Siiri Morley was speaking in a recent interview with journalists on the sidelines of the swearing-in ceremony of its 30 cohort of new Peace Corps volunteers, who underwent a 11-month intensive pre-service training at its Massembeh Training Centre in Lower Region.
“We typically had two years of service for volunteers. We hope that many of them will extend, but the pilot programme was an innovation to make Peace Corps easier for more
Americans to come and join and serve in places like The Gambia. So, we are very excited, as we’ve seen so far with recruitment that worked.”
Commenting on the 30 newly sworn-in volunteers, Morley expressed delight that the number represents the largest they’ve had since before the COVID-19 pandemic.
“So we are very excited. We think it will strengthen and bolster our work here in The Gambia.’
This pilot programme, she added, is for only three African countries including The Gambia as they are one of the innovators and that helped them put The Gambia literally on the map.
“More people at our headquarters are talking about it. So it’s The Gambia, Eswatini and Cameroon. And we are the second one to actually launch it.”
The idea behind this programme, she went on, is to attract more Americans to serve in the Peace Corps and to make it easier.
“For many Americans, two years of service is a long time to be away. It can be financially difficult to be away that long or maybe they have graduate school plans. And so our belief is that volunteers coming for a year can have tremendous impact. And that in addition to that impact in one year, they could also look at extending for a second or even a third year to stay for a longer time.”
She called on the newly sworn -in volunteers, who will be serving various communities across the country, to be patient, work hard, listen deeply, and to try to put their American perspectives behind them.
“And think about the Gambian perspectives first because our mission of world peace and friendship really begins in small moments. And we all know in The Gambia, I’ve been here two and a half years, you all are Gambian. I know almost every Gambian I meet knows Peace Corps and says I’ve met a Peace Corps volunteer. One taught me, one mentored me, one encouraged me to go to university. So, we know that every moment they have made an impact and they’re changing countless lives.’
She also encouraged volunteers to take what they’ve learned from The Gambia; the gifts of the Gambia back to the United States, saying the culture in the United States is better when it’s influenced by The Gambia.
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