Fifty-five new Peace Corps volunteers have taken their oaths on Thursday, August 16. The 33rd group of volunteers has arrived in Moldova on June 6, current year, and has completed an intensive training program for becoming teachers in English language and health education, organizational and community-based development throughout the country. Throughout the training period, volunteers have lived with host families and studied Romanian, IPN reports.
Acting Peace Corps director Anna Todorova stated that service in the Peace Corps stems from the best traditions of American culture, i.e. to volunteer towards community benefit, and to get the citizens involved. According to her, 57 years have passed since President and first Peace Corps director John Kennedy sent the first group of volunteers across the ocean, for two years of service. “From the very beginning, the Peace Corps were the aspiration of visionaries who have foreseen the possibility of people’s simple efforts to build cultural and communication bridges in becoming a powerful instrument for “world peace through friendship”,” the director noted.
Anna Todorova mentioned that the 55 volunteers will learn many aspects of Moldovan culture, while sharing American culture with students and their communities. They will make many Moldovan friends and will establish a durable relationship with Moldova. “Volunteers are also eager to share our American culture here, and to help Moldovans understand Americans better,” added Anna Todorova.
US Ambassador to Moldova James D. Pettit said taking the oath is only the beginning of the Peace Corps volunteers’ “journey”. “You are about to go into Moldova’s communities and undertake a difficult task, one that is simultaneously very rewarding, which is community service. I wish you luck in your efforts and I thank you for everything you do in representing America as cultural ambassadors,” the ambassador told the volunteers.
The diplomat expressed his conviction that in the following years volunteers will contribute to strengthening the future generation of leaders. Furthermore, they will help people seek new challenges and take risks, to understand that failure isn’t final, that it is a lesson in improving their future attempts.
Angela Cutasevici, State Secretary at the Ministry of Education, Culture, and Research, said the Ministry appreciates the work of Peace Corps volunteers, who launched their mission in Moldova in 1993. The secretary thanked the US Embassy for the financial support provided for a series of educational programs, which are very useful for Moldova’s youth.
Aliona Serbulenco, State Secretary at the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Social Protection, said the dedication of US volunteers has proven that whatever comes from the heart turns into prosperity, peace, and well-being.
