In a recent interview with Tunisia Live, US Ambassador Gordon Gray gave some specifics into the structure of the new USA Peace Corps program that will be reintroduced in Tunisia in 2012.
“There will be 20-24 in the first class focused in two areas: youth skills development and English language training,” according to Ambassador Gray.
Ambassador Gray stressed that while the initial number of volunteers may seem small, should the program be deemed a success, the size of the program could increase in the future.
Rob Prince, a Professor of International Studies at the University of Denver and a former Peace Corps Volunteer in Tunisia, welcomed news of the reintroduction of the Peace Corps. “I was in the Peace Corps from June 1966 through October 1968 teaching English at the Bourguiba School on Rue De La Liberte. I also taught in Sousse. It was one of the best experiences of my life.”
The Peace Corps program in Tunisia was much larger during Prince’s era numbering nearly 300 volunteers. The program focused on teaching English, child care and architecture. “Although a good 225 of us were teaching English, I know one of the child care volunteers who was in Gabes is now a Professor at Harvard and there are many buildings, even mosques in Tunisia today that were designed by Peace Corps volunteers,” Prince said.
