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UPDATED: 16 Jan 2008 GMT
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Speeches

Peace Corps Swearing In Ceremony

Venue: Forrest Hill Secondary School, Morogoro

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Remarks by Ambassador Mark Green (as prepared)

I really am honored to be here with you today. This is an important moment for each of you, one that I hope you will look back on with great fondness. Since I am one of the few things standing between you and the chance to get to your site and begin changing the world, I will keep my remarks brief.

The governments of the United States and the United Republic of Tanzania have a strong, historic partnership. Tanzania was one of the first countries to request Peace Corps Volunteers and received its first PCVs in 1962. The Ministry of Education and Vocational Training, (MOEVT) under the leadership of Minister Margaret Sitta has wholeheartedly supported Peace Corps in its work in Tanzania. And for that we are deeply grateful.

There are over 2,400 secondary schools in Tanzania, and President Kikwete has called for the construction of 3,000 new ones. In the area of health care, despite progress that Tanzania has made in fighting some of the great health scourges of our time, there is so much that needs to be done. More than 400 Tanzanians die each day of HIV/AIDS. One hundred thousand Tanzanians also die every year of malaria. But you already know that you are needed, and welcome, here.

What I would like to do is very briefly offer some very personal thoughts, first as the U.S. Ambassador, and second as someone who has worked in East Africa as a volunteer earlier in my youth. I view my mission here in Tanzania as a very simple one: my job is to help shape America's image in Tanzania and throughout region. And the best way to do that, in my opinion, is not through diplomatic maneuvers or public relations campaigns, it is simply to highlight the good works carried out by our citizens, such as yourselves, all across the country.

For one thing, no nation can match what the United States is doing here in such critically important areas as education and health care. Furthermore, our actions show citizens of other nations what we, as Americans, stand for. The modern story of America here in Africa is that we have countless people back home who are giving of their time, treasure and talents for people they have never met and in places they have never seen.

And, of course, the Peace Corps is the epitome of that story. To date, 1,980 Peace Corps volunteers have served here in Tanzania. That is nearly 2,000 teachers, health care workers and community development volunteers who have dedicated two years of their lives to building a brighter future in this great country.

What I am driving at is that I want each of you to realize that you are part of a crucial mission – not just from Tanzania’s perspective—but also from America's perspective. Each of you is an ambassador. I may carry the title, but each of you is the ambassador as well. No matter how hard I try, most Tanzanians are unlikely to meet me or see me in person. But think of how many are touched by the 130 or so Peace Corps volunteers who are in the country at any given time.

You are not only working to lift lives in your traditional role, but you are shaping America’s image in this part of the world. And that is a vitally important role at this moment in history!

You are also helping to craft America’s image in the minds of Tanzania’s next generation of leaders. I cannot tell you how many Tanzanian leaders I have met who have told me they were taught at school by a Peace Corps volunteer or that their village was improved by a Peace Corps-led project.

Now some personal parting thoughts: While I have never had the honor of serving in the Peace Corps, my wife and I were volunteer secondary school teachers not too far from here in rural Kenya. And we had some interesting times during our stint as volunteers and we have stories will live with us forever.

My returning here has brought me full circle. I firmly believe that the person I am today, the work that I have done in the past twenty years, and all the success that I have achieved in life, may all be attributed largely in part to my time serving as a volunteer in East Africa.

So I wish you well! Aseteni sana.