FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, June 10, 2004
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Peace Corps
Contact: Press Office
Phone: 202.692.2230
Fax: 202.692.1379
Email: pressoffice@peacecorps.gov |
Peace Corps Director Visits Peru, Participates in Swearing-in Ceremony |
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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Peace Corps Director Gaddi H. Vasquez arrived to a warm reception in Peru this past week, where he
met with President Alejandro Toledo and participated in the swearing-in ceremony
of the first group of volunteers to serve in the new Youth Development program.
“The 13 new volunteers will work with youth in Peru, where
60 percent of the population is under the age of 24, and only 34 percent of
Peruvians complete high school,” said Director Vasquez. “One of the goals is to
help them become productive workers, and perhaps achieve things their parents
and grandparents never had the opportunity to try.”
During the swearing-in ceremony at the Presidential Palace,
President Toledo thanked the Peace Corps for returning to Peru. In expressing
his deep appreciation for the volunteers, President Toledo said, “I can’t be
objective about the Peace Corps because the Peace Corps changed my life when I
was just a young man.”
President Toldeo, a strong advocate of the Peace Corps,
first encountered volunteers as a youth. They lived with his family, taught him
English and later helped him gain admission to a college in the United States.
President Toledo later earned his graduate degree at Stanford University. After
being elected president in 2001, he invited the Peace Corps to return to Peru
after a 27-year absence.
Director Vasquez also spent time visiting volunteers and
touring the communities in which they serve. He talked with volunteers involved
in the CARE regional programming and community impact areas dealing with small
business, health and youth.
Since 1961, more than 171,000 volunteers have served in the
Peace Corps, working in such diverse fields as education, health, HIV/AIDS
education and prevention, information technology, business development, the
environment, and agriculture. Peace Corps volunteers must be U.S. citizens and
at least 18 years of age. Peace Corps service is a two-year commitment.
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