Caisey Griffith of Klamath Falls, Ore., has been accepted into the Peace Corps and will depart for Zambia on August 19, 2019, to begin training as a health volunteer. Griffith will promote maternal and child health in her community.
“I was motivated to join the Peace Corps after studying abroad in Uganda in college. I wanted to give back to the people who gave so much to me during my short time there,” said Griffith.
Griffith is the daughter of Mari and Eugene Griffith of Klamath Falls and a graduate of Klamath Union High School. She attended University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in zoology in December 2018.
During the first three months of her service, Griffith will live with a host family in Zambia to become fully immersed in the country’s language and culture. After acquiring the necessary skills to assist her community, Griffith will be sworn into service and assigned to a community in Zambia, where she will live and work for two years with the local people.
“I did not specifically apply to Zambia but it turned out to be the position of my dreams,” Griffith said. “I am most excited about integrating into the community that I am placed in so that I can learn as much as possible from community members while also imparting some of my own knowledge.”
Griffith will work in cooperation with the local people and partner organizations on sustainable, community-based development projects that improve the lives of people in Zambia and help Griffith develop leadership, technical and cross-cultural skills that will give her a competitive edge when she returns home. Peace Corps volunteers return from service as global citizens well-positioned for professional opportunities in today’s global job market.
Griffith joins the 184 Oregon residents currently serving in the Peace Corps and more than 6,547 Oregon residents who have served in the Peace Corps since 1961.
Learn more about Peace Corps at UW-Madison.
About volunteers in Zambia: There are more than 275 volunteers in Zambia working with their communities on projects in agriculture, education, the environment and health. During their service in Zambia, volunteers learn to speak local languages, including Bemba, Chitonga, Kaonde, Lunda, Mambwe-Lungu and Nyanja. More than 2,260 Peace Corps volunteers have served in Zambia since the program was established in 1994
About the Peace Corps: The Peace Corps sends Americans with a passion for service abroad on behalf of the United States to work with communities and create lasting change. Volunteers develop sustainable solutions to address challenges in education, health, economic development, agriculture, environment and youth development. Through their Peace Corps experience, volunteers gain a unique cultural understanding and a life-long commitment to service that positions them to succeed in today’s global economy. Since President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps in 1961, more than 230,000 Americans of all ages have served in 141 countries worldwide. For more information, visit peacecorps.gov and follow them on Facebook and Twitter.