12 Nov 2023

 US Peace Corps are set to commence their service  in Botswana following 11 weeks of pre-service training.

The  27 Peace Corps were sworn-in  Thursday at the Emmanuel Counselling Centre in Ramotswa.

Peace Corps Country Director, Ms Danielle Monty-Mara, said Peace Corps came as an initiative by President John Kennedy who in 1961 challenged the American people to serve others through public service, providing technical support, through a model of cross-culture exchange. 

She said active participation by the Peace Corps volunteers would not only guarantee technical support but also help break barriers and misconceptions that too often separate nations. 

“Here in Botswana, Peace Corps welcomed its first cohort in 1966. Since then, 2 875 Peace Corps volunteers have served in Botswana in the fields of education and health until 1997 and made a comeback in 2003 in response to President Mogae’s call for international assistance in the face of the HIV/AIDS pandemic,” she said.

She said this year’s swearing-in exercise marked the culmination of 11 weeks of intense language, technical and cultural training of 27 trainees, adding total of 41 volunteers chose the life of service here in Botswana for the period of two years, ‘and by 2025, we aim to be back to our pre-pandemic strength of 150 volunteers in Botswana’. 

The 27 sworn-in Peace Corps volunteers are expected to dedicate two years of their lives in public service using both the skills they bring and new skills they learned during their pre-service training. 

Officiating the swearing-in ceremony, US Ambassador to Botswana, Mr Howard van Vranken said the 2023 group of Peace Corps Volunteers was the third since the COVID-19 pandemic, stating that they have sworn-in more than triple the number they had in 2022. 

He extended his felicitations to the trainees for dedicating their lives in service and for becoming the glue holding the US and Botswana relations. He encouraged  them to put their talents to good use and effectively use the tools they were given during their pre-service training as this would not only help to realise President Kennedy’s vision but would also ensure future beneficial collaborations between the two countries. 

“As you enter into communities, remember to cherish the connections and embrace diversities for this is not an individual achievement but rather a collective spirit. The bonds forged here in Botswana go a long way in deepening US and Botswana relations”, he said. 

He also expressed gratitude to host families and Ramotswa community for their hand in making Peace Corps work possible by nurturing and supporting the trainees in navigating Batswana culture. 

For her part, Kgosi Mosadi Seboko of Balete said the pre-service training, which was meant to immerse the trainees in culture and practices of Batswana as well as equip them with basic conversational Setswana language was a success. 

She also recognised the contribution made by Peace Corps trainees towards the maintenance and running of the SESADI Project that aims to aid in food production. 

She said the SESADI Project was a food production project run by differently-abled persons and the contribution made by the trainees was proof that with relevant support from various stakeholders, the project could become a success. 

In his remarks, Ramotswa District Council chairperson, Mr Zaahid Jalal, encouraged the volunteers to serve with dedication and also maintain relations between US and Botswana, as he believed that in the future, the forged relations would birth beneficial collaborations bigger than volunteerism. 

He also extended gratitude to the US Ambassador to Botswana for trusting Ga-Malete to host and equip the trainees with the needed skills through cultural exchange concept. 

“Balete have been great hosts for Peace Corps volunteers over the years. Even in future we will be happy to open our doors and host yet another group,” noted. ENDS