New Peace Corps Team Begins Community Work Across Rural Costa Rica

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Published on Monday, September 28, 2026
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

A new group of 19 U.S. Peace Corps volunteers will begin a two-year project teaching English in rural communities across Costa Rica.

U.S. Ambassador Melinda Hildebrand officially swore in the volunteers Friday during a ceremony at the U.S. Embassy in San José, the embassy said.

The volunteers will work through the Peace Corps' Community Economic Development program, specifically its English Education project.

The project aims to help students develop English-language communication skills and cultural understanding needed to pursue academic and professional opportunities. According to the Peace Corps, the program uses a co-planning and co-teaching model.

The program is being carried out in cooperation with the National Directorate for Community Development, known as Dinadeco, and Costa Rica's Ministry of Public Education, or MEP.

The new Peace Corps volunteers will work in schools and rural communities as part of the effort to expand English-language education while supporting local community development. The initiative seeks to support economic growth and improve the standard of living for families in rural communities.

"Working from schools in communities across the country, these volunteers will help create opportunities, strengthen local capacities, and deepen ties between the peoples of the United States and Costa Rica," the U.S. Embassy said in a statement.

The Peace Corps is an independent agency of the U.S. government. Since the agency began operating in Costa Rica in 1963, more than 4,000 volunteers have served in programs focused on English-language education, community economic development and youth development.

The MEP oversees Costa Rica's public education system and implements policies and programs designed to ensure nationwide access to free basic public education.

Dinadeco is a government agency that helps build, guide and strengthen local community organizations, most of which are known as Development Associations.

The agency provides funding, training and free advice to help local communities develop projects such as parks, community centers, roads and other infrastructure intended to improve local living conditions.

The recently arrived group is one of several Peace Corps teams coming to Costa Rica to carry out aid programs. In June, another contingent began teaching English in public schools across the country.

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