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39 Peace Corps Volunteers Readied to Contribute to Development

Swearing-In Ceremony
August 30, 2006

Thirty-nine new Peace Corps Volunteers take the oath of allegiance at the swearing-in ceremony, preceded over by U.S. Ambassador Niels Marquardt. Full size.

A new group of Peace Corps Volunteers, specializing in small enterprise development and secondary education, took the oath of service in an emotive ceremony witnessed by Peace Corps authorities, host families, officials and the press. Ambassador R. Niels Marquardt, a former Peace Corps Volunteer in Rwanda himself, administered the oath and spoke of the lasting contribution Peace Corps makes in every community it touches. He stressed the dual-learning experience, whereby volunteers take home the best of the culture in which they serve and bring to Americans knowledge about their host country.

The presence of the media enabled individual Peace Corps volunteers to give their personal stories. Ambassador Marquardt, in an interview, told the press that the Peace Corps experience contributed to the person he is today. His praise for the cadets, recorded by the press, brought the public closer to the volunteers’ selfless dedication: “We Americans are born and blessed with more choices, more options, more opportunities than anyone on Earth. Among all the choices that you had, you have chosen to give two years of your life to the people of another country.” (Photo gallery)