Africa-Press – Botswana. Peace Corps Botswana held a matching ceremony in Ramotswa on Friday to receive 16 American Peace Corps volunteers.
The ceremony is a meeting of the trainees and families, which will host the volunteers for the duration of their community-based pre-service training scheduled to take place from July 12 to September 27.
The pre-service training is not only meant to immerse the volunteers in the culture of Batswana, but also to equip them with basic knowledge on education and health in Botswana for them to conduct community assessments.
Speaking at the ceremony, Peace Corps Botswana director, Mr Kristopher Kerecman said that the day marked a significant moment where Botswana and America came together to foster an environment of mutual respect, understanding and collaboration.
He said the partnership gave the volunteers a welcoming platform to embark on their noble mission to make a difference in communities across the country.
Mr Kerecman also expressed his gratitude to Kgosi Mosadi Seboko, the Gamalete community and host families for their invaluable support in offering the volunteers a place to belong, to learn and to grow before they resumed service.
He urged the volunteers to start their pre-service training with enthusiasm and to embrace the hosts culture, share their knowledge and to forge lasting bonds that transcended borders.
He described the partnership as a two-way street, and also urged them to celebrate diversity and to embrace Botswana’s culture and traditions.
In her remarks, Kgosi Mosadi praised Botswana Peace Corps for the trust they bestowed upon the community to host and partner in training the Peace Corps trainees over the past years.She said the partnership started in 2019 but was halted by COVID-19 for two years.“We have since 2022 to date partnered and sworn in about five cohorts of both two-year Peace Corps Volunteers and one year Peace Corps Volunteers,” she said.
She also urged the Peace Corps Volunteers to utilise the home stay experience to immerse themselves in the culture and to learn Setswana by interacting with the community.
In his remarks, Ramotswa District Council chairperson, Mr Zaahid Jalal said Balete had remained a great host for Peace Corps volunteers over the years.
He encouraged volunteers to be committed as the basic knowledge that they would be equipped with in health would go a long way when conducting assessments to address the HIV issue.
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