Cameroon: Peace Corps Volunteers Return after a Two-year Withdrawal, Nine Members to Reset the Pace

Peace Corps Cameroon has welcomed back nine volunteers who were evacuated two years ago following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Peace Corps is an independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to provide international development assistance in countries all over the globe.

It was the first time in its 60-year history that volunteers were evacuated from all global posts, and until 2020, Cameroon was one of the few countries that had never had an interruption of Peace Corps service since the arrival of the first volunteers in 1962.

The six members were received on October 25 by Peace Corps Cameroon and will serve alongside community members across the country.

“Since March 2020, our staff has continued to deliver on the agency’s mission through virtual service and several capacity-building trainings for partner communities,” said Peace Corps Country Director Kristina Nicole Séne. 

“With the arrival of the nine new volunteers, we will continue to partner with communities in Cameroon to address old and new challenges and benefit from the opportunities of our time.”

The incoming group of Peace Corps Volunteers will work in health centres and with farmer groups in three regions of Cameroon.

From 1962 to March 2020, over 3,800 Peace Corps Volunteers served in Cameroon, in the areas of education, agriculture and community health.

Peace Corps Volunteers work alongside community members on locally prioritized projects. Through service, members of the Peace Corps network develop transferable skills and hone intercultural competencies that position them to be the next generation of global leaders. Since President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps in 1961, more than 240,000 Americans have served in 142 countries worldwide.