"Sierra Leone has traditionally been a very welcoming country to the Peace Corps," said Wallach. "And there have been about 3400 volunteers in a 32-year history, up until 1994. We had been thinking about coming back for a few years, but a combination of the budget allowing us to and the security situation stabilizing made the timing right last year for us to come back."

In Blama, every day Pease comes home to a gaggle of young friends eager for her time.

But before she plays, she marks her students’ papers. As the school’s only Chemistry and Physics teacher, she has a lot to do.

As efforts to get more children through primary school in Sierra Leone are bearing fruit, many high schools are now overloaded with students. Science teachers are particularly scarce.

For Pease, one of the most surprising and challenging things about her experience so far is the lack of motivation among her colleagues and students.

"I had sort of a romantic idea coming to a developing country where everyone is super motivated but just does not have opportunity, " said Pease. "And that is not exactly how it is. Not that I am saying the opportunities are so great, because of course there are limited opportunities compared to America, but I think one of the biggest things is literally just motivation."

For St. Joseph’s deputy principal, Walter Sam, Peace Corps’ return to Sierra Leone is a welcome support to the challenges of providing quality education in difficult conditions.