More US Peace Corps health educators for Guyana
03-03-2006
by Gordon French
Caribbean Net News Guyana Correspondent
Email: gordon@caribbeannetnews.com
GEORGETOWN, Guyana: An additional group of twenty United States Peace Corps Health Educators will arrive in Guyana on Friday.
On Tuesday, the Peace Corps celebrated 45 years as an institution and is “looking forward for a continued partnership with the people of Guyana,” according to Sasha Lindo-Softley, executive assistant at the Peace Corps branch in Guyana.
Since 1966 more than 400 Peace Corps volunteers have served in Guyana and there are 56 volunteers currently working to address the needs of local people by providing community health education and youth development outreach.
As part of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) in Guyana, volunteers collaborate with relevant ministries and non-governmental organizations to facilitate community involvement, train service providers, and introduce new teaching methodologies.
Peace Corps volunteers serve as catalysts in local Guyanese communities, stimulating improved responses to the HIV/AIDS crisis through sexuality education, health care services, and assistance to orphans and vulnerable children.
In the past, Peace Corps Education Volunteers broadened the school curricula to include technical and vocational subjects including home economics, crafts, and manual arts.
Volunteers also served as skilled technicians, architects, and engineers to assist in developing and carrying out plans of Guyana's Ministry of Works and Hydraulics.
The Peace Corps currently has 7,810 American Volunteers serving in 77 countries of the world. Since its inauguration in 1961, 182,000 Volunteers have served in 138 countries.
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