KATHMANDU, JUNE 14

Twenty-one new Peace Corps Volunteers arrived in Kathmandu this week. After completing an intensive 11-week Pre-Service Training, these trainees will swear-in as the 208th group of Peace Corps Volunteers to serve in Nepal since the U.S. program's founding in 1962.

They are the first group to arrive since the global evacuation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The new volunteers join nearly 4,000 volunteers who have previously come to Nepal to serve since 1962, according to the statement issued by the US Embassy in Kathmandu.

Speaking at the training center in Bhaktapur, U.S. Embassy Chargé d'Affaires Jason Meeks said, 'With the more than 60-year partnership between the Government of Nepal and Peace Corps, we are pleased to welcome this first batch of volunteers to return to service in Nepal after more than three years. Peace Corps Volunteers working in rural locations throughout Nepal and in partnership with their communities demonstrate the strong and growing bonds between our two countries.'

After eleven weeks of intensive language and cross-cultural instruction, volunteers will be assigned to districts in Gandaki and Bagmati Provinces to teach English in government schools, and work on food security and health projects in coordination with the Ministries of Education, Science and Technology, Health and Population, and Agriculture and Livestock Development, the statement adds.

The Peace Corps is an international service network of volunteers, community members, host country partners and staff who are driven by the agency's mission of world peace and friendship. Since U.S. president John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps in 1961, more than 240,000 Americans have served in 143 countries worldwide. At the invitation of governments around the world, Peace Corps volunteers work alongside community members on locally-prioritized projects in the areas of education, health, environment, agriculture, community economic development and youth development. Through service, members of the Peace Corps network develop transferable skills and hone intercultural competencies that position them to be the next generation of global leaders.