Thirty-two American Peace Corps Volunteers were Tuesday sworn-in at the Ofori Panin Senior High School at New Tafo in the Eastern Region and posted to various second cycle institutions in the ten regions as teachers of science and ICT programmes.

This was after they had gone through a ten-week training programme to prepare them for their two- year stay in Ghana.

Speaking at a durbar to mark the occasion, the Charge d'Affairs of the US Embassy in Ghana, Sue K. Brown, thanked the government for inviting Peace Corps to come and offer a helping hand in the country, making the partnership between the United States and Ghana stronger and stronger. She said, "Together we are moving forward, making great strides and forging lasting relationships".

Madam Brown recalled that on August 30, 1961, the first 50 Peace Corps Volunteers in the world arrived in Ghana to teach in Secondary Schools throughout the nation and that those Volunteers created a legacy that the current ones had inherit today.

She told the new Volunteers that the over 4,000 of their colleagues who had served in Ghana since 1961 had made a difference in many aspects of human endeavour, making lasting friendships along the way and thus, bringing the two nations closer to each other.

Madam Brown drew their attention to the fact that teaching in Ghana takes place in challenging circumstances, and added that they would reap sizeable rewards from the contributions they make towards the future of their students and the communities that they live in. "Always remember that your work is important, even if you cannot see the change immediately. Your success will flow from the deep commitment and abiding respect you have for your students, your counterparts and your community", Brown admonished.

She reminded them of the Peace Corps oath to service and said it is a sign of commitment to a life of helping others and improving the communities in which they live every day. She declared, "Peace Corps" 47 years of uninterrupted service in Ghana, is a testament to lasting friendship, to the strong bonds that unite our two nations, and to our interdependent and prosperous future".

The country Director, Robert W Golledge congratulated the Volunteers on the way they had been able to fit into the Ghanaian society.

The Eastern Regional Minister, Kwadwo Afram-Asiedu noted that Peace Corps had impacted tremendously on the development of the country, especially in the field of education.

He reminded the Volunteers that their work as teachers would affect and shape the lives of many children for years to come, urging that they should live and hold themselves above reproach. Mr. Affram-Asiedu assured them of the proverbial Ghanaian hospitality, and entreated them to see themselves as role models to their students.