Peace Corps

🏡 Ever wonder what it’s like to live in a different country as a Peace Corps Volunteer? Volunteers live in a range of housing and sometimes live with host families. It all depends on the country and the context. ▶️ Watch as Montenegro Volunteer Patti gives us a tour of her host family’s home where she'll stay throughout her service. #PeaceCorpsMontenegro #PeaceCorps

Salina, an Education Volunteer in Namibia, uses her artistic skills on the blackboard to captivate her students. She recalls how, as a student, visuals and puzzles helped her stay engaged. 🎨 Now, she brings that same creativity into her classroom with homemade board games and a detailed class calendar. Her goal? To spur her students' imagination, motivate them to learn, and help them catch up if they miss a lesson. Ready to apply your creativity and skills in Peace Corps service? 🎒 Explore how you can make a difference: https://bit.ly/4bUOHB4 #PeaceCorps #PeaceCorpsNamibia

🏝️ In Tonga, communities have shared how mangrove planting is a powerful tool for advancing climate resilience. When mangroves grow, their complex root systems act as natural barriers against storm surges, tsunamis, and coastal erosion. This week, Peace Corps Director Carol Spahn joined Volunteers participating in a hands-on training for climate-centered camp curriculum led by our key Tongan partners. Activities like this prepare Volunteers for incorporating themes such as the land, oceans, climate resilience, and natural disaster risk management into their projects. Press play ▶️ to see the learning in action! #PeaceCorps #PeaceCorpsTonga

For 57 years, Peace Corps Volunteers have been working side-by-side with the Tongan people to advance locally identified priorities. This long-standing partnership has inspired a word in the Tongan language: “Pisikoa,” which is now the universal word for volunteers, no matter where you come from. It is within this heartfelt spirit of peace and friendship where Peace Corps Director Carol Spahn officiated the swearing-in ceremony of 19 new Volunteers who will live and work in Tonga over the next two years to support education and environment projects. These Volunteers will work with young people across Tonga’s four major island groups. Read more: https://bit.ly/4fUxYkF

Mālō e lelei! Peace Corps Tonga welcomed Peace Corps Director Carol Spahn to the island country with a traditional kava ceremony. Kava, a ceremonial drink made from the root of the kava plant, is a significant part of Tongan culture. The ceremony symbolizes respect, unity, and the strengthening of relationships. This beautiful tradition marks the beginning of Director Spahn's engagements in the country to strengthen our long-standing partnership with the people of Tonga. 🌺 #PeaceCorps

"To come here and work with women as a woman is very empowering and to see men in this community support women is empowering." When Rujeko first got to her site as a Peace Corps Fiji Volunteer, she worked with her village community to identify their priorities. With the local women starting their commutes to the market at 2:00 or 3:00 in the mornings, safety was a top priority. With a grant from USAID's Small Project Assistance Program, Rujeko supported her community in installing a solar lights system. These new lights now make it safe for everyone in the community to walk in the evenings or early mornings. Neighboring communities now call Rujeko's village, "The Village of Lights," and is now inspiring others to pursue similar projects. #PeaceCorps

Building connections through food. 🌏📣 Albert, one of our dedicated Peace Corps Fiji Volunteers, is channeling his love for cooking to support local women in his village. He's working in partnership with his local women's group to boost income generating activities — all with pickles! Albert shared a recipe for a pickled papaya salad, using local produce available in the village. This is now one product to diversify the women's small businesses and help them sell new goods at the local market. Together, this work is blending tradition, new ways of thinking, and inspiring opportunity. 🌟 #PeaceCorps

It's World Mosquito Day! 🦟 Today, we spotlight the ongoing fight against mosquito-borne illnesses like malaria. Recently, Peace Corps Senegal Health Volunteers Jamie and Max teamed up with their counterparts Oumar, Igor, and Djiby to host a Health and Olympic Sports Camp for 54 elementary school students. During the three-day camp, students competed in Olympic sports and learned vital health skills, including proper hygiene, nutrition, and how to protect themselves from infectious diseases like malaria and schistosomiasis. The camp ended with a closing ceremony where students shared what they learned with their parents and community through skits and informational posters. Through these efforts, #PeaceCorps is working alongside others to empower youth to stay healthy and informed, one lesson at a time. #WorldMosquitoDay

🌍🤝 humanitarian (noun): a person who seeks to promote human welfare. In a world where challenges know no borders, humanitarians deliver hope. This World Humanitarian Day, we say thank you to all those who dedicate their lives to improving the lives of others. Peace Corps is proud to partner with humanitarians worldwide as we work together to foster lasting peace and global health. This commitment was on display last month as 19 #PeaceCorps staff members engaged in global dialogues and shared our innovative HIV prevention work at the PEPFAR Annual Meeting and International AIDS Conference. From a presentation by Peace Corps/Namibia to a Fireside Chat featuring our Office of Global Health and HIV, our staff were energized by the opportunity to learn and enrich our community-centered HIV prevention efforts. The conference underscored the need for global cooperation and concern to save lives and to build a more peaceful and healthier world for all.

🌏 Check out Peace Fiji Volunteer MJ and her counterpart Mereani making waves in waste management in their local village. From community clean ups to educational workshops, they're making strides in public health and protecting the environment. As a Blue Pacific Youth Champion, supported in part by USAID, Mereani is learning all that she can to lead projects in the community. That's the spark that lights up when we work together! #PeaceCorps