THIRTY-two Americans were yesterday sworn in as trainees for the Peace Corps as the U.S.A. moved to strengthen ties with Guyana and offer continued support for its development.Addressing the gathering yesterday, U.S. Charge d’ Affaires Bryan Hunt stated that the U.S. Government is working hard to forge a closer and more productive partnership with the Government and people of Guyana to help build a more prosperous, secure, democratic and healthy Guyana.
“Our talented and hardworking personnel at the U.S. mission in Guyana seek to achieve this through active diplomatic engagement, targeted development assistance and an active two-way flow of people, ideas and information,” said the Charge d’Affaires.
Their mission, he added, is to continue to work with the Government and people of Guyana to solidify the gains in democratic governance, bolster economic growth and promote equality and opportunity, particularly for young people, women, the disabled and members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities.
Hunt noted that the Peace Corps forms an important part of the U.S. mission in Guyana, as it was first welcomed in 1966, and served the development interests of the country until 1971. They were again invited to Guyana in 1995 to work as community-based promoters in the sectors of health and education.
The Peace Corps generally provides the most attention to communities with the greatest development challenges and fewest resources. “With the group of 32 trainees that form GUY27, about 800 volunteers will have served Guyana since 1966.”
The current batch is expected to spend a period of two years offering their services to Guyanese before they return to the U.S.
The U.S. Charge d’Affaires concluded by expressing his admiration for the extraordinary commitment and compassion that Peace Corps volunteers bring to supporting others and to building stronger communities by increasing human capacity to address developmental challenges.
Meanwhile, also speaking at the swearing-in event, Minister of Public Health, Dr George Norton, expressed his gratitude at having the new U.S. Peace Corps volunteers here, who will be contributing to the development of the health sector by assisting at the various health centers and so forth.
He noted that sometimes it takes persons outside of Guyana to make Guyanese recognise what we have at our advantage, and this will in turn help Guyana to fill the gap of management and ensure that no person is left behind.
Dr Norton further expressed his confidence in the volunteers as he encouraged them to work to the best of their abilities and make their two years here very productive.
Also at the event, Minister of Education, Dr Rupert Roopnarine on behalf of the Government and people of Guyana commended the Government and people of the U.S. for their continued support over 20 consecutive years.
Dr Roopnarine welcomed the new volunteers and encouraged them to meaningfully participate in the development of education across the country.
One of the new Peace Corps volunteers, on behalf of the new and old batches, expressed how happy they were to be in Guyana and promised to overcome every challenge and contribute towards the development of Guyana to the best of their abilities.

By Navendra Seoraj