August 1, 2022 10:40 a.m.

Roseburg resident Avalena Everard is among the first Peace Corps volunteers to return to service overseas since the agency’s unprecedented global evacuation in March of 2020.

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

Everard is headed to Uganda and said the two-year commitment will allow her time to get to know that community and its people. Everland said, “I feel inspired by the Peace Corps and its efforts to empower communities through locally driven projects.

Everard is a graduate of the University of Puget Sound. She will serve as volunteer in Uganda in the agriculture sector.

Currently the Peace Corps is recruiting volunteers to serve in 47 countries at the request of host country governments. Volunteers have already returned to 21 nations around the world.

Those interested can go to: www.peacecorps.gov/apply.