A team of 17 US public health professionals under Peace Corps volunteer program have been sworn in for a two year mandate aimed at improving health standards in the rural.
The health minister Dr.Agnes Binagwaho applauded the volunteers’ courage to work in the country adding that they ought to learn a lot from the history, especially on how Rwandans have gained courage to progress after the war and Genocide.
“There’s nothing impossible with hope and nothing is impossible with solidarity,” she under scored.
A new country agreement was signed with the government on July 18, 2008. The first new group of thirty-five Public Health trainees arrived in January 2009. They were assigned to the Ministry of Health and the National AIDS Committee to health centers throughout the country.
After the swearing in ceremony the volunteers will depart for rural health clinics and health organizations across the country.
The volunteers have spent two months learning Kinyarwanda and the culture in order to interact well with the community. Jacob Deering, who’s among the volunteers says that he has been assigned to Nyaruguru district in the South province where will assist in public health education.
“The only way to understand the needs of the community is by interacting with them and be part of the society,” he remarked adding that: “Nishimiye kuza mu Rwanda guteza imbere ubuzima (I’m proud to be here and I expect to promote health standards),” he said out.
He said he has been assigned to Nyaruguru district in the South province where will assist in public health education.
“I will conduct trainings that will be highly based on nutrition, hygiene, HIV/AIDS prevention amongst others,” he said.
Mary Abrams the director of Peace Corps in Rwanda noted that several initiatives undertaken by the volunteers have shown progress.She cited education being the most successful with eighty volunteers in various secondary schools where there’re assisting in the nine year free basic education program.
There’re a total of 128 volunteers working in education and health sectors in the country. They join volunteers already serving in health organazations or as math, science and English teachers in secondary schools who have arrived in 4 groups since 2009.
The Peace Corps volunteer initiative was started by past US president John. F. Kennedy fifty years ago. In Rwanda, the Peace Corps signed an agreement with the Rwandan government in 1974 and the first group of Volunteers arrived in 1975. The agency withdrew volunteers in 1993 due to the civil war and the program closed in 1994.
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