A new group of 35 Peace Corps volunteers from the US arrived Phnom Penh International Airport on October 24. PEACE CORPS
A new group of 35 Peace Corps volunteers from the US have been sent to Cambodia to volunteer and train as teachers as well as teach English to students in schools in the Kingdom.
The Peace Corps said in a statement on October 25 that after a two-year hiatus due to the global Covid-19 pandemic, the Peace Corps in Cambodia has resumed its mission and sent thirty-five American volunteers to work in provinces across Cambodia.
The same statement said that the mission will be operated through a project to train teachers to teach English.
“Peace Corps volunteers, in collaboration with Cambodian teachers, will be teaching foreign languages to Cambodian students at primary and secondary schools and at teacher training institutions,” it said.
“We are delighted that Peace Corps volunteers have returned to Cambodia. The global mission of the Peace Corps is global peace and friendship, and those volunteers will fulfil this mission through their work,” said US ambassador to Cambodia W. Patrick Murphy in a statement.
He said that as a former Peace Corps volunteer, he understood the value of these volunteers for strengthening people-to-people relations between the US and Cambodia and contributing to development of Cambodia.
Ros Soveacha, spokesman for the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, said that the participation of Peace Corps volunteers will contribute to the promotion of Cambodia’s education policy.
“We welcome and encourage positive cooperation between ministries and development partners and with all stakeholders in promoting the implementation of our youth development policies and other curricula in line with the ‘Education Strategic Plan 2019-2023’. The cooperation is aimed at improving youth participation in the development of the Cambodian economy in all forms,” he said.
Mikel Herrington, Peace Corps country director for Cambodia, said he was excited to be a part of the historic return of Peace Corps volunteers to the Kingdom.
“Since March 2020, Peace Corps staff around the world have been working to strengthen the foundation of the agency. We are now ready to resume the work of our volunteers with our partners in the Cambodian community and with our embassy staff,” he said.
Through the volunteer English teacher training project, Peace Corps works closely with the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports to promote Cambodia’s educational priorities.
This project will strengthen the critical thinking and English language skills of students, teachers and community members in Cambodia so that they have the opportunity to create opportunities for themselves in their careers and in their studies.
During the last iteration of the project in 2019, 48% of Cambodian co-teachers developed their English teaching methods and 3,317 students demonstrated improvements in English language skills through formal and informal assessments
The Peace Corps welcomed its first group of volunteers to Cambodia in 2007 and a total of 714 volunteers have come here so far to work on English language education programmes and health education programmes running from 2011 to 2018.
The US Peace Corps aims to build the capacity of both men and women in the countries involved and to promote mutual understanding between the US and other countries through volunteering in underprivileged communities.
The volunteers will be taught the language of the country where they are required to work and they will also study teaching techniques and the local culture for at least two months before they can move to their designated volunteering site.
