Chandler resident Kajal Dave is among the first Peace Corps volunteers to return to overseas service since the agency’s unprecedented global evacuation in March 2020.

The Peace Corps suspended global operations and evacuated nearly 7,000 volunteers from more than 60 countries at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dave is a 2020 graduate of Arizona State University with a bachelor’s degree in global studies. She will serve as a volunteer in Kosovo in the education sector.

“I wanted to join the Peace Corps immediately after graduation, but then the pandemic happened,” Dave said. “I couldn’t get the idea of volunteering abroad out of my mind, so I applied.”

The volunteer cohorts are made up of both first-time volunteers and volunteers who were evacuated in early 2020.

Upon finishing a three-month training, volunteers will collaborate with their host communities on locally prioritized projects in one of Peace Corps’ six sectors — agriculture, community economic development, education, environment, health or youth in development — and all will engage in COVID-19 response and recovery work.

“I can’t wait to represent my country and get to work,” Dave said. “I hope that I can integrate with the community, learn Albanian, and be a great teacher. I’m really excited to teach kids.”

The agency is recruiting volunteers to serve in 59 countries around the world at the request of host country governments, to connect through the Peace Corps’ grassroots approach across communities and cultures.

Volunteers have already returned to a total of 57 countries.

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