, dedication and persistence. He noted that organized sports create a way to form future opportunities from current circumstances. US Ambassador Michelle Kwan administered the oath of service. Peace Corps Country Director, Dr. Nadine Rogers reflected on this group’s dynamic. “They know how to dance and laugh and rap and cook and eat and play ball…together and still stay on purpose.” Dr. Rogers administered the Peace Corps pledge. Deputy Governor General, Ambassador Stuart Leslie, was present at the event.
The new group supplements the currently serving 27-month Volunteers in communities across Belize. As of today, Peace Corps Belize has a presence in each district. We expect a group of Response Volunteers next month; the previous group closed out service two months ago.
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 volunteers have served in 144 countries worldwide. For more information on Peace Corps in Belize, please visit: https://www.peacecorps.gov/belize/.
