Peace Corps Volunteers resume service to Georgia (August 20, 2009)
Tbilisi,Georgia
August 20, 2009
Peace Corps will resume its service to
Georgia with the commencement of a new group of 28 Peace Corps Volunteers in
Sagarejo on August 21. This will be the first group of Volunteers since the
program was suspended in August 2008, and the ninth group of Volunteers to
serve in Georgia. The Volunteers include 18 English teachers and 10 business
advisors who have successfully completed a nine-week Pre-Service Training
program concentrating on Georgian language and culture, technical, health, and
safety training prior to commencing their service. To facilitate their learning
and adaptation, they lived with Georgian host families in and around Sagarejo.
Volunteers will teach English at secondary schools or work in NGOs or business
support organizations in Kakheti and Kvemo Kartli.
A ceremony celebrating the commencement of
their Volunteer service will be held on Friday, August 21, at the Mevenakhis
Sakhli Restaurant in Sagarejo from 11:00 to 2:00. Those in attendance will
include representatives of the U. S. Embassy, the Ministry of Education &
Science, the Ministry of Economic Development, regional and local government
officials, collaborating organizations and institutions, host families, the
Peace Corps staff and both new and former Peace Corps Georgia Volunteers.
The US Peace Corps operates at the request of
the Georgian government and provides qualified men and women who contribute to
social and economic development while also promoting a better understanding
between Americans and Georgians. The Peace Corps is a United States Government
agency founded by President John F. Kennedy in 1961 to promote world peace and
friendship. The Peace Corps Georgia program was established in 2001 and with
this group more than 300 Volunteers will have served in Georgia.
The Peace Corps has shared with the world America's most precious resource -
its people. Coming from all walks of life, Volunteers represent the rich
diversity of American society. As the Peace Corps approaches its 50th
anniversary in 2011, its service legacy continues to promote peace and
friendship around the world. Since 1961, over 195,000 Volunteers have helped
promote a better understanding between Americans and the people of the 139
countries in which they have served. Currently, 7,876 Peace Corps Volunteers
serve in 76 countries in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Central and South
America, Europe, and the Middle East.