Hanoi, Viet Nam — The United States Government Agency Peace Corps welcomed its first-ever cohort of 10 Volunteers to Viet Nam on October 27. Among the Volunteers is our church’s Preston Stewart, son of Jo and Tim Stewart and a graduate of Cape Elizabeth High School and Harvard University.

The focus of the Peace Corps program in Viet Nam is English education, as outlined in an Implementing Agreement signed in 2020 between the United States and Vietnamese governments with Peace Corps and the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) as implementing entities.

Fully aligned with MOET’s national priorities for English Language Education, these Peace Corps Volunteers will serve in secondary schools throughout the districts of Hanoi beginning in January 2023, after 10 weeks of comprehensive training to build the cultural and necessary skills necessary to work effectively in Viet Nam’s educational system. They will be assigned to co-teach English classes alongside Vietnamese English teachers.

Prior to leaving the United States, the Volunteers gathered on October 25 in Washington, D.C., where they heard remarks and words of encouragement from Ambassador Nguyen Quon Dung, Vietnamese Ambassador to the United States.

The arrival of this first group of Volunteers marks a significant milestone in the United States-Viet Nam relationship, building on decades of growing people-to-people ties and close partnership to promote English language learning.

Peace Corps is an independent agency under the Executive Branch of the U.S. government which operates a volunteer program to provide host governments with assistance on their development priorities.

Since President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps in 1961, over 240,000 Americans have served as Volunteers in more than 142 countries.

Viet Nam is the 143rd country to invite and partner with the Peace Corps.