Peace Corps Volunteers sworn in to serve in Kyrgyzstan
My husband and I (we are both RPCVs) spent seven months in Kyrgyzstan in 1997, when he had a Fulbright…
21 Peace Corps Volunteers sworn in to serve in Kyrgyzstan
AKIPRESS.COM – Twenty-one newly sworn-in Peace Corps Volunteers will co-teach English with local teachers in secondary schools across Chui, Naryn, Issyk-Kul, Talas, Osh, and Jalal-Abad oblasts over the next two years. This is the 30th group of Volunteers to serve in the Kyrgyz Republic since 1993.
Guests at the ceremony included U.S. Ambassador to the Kyrgyz Republic Lesslie Viguerie, Peace Corps Country Director Hoyt Brian Yee, former Volunteers, as well as local teachers and directors of schools where the Volunteers will serve as co-teachers.
“For more than 30 years, Volunteers and their communities have collaborated to increase student and teacher capacity in English and have built relationships that continue long beyond the two years of a Volunteer’s service. These relationships promote friendship and mutual understanding between the people of the Kyrgyz Republic and the United States,” said Ambassador Viguerie.
By working alongside local English teachers, Volunteers share knowledge and new methods with teachers and inspire students to advance their English skills. In addition to their classroom work, Volunteers and their counterparts lead English clubs and other afterschool activities to help students and other community members practice and improve their English.
Volunteers live with Kyrgyzstani host families and can support locally prioritized community service projects through Peace Corps’ small grants program, including in the areas of education, sustainable development, and climate action.
The new Volunteers completed 11 weeks of Kyrgyz language, technical, and cultural training to prepare for their service. Peace Corps coordinates closely with the Ministry of Education and Science of the Kyrgyz Republic when deciding where to assign Volunteers.
My husband and I (we are both RPCVs) spent seven months in Kyrgyzstan in 1997, when he had a Fulbright to teach at a university in Bishkek. It was a wonderful experience, introducing us to a part of the world where we had never been before. We treasure the friendships that we made there, and the rich memories of living in Bishkek and traveling throughout Kyrgyzstan and beyond in Central Asia. I am sure the new PCVs there will also come home a couple years from now with new insights about a fascinating part of the world.