2006 Press Releases

Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs Richard Boucher speaking to Peace Corps Volunteers.

Peace Corps Swears In 15th Group of Volunteers

Dec. 29, 2006

On December 22, Turkmenistan Peace Corps Country Director William Myer hosted a swearing in ceremony for 38 new Peace Corps volunteers, at the Ak Altyn Hotel in Ashgabat.

The volunteers arrived in country on October 3, 2006, and recently completed a three-month orientation course in communities near Ashgabat. After the swearing-in ceremony the volunteers will travel to their permanent sites and host families, where they will work for two years in clinics, schools and other community centers throughout Turkmenistan’s five regions. Twenty-five Education Volunteers   will co-teach English with local teachers and conduct regular seminars on English teaching methods. Thirteen Community Health Volunteers   will work with medical establishments under the Ministry of Health с are and Medical Industry to provide training in healthy lifestyles, reproductive health, and nutrition to community members. Including the 14 th group of Volunteers, who arrived in 2005, there are currently 67 Volunteers serving in Turkmenistan.

On Sunday, December 24, the volunteers participated in a question and answer session with visiting Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs Richard Boucher, who served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Senegal. Assistant Secretary Boucher was in Turkmenistan to attend the funeral ceremonies of the late President Saparmurat Niyazov.

This group of volunteers is the fifteenth to serve since Peace Corps Turkmenistan opened in 1993, and brings to 500 the total of number of Turkmenistan Peace Corps Volunteers. The mission of the Peace Corps is to help interested countries meet their needs for skilled professional men and women and to promote better mutual understanding between Americans and citizens of other countries.

To learn more about U.S. Peace Corps please visit http://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm.