Thirty-Three New Peace Corps Volunteers Sworn In

On August 7, 2013, United States Ambassador Robert P. Jackson and the Secretary of State representing the Minister of Secondary Education presided over the swearing-in ceremony for thirty-three new Peace Corps volunteers at place des fêtes in Bafia, Center region.

The ceremony marks the end of the volunteers' ten weeks of multifaceted training and the beginning of the service component of their two-year commitments.

The new volunteers will be posted in the Adamawa, East, Littoral, North West, South, South West, and West regions. In his remarks, Ambassador Jackson thanked the community of Bafia for four years of partnership, including the hospitality it showed to volunteers and its strong participation in the model school last month.

Including the recent addition, Cameroon now hosts approximately 200 Peace Corps volunteers who work with Cameroonian townspeople and local community groups in nine of the countries ten regions. The work of Peace Corps volunteers center around the themes of Agro Forestry, Community Health, Education, Small Enterprise Development, and Youth Development.

The Peace Corps was launched by U.S. President John F. Kennedy in 1961. More than 3,000 Americans have served as Peace Corps volunteers in Cameroon since 1962. Peace Corps volunteers currently serve in 76 countries in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Central and South America, Europe, and the Middle East.

For more information, please contact the United States Embassy in Yaounde, Press section Tel 22 20 15 00, ext. 4162 or 4273.