Mr Michael Koffman, Country Director of Peace Corps, on Friday swore in 23 Peace Corps Volunteers at a ceremony at Anyinasin in the East Akyem Municipality.

The volunteers from different States in the USA would undertake voluntary works in Health, Water and Sanitation.

They arrived in the country on February 08, and had been trained in the languages and culture of the people they would be working with for their two-year stay in the country.

Mr Koffman said, the relationship between the Peace Corps and Ghana was growing stronger than ever and expressed gratitude to the home stay parents who readily accepted to host and cater for people they had never seen in life and made them part of their families.

Mr Victor Smith, the Eastern Regional Minister, said the batch of volunteers were unique in the sense that they were the first health, water and sanitation batch to start the sector.

He said he had no doubts that the socialization the volunteers had been taken through would help them fit well in the society without encountering much difficulty.

Mr Smith entreated them to bring their expertise to bear on the areas they find themselves, saying “let it be that at the end of your two years stay with the people, your satisfaction will be that you have imparted the people with skills, knowledge and positive attitudes that will make them self reliant and better than you met them”.

He assured them of the proverbial hospitality of the people of Ghana and urged them not to do anything that would deny them access to that hospitality.

Mr Smith also reminded the volunteers to be mindful of the fact that they were ambassadors of the USA government in wherever they find themselves adding that “remember that you are role models, especially for the youth in communities you are going to work in, therefore you must try as much as possible to live above reproach”.

Kristine Hoffer, Director for Programming and Training of Peace Corps, urged the volunteers to be confident in their new communities and exchange their culture with the various communities.**