St. Charles Woman Begins Peace Corps Service in Zambia

At age 22, Kristi Lee Kumorek of St. Charles, Ill., has been accepted into the Peace Corps and is scheduled to leave for Zambia on Tuesday, June 11, 2013, to begin training as an English education volunteer.

The 2009 St. Charles North High School  graduate’s work will be to help implement “participatory teaching methods, inclusion practices, classroom management, authentic assessments, parental involvement, HIV/AIDS awareness, and gender equality in classrooms in her community,” according to a Peace Corps release.

Kumorek earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Creighton University in Omaha, Neb., in 2013.

“Creighton encouraged dedication in serving one another and the community,” Kumorek said in the release. “I devoted countless hours to service events including Project Homeless and CU Cleanup.”

During the first three months of her service in Zambia, Kumorek will complete technical, language, health, and safety training while living with a host family to become fully immersed in the country’s language and culture. The training and cultural exchange prepare Kumorek for her two years of service, while also allowing community members to gain a better understanding of Americans. After Kumorek is sworn into service and assigned to a community, she will work on sustainable, community-driven development projects that make a difference for the people of Zambia and provide Kumorek with leadership and cross-cultural skills she can use throughout her career.

Inspired by a Creighton professor who was a returned Peace Corps volunteer, Kumorek is excited to integrate her interests in travel and serving others during her time abroad.

“Helping others has always been a goal of mine, and with Peace Corps I get to help others in ways most people will never have the chance to do,” she said in the Peace Corps release.

Kumorek joins 352 Illinois residents serving in the Peace Corps. More than 8,157 Illinois residents have served as volunteers since the agency was created in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy.

According to the release, nearly 1,435 Peace Corps volunteers have served in Zambia since the program was established there in 1993. There are 284 volunteers serving in Zambia, where they work in the areas of education, community development, environment, agriculture, health and business. The Peace Corps trains its volunteers in Zambia in languages that include Bemba, Kaonde, Lunda, Mambwe, Nyanja, Tonga and Tumbuka.

Related:

• Zambia-Wikipedia

• Zambia - CIA

• Zambia Online

• Zambia Tourism

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