Mothers for All is delighted to announce that Mary McGee, a US Peace Corps Volunteer, will be spending the next two years in Selibe-Phikwe working with us. Mary brings a range of much needed skills, as well as enthusiasm and a spirit of adventure, after years in public library service in California and Alaska followed by work with the US Forest Service leading tours in limestone caves and glacier cruises around Alaska.

Rather appropriately Mary’s Setswana name is Peo, meaning seed, and she looks forward to growing with our organisation as it expands its support for the caregivers of orphans and vulnerable children through product diversification and life skills programmes. She and her husband Charles, who is also a Peace Corps Voluneer stationed in Selebi-Phikwe, are very happy to be in Botswana, learning about a new country and culture and sharing both with friends and family in America.

The Peace Corps Volunteer Programme started in 1960, when then Senator John F. Kennedy challenged students at the University of Michigan to serve their country in the cause of peace by working in developing countries. The Peace Corps is now a federal government agency dedicated to promoting peace and friendship around the world.  Since its inception 200,000 Volunteers have served two-year stints in 139 host countries working on issues ranging from AIDS education to information technology and environmental preservation. Over 1,000 new Volunteers, as a part of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), have been allocated to countries like Botswana which have some of the highest burdens of HIV disease.

Mary has wasted no time in befriending our mothers and generally making herself indispensable. Welcome Mary, and thank you for volunteering your time, energy and skills. Thank you also to the Peace Corps for allocating a Volunteer to Mothers for All.