Addis Ababa, April 1, 2016 – Ambassador Patricia M. Haslach administered the oath of service to 60 new Peace Corps Volunteers at the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa today. These Volunteers will be working as either Environment or Community Health professionals throughout Ethiopia. With this new group there are now over 250 Peace Corps Volunteers serving in the four administrative regions of Tigray, Oromiya, Amhara and SNNP.
Peace Corps Ethiopia began working with public health in 2007 with direct support from the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). Since then the program has evolved to include activities such as water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), maternal and newborn health, and malaria prevention, in addition to HIV prevention, care and support. Volunteers are additionally involved in a variety of projects including leadership camps for youth, public health awareness campaigns, income generating activities, Grassroots Soccer HIV awareness interventions, organizational capacity building, and youth clubs.
Peace Corps Ethiopia’s Environment program began in 2010. Volunteers of the Resilient Environment, Agriculture, and Livelihoods (REAL) project collaborate with agriculture offices, farmer training centers, and local development agents to strengthen individual and organizational technical capacities and to improve food security and natural resource management. Volunteers work with leaders in agriculture, health, nutrition, education, and business to mobilize their communities and help them develop a local response to global food insecurity.
About Peace Corps Ethiopia: While first established in 1962, Peace Corps returned to Ethiopia in 2007. Today our post is among the largest in the world, with Volunteers working in the three sectors of Health, Environment and Education. The 60 Volunteers of this 14th Group to Ethiopia will represent their fellow Americans in rural kebeles across the four administrative regions of Tigray, Oromiya, Amhara and SNNP.
About the Peace Corps: As the preeminent international service organization of the United States, the Peace Corps sends Americans abroad to tackle the most pressing needs of people around the world. Peace Corps volunteers work at the grassroots level with local governments, schools, communities, small businesses and entrepreneurs to develop sustainable solutions that address challenges in education, health, economic development, agriculture, environment and youth development.
