Huynh,+Thy+2

Peace Corps to return to Sierra Leone   U.S. and Sierra Leone officials say that, after more than a decade, Peace Corps will return to Sierra Leone. Forty to fifty Peace Corps volunteers are supposed to arrive in June to help work on schools, education projects, and the development of communities. Americans have volunteered to work in Sierra Leone since 1962, but their work was interrupted from 1991 to 2002 because of the civil war there. Peace Corps organizations have over 7,500 volunteers to assist 75 countries. 

Similarities:  Both articles are about the return of Peace Corps to Sierra Leone to help work on educational programs. The CNN and Taragana articles both also tell the number of years the Peace Corps were not present in Sierra Leone. CNN said, “…to re-establish a Peace Corps program in Sierra Leone after a 15-year absence” and Taragana states: “…Peace Corps will return to Sierra Leone after 16 years’ absence.” Both articles also list the number of volunteers that would be arriving in about 8 months: about 40 or 50 volunteers. The ending of the articles were similar, too. Each mentioned that more than 3,400 Americans have served as Peace Corps volunteers in African countries since 1962. 

Differences:  Some of the numbers these two articles give are different. CNN said that the Peace Corps were gone for 15 years, while the article from Taragana stated that Peace Corps “will return to Sierra Leone after 16 years’ absence.” Also, CNN says that a group of 40 volunteers will come in June, but Taragana says that 50 volunteers will be arriving in June. These articles also used different quotes: CNN quoted Aaron S. Williams, the Peace Corps Director, and Taragana stated something from Lynn Foden, the Peace Corps Acting Regional Director for Africa. At the end, the article from Taragana also informed us about the civil war that was the reason the Peace Corps left, and how during the war, rebels recruited child soldiers and were killing civilians in an extremely cruel way, while on the other hand, CNN didn’t mention anything about this. 

Opinion:  I think it’s great that Peace Corps volunteers are going to work in Sierra Leone, and I especially think it’s good that they’re working on schools and programs to help more kids get the opportunity to learn and go to school. Because if you look at kids in the U.S., a lot of us don’t like school and we would rather not go, but in poorer countries like Sierra Leone where the was war, the kids didn’t have the option to go to school, and even if they did, some families still can’t afford to send their kids to school. For example, another article from CNN said that the cost for school in Zimbabwe is about $24 (U.S.) a year, but most families can’t afford that. Some couldn’t even afford reduced fees of $2 and had to offer their chickens to pay, instead. 

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10.5pt;">Sources: <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10.5pt;">CNN: <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10.5pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10.5pt;">Taragana: <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10.5pt;">[] <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">

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