Addis Ababa, September 20, 2013 – Ambassador-Designate Patricia Haslach administered the oath of service to 57 new Peace Corps Volunteers at the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa today. With this new group, there are now 203 Peace Corps Volunteers in Ethiopia providing English language education, combating HIV/AIDS, preventing environmental degradation, and promoting food security. The Volunteers are located in Amhara, Oromia, Tigray, and SNNP Administrative Regions.
The new group is comprised of Education Volunteers, all of whom will work under the Improving Teaching of the English Language in Ethiopia (ITELE) project in collaboration with the Federal Ethiopian Ministry of Education and USAID. This is the third group of Education Volunteers to serve in this project.
Ethiopia was one of the first countries to invite the Peace Corps to establish its program in 1962, just one year after President John F. Kennedy created the Peace Corps. The primary focus of that first program was education, with the goal of training skilled workers and promoting economic development. In addition, Peace Corps Volunteers in Ethiopia have worked in agriculture, tourism, health, and economic development. Since the first group arrived in 1962, more than 3,500 Volunteers have served in Ethiopia.
Since 1961, more than 200,000 Peace Corps Volunteers have helped promote a better understanding between Americans and the people of the 139 countries in which they have served. Peace Corps Volunteers must be U.S. citizens and at least 18 years of age. Peace Corps service is a 27-month commitment.
