28 Peace Corps volunteers sworn in to begin two years of service across Guyana

Twenty-eight Peace Corps volunteers were officially sworn into service on Wednesday, marking the start of a two-year commitment to communities across Guyana. The volunteers, comprising 23 Peace Corps volunteers and five Peace Corps Response volunteers, took the oath during the swearing-in ceremony for the 37th cohort at the Theatre Guild in Georgetown after completing 10 weeks of intensive pre-service training. Addressing the ceremony, Peace Corps Guyana Country Director, Christie Scott told the volunteers the journey would not only impact the communities they serve but also transform their own lives. “Beginning today, you are no longer preparing to serve; you are Peace Corps volunteers. The learning doesn’t end today. In many ways it is just the beginning,” Scott said. During their training, the volunteers learned technical skills, Guyanese Creole, explored the country’s history and culture, and prepared for life and work within communities across Guyana. Scott urged the volunteers to value the everyday moments of service, noting that meaningful change is often built through relationships rather than grand achievements. “Never ever underestimate the impact of small, seemingly ordinary moments of your service. The moments that define your service might never appear in a report, but they will be remembered by the people who shared them with you,” she said. She reminded the volunteers that communities are not looking for perfection. “We do not expect you to arrive at your sites with all the answers. Communities are not expecting perfection; they are looking for someone who is dependable, curious, respectful and willing to work alongside them,” Scott said, adding that some of their greatest successes would come from the relationships they build and the consistency they bring every day. Delivering the charge to the new volunteers, U.S Ambassador to Guyana Nicole Theriot described their service as a life-changing experience that would include both challenges and rewarding moments. “This will be life-changing for you. You will have hard days, days when nothing goes as planned, when the gap between your intention and your impact feels impossibly wide. And you will have days that remind you exactly why you are here. Hold onto both; they are both part of your Peace Corps experience,” Ambassador Theriot said. She noted that since the Peace Corps was established in Guyana in 1961, some 1,132 volunteers have served in the country, with the new cohort continuing that legacy. “To GUY 37, you are about to take an oath. It is a commitment to something larger than yourself, to the ideals of service and connection, and to the belief that people from different places, working together in good faith, can make the world a better place,” the ambassador said. The newly sworn-in volunteers will now be deployed to communities across Guyana, where they will spend the next two years working alongside residents on development initiatives while fostering cultural exchange.