Seven American Peace Corps volunteers are back to help schools in Samoa improve literacy, numeracy, and science programs.
Chief Executive Officer of the Ministry of Education Sports and Culture, Aeau Christopher Hazelman, said that Samoa needed help in these areas of education, so students as well teachers can be trained.
He was speaking at an ava ceremony held at the MESC Fale to officially welcome the first Peace Corps volunteers since 2020, when all volunteers returned home due to the COVID-19 global pandemic.
The United States Ambassador to Samoa, New Zealand, Cook Islands and Niue, Thomas Udall, relayed his gratitude for such a welcoming reception for him and his colleagues.
Since the US Peace Corp has been in Samoa from 1967, the country has had nearly 2,000 volunteers who have contributed greatly to Samoa’s development through the education sector.
The Country Director of the US Peace Corps in Samoa, Gini Wilderson, said that their biggest factor of success was the partnerships they had with the local communities.
“Working to accomplish friendship is a lofty mission and I am now reminded of the words of wisdom shared by the first Peace Corps Director, Sargent Shriver, when he was asked, ‘How do we practice peace?’ He said, simply, caring for others is the practice of peace,” she said.
