Sierra Leone Telegraph: 01 December 2023:
The U.S. Government’s Peace Corps program in Sierra Leone has signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) agreements with the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (MBSSE) and the Ministry of Health (MOH) renewing their continued commitment to partnership.
American Peace Corps Volunteers have served in Sierra Leone since 1962 and continue to teach alongside Sierra Leonean teachers in math, science, and literacy around the country.
The program has operated in the health sector since 2016 and places Volunteers in clinics in collaboration with community health workers across 10 districts in Sierra Leone. These MOUs ensure that the partnership between the U.S. Peace Corps and the Sierra Leonean Government will continue for the foreseeable future.
Honourable Minister Conrad Sackey (MBSSE) welcomed Natalie Gill-Mensah, Peace Corps’ Country Director, and Mohamed Dumbuya, Education Program Manager, to his office to discuss the Peace Corps.
Eighteen Volunteers are serving as teachers in primary, junior secondary and senior secondary schools around the provinces. Minister Sackey recalled many positive experiences with Peace Corps from his early years at Albert Academy to a fellowship experience in the United States where he visited the Peace Corps headquarters in Washington, DC.
Honourable Acting Minister Dr. Charles Senessie (MOH), Gill-Mensah, and Peace Corps Program Manager Zainab Kamara met for MOH MOU signing. Twelve Peace Corps Volunteers are currently serving in clinics supporting maternal child health efforts, reproductive health education and malaria prevention. They discussed the importance of the partnership and appreciation for ministry support as the Peace Corps continues to identify clinics for Volunteer service.
“Peace Corps’ commitment to Sierra Leone and its people has a long-storied history and I am so excited and honored to continue in this tradition through renewing our MOUs with the ministries,” said Gill-Mensah.
These meetings and MOU signing represents the ongoing partnership between the United States Peace Corps and the Government of Sierra Leone and the intention to maintain it for years to come.
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