The United States Peace Corps is commemorating its 65-year anniversary by swearing in Ghana’s largest cohort of 30 new Peace Corps Volunteers in Accra on Thursday. The Volunteers will work with Ghanaian officials in diverse areas including education, agriculture, and health for the next two years to improve the quality of life and wellbeing of the communities they serve.
The overarching goal is to improve high-yield crops to enhance food production in agriculture, advance better health outcomes in the health sector, increase household incomes, and improve quality education, particularly in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).
The swearing-in ceremony marks the official start of the Volunteers’ service and honours the enduring partnership between the United States and Ghana.
The U.S. Peace Corps was established in 1961, and its first global Volunteer took their official oath in Ghana. Since its inception, nearly 5,000 Peace Corps Volunteers have served in all sixteen regions. Today, Volunteers serve in eight regions—Ashanti, Bono, Bono East, Eastern, Greater Accra, Northern, Oti, and Volta—working alongside community members, local leaders, and government partners to foster sustainable development and deepen people-to-people ties.
Chargé d’Affaires of the U.S. Embassy, Rolf Olson, in his remarks said the Peace Corps programme is one of service, deeply rooted in the belief that collaboration and community can bring about a brighter future “we all strive for.” For 65 years, Mr. Olson said, the Peace Corps had helped bring that brighter future to Ghana.
He noted that the history of the Peace Corps in Ghana symbolises the strong, enduring bond between Ghana and the United States. Mr. Olson added that in 1961, when President John F. Kennedy and President Kwame Nkrumah welcomed the world’s first Volunteers in Ghana, they set in motion a legacy that continues to shape communities across the country.
“As Peace Corps Volunteers, you are here because Ghanaian communities asked for you. Among you are skilled agriculturalists, knowledgeable educators, and dedicated health professionals whose diversity of thought and experience reflects exactly what our world needs. We expect you to work hand-in-hand with communities on every farm, every school, and in every clinic to support their locally identified needs and aspirations,” Mr. Olson said.
The Deputy Minister of Education, Dr. Clement Abass Apaak, paid tribute to President Nkrumah and President Kennedy for their foresight, adding that the Peace Corps is an example of partnership in international cooperation. He commended the Volunteers for their efforts in community service and urged them to learn from the communities and respect their traditions.
Professor Grace Ayensu-Danquah, the Deputy Minister of Health, said the Peace Corps exemplifies a partnership forged in mutual respect and shared prosperity. She recounted the role the Peace Corps played in addressing guinea worm infection in 1989, which culminated in achieving zero transmission in 2015.
The Peace Corps is a United States federal agency dedicated to promoting international peace, friendship, and sustainable development. Peace Corps Volunteers live and work alongside local communities, supporting capacity building, addressing critical needs, and fostering mutual understanding.
Over the past 65 years, the Peace Corps has invested more than two million U.S. dollars annually since the re-entry of Volunteers post-Covid to expand its capacity in Ghana across agriculture, health, and education programs—one of the largest in the African region.
BY MALIK SULLEMANA
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