After a two-year hiatus following the onset of the global COVID-19 pandemic, Peace Corps Cambodia has welcomed back 35 American Peace Corps volunteers to serve across the Kingdom.
According to a news release of Peace Corps Cambodia issued this morning, through Peace Corps’ English Teaching and Teacher Training (ETTT) project, volunteers will co-teach English education with a Cambodian national teacher in primary schools, high schools, and teaching institutions.
“We are thrilled to have Peace Corps volunteers return to Cambodia,” said U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia W. Patrick Murphy. “The global Peace Corps mission is ‘World Peace and Friendship,’ and volunteers pursue this mission through service. As a former Peace Corps volunteer myself, I know the value these volunteers have in strengthening U.S.-Cambodia people-to-people ties and contributing to the Kingdom’s development.”
“We are excited to be a part of the historic reentry of volunteers in Cambodia,” said Peace Corps Cambodia Country Director, Mikel Herrington. “Since March 2020, Peace Corps staff around the world have worked to strengthen the foundation of the agency. We are now ready to relaunch volunteer service and meet this historic moment with our community partners in Cambodia and post staff.”
The ETTT Project works closely with the Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sports in order to advance Cambodia’s educational priority. The project develops the English language and thinking skills of Cambodian students, teachers, and community members to help them gain access to personal, professional, and academic opportunities. In 2019, during the project’s last reiteration, 48 percent of Cambodian co-teachers improved their English teaching methodology and 3,317 students demonstrated improved English proficiency on informal and formal assessment.
Peace Corps welcomed its first group of volunteers to Cambodia in 2007. Since then, 714 Peace Corps volunteers have served in Cambodia, working on projects in English education. A health education programme ran from 2011 to 2018.
Source: Agency Kampuchea Press