Posted by: Jeremy Borovitz, Group 38, YD PCV in Boyarka, Cherkaska Oblast
This blog entry is written by an American Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV) currently living and working in Ukraine. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Peace Corps, an American volunteer program run by the United States Government, the U.S. Embassy hosted a competition among all Ukraine-based PCVs and will be posting the top three over the next week. This essay won second place. You can read the first place winning essay here.
To learn more about 50th anniversary of the Peace Corps please read E-journal.
To learn more about Peace Corps in Ukraine please visit official website.
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Some days I wake up in the middle of the night, and I’ve finally got it. That one magic idea that will transform my small village, the magic pill that, if I just get them to swallow it, will cure all of our problems. I am too excited to reenter my sleeping state.
And other days I hear my alarm beep and fail to move. It’s cold and dark outside of the covers. My self-described brilliant idea has been shrugged off once again, a pill not just too hard to swallow but one that they won’t even send to trial. Outside my covers await another day of little progress.
But most days I wake up even before my 6am alarm, because the roosters next door are crowing and then the dogs start barking and then the tractors start moving. The sounds of a country morning are an obstacle that I have yet to overcome. I sometimes find myself yearning for that urban clatter of my beloved New York, taxis raging and pedestrians bustling and the subway rattling beneath many stories that aren’t my own. (more…)
Like most people, I like to think weekends are best when they offer time to relax with my family, but there are times when my job requires me to fill the time with a full schedule and travel and I do not mind. A wonderful example occurred June 3-7, when Mariella and I visited Odessa, one of my favorite cities in Ukraine. This was my third time in the famed seaside town. Like last summer, the main purpose of the visit was to support the joint U.S.-Ukrainian naval exercises known as Sea Breeze, but our time was spent doing much more. We had a very busy weekend, joining a group of Ambassadors for part of a program organized by the Ukrainian Directorate General for Services of Foreign Missions (GDIP). For example, on Friday evening we were treated to a performance at the Odessa Opera House, which I have been told is a close architectural cousin of the opera in Vienna. Mariella and I are both great fans of the ballet, and seeing Odessa’s young ballet stars up close was a wonderful experience.
The next morning, I joined the diplomatic corps in a call on the Governor and the Odessa Oblast Council. We were briefed on investment plans for the Odessa region. Later I had private meetings with Mayor Kostusev and Governor Matviychuk. Both of them stressed the importance of investment in Ukraine and in the Odessa region. This is a topic I work on closely, and I expressed some of our concerns about the investment climate, and about fighting corruption at all levels. The Mayor and the Governor both agreed that these are important issues, and I am looking forward to working with them to help promote economic development in the Odessa region. (more…)
This blog entry is written by an American Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV) currently living and working in Ukraine. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Peace Corps, an American volunteer program run by the United States Government, the U.S. Embassy hosted a competition among all Ukraine-based PCVs and will be posting the top three over the next week, beginning with the overall winner, followed by the two runners up. Today U.S. Ambassador John F. Tefft swore in the latest group of PCVs at a ceremony at the historic Teacher’s House.
The Peace Corps traces its roots and mission to 1960, when then Senator John F. Kennedy challenged students at the University of Michigan to serve their country in the cause of peace by living and working in developing countries. In 1961, President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps to promote world peace and friendship.
The Peace Corps’ mission has three simple goals:
Helping the people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women.
Helping promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served.
Helping promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans
Peace Corps volunteers work at the request of other countries to help develop better opportunities for their people, living and working with people in remote villages and burgeoning cities in the developing world. Since 1961, more than 200,000 Americans have served as volunteers in 139 countries, teaching English, helping people improve their families’ health and nutrition, working on HIV/AIDS issues, encouraging entrepreneurs to build their own businesses, introducing new farming techniques to bolster crop yields and protect the environment, and providing leadership to the young.
To learn more about 50th anniversary of the Peace Corps please read E-journal.
This blog entry is written by an American Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV) currently living and working in Ukraine. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Peace Corps, an American volunteer program run by the United States Government, the U.S. Embassy hosted a competition among all Ukraine-based PCVs and will be posting the top three over the next week. This essay won second place. You can read the first place winning essay here.
