By Katalina Siasau

On a first visit to Tonga and the Pacific, US Peace Corps Director Carol Spahn, from Washington DC, was welcomed by the Peace Corps Tonga staff with a traditional Kava ceremony on Tuesday, at the Peace Corps Office in Nuku'alofa. During her visit this week, Director Spahn will administer the oath of services to 19 new Peace Corps volunteers on Friday.

Associate Director of Peace Corps Office of Global Operations, Scott Beale was also welcomed at the kava ceremony.

The Peace Corps has been active in the Pacific since the early 1960s, and serving in Tonga for 57 years. There are about 100 Peace Corps volunteers in the Pacific and approximately 30 in Tonga.

In an interview before her welcome kava ceremony, Director Spahn said the impact of Covid 19 had been a challenge for Peace Corps operations and services in the region.

"The global pandemic impacted every country around the world. It closed off borders and it isolated people from each other and from themselves, and from their families. And really, Peace Corps is about human connection, and it's about connecting across borders and connecting across difference. We believe that's what creates that fabric of world peace because we understand each other."

Youth need opportunities

The Peace Corps is interested in the development of youth.

Spahn said there is a need to empower young people to make a difference, and to take up opportunities.

"This is the largest generation of youth in history, and for countries to thrive, in the United States and around the world, young people need opportunity."

Peace Corps in Pacific

The world wide director of Peace Corps spoke about her vision for the Peace Corps in the Pacific.

"What I've said to my team is, let's build on our strengths of working in local communities, in rural and underserved communities, and then look at how we can bring those voices and bring that knowledge and expertise into some of the things that might be happening at a national level."

"So that is my hope that as there's more emphasis and energy and funding coming into the Pacific and a real understanding of the frontline climate impacts that are happening, that people are feeling on a day-to-day basis, that we can do so in a really structured and thoughtful way that really does engage those different levels of expertise."

Blue Pacific Youth Initiative

"Peace Corps has a Blue Pacific Youth Initiative where we've selected youth champions from Samoa, Fiji, Tonga, and Vanuatu and really taken them to each country to understand the issues, to understand the commonality, and to really develop their leadership skills so that their voices, particularly the voices of the rural youth, can be at the table and can be part of that discussion and that dialogue. So most certainly, you know, our representatives will be talking about some of that at the Pacific Islands Forum.”

She said these are issues that Peace Corps has been engaged with for a long time.

First environment Peace Corps volunteers

Peace Corps will be launching their first ever environment group of volunteers who will be sworn in on Friday 23 August.

"It's our first standalone climate action program in Peace Corps and we're in 60 different countries. We have environment programs, but this one's very focused on climate resilience, climate literacy, so people understand the language of climate and put it into action," Spahn said.

She noted that Peace Corps volunteers will put climate resilience to action, in a variety of activities. Education volunteers will also be hosting camps and clubs this week and getting trained on climate resilience.