Reflections on Peace Corps Connect Conference 2019 in Austin T.X.
By Kevin Blossfeld, RPCV Ukraine 2015-2017
Peace Corps Ukraine volunteers were strongly represented at this year’s Peace Corps Connect Conference (PCCC) in Austin, T.X. Supported by the National Peace Corps Association, The Heart of Texas Peace Corps Association (HoTPCA) hosted nearly 400 RPCVs and other supporters of the Peace Corps Community. This year’s conference theme “Innovation for Good,” was a high bar to set for any conference, and served as a driving and uniting force for the the Peace Corps community.
The program was packed with workshops, awards, and special guest speakers from both the public and private sectors, including Jody Olsen, Peace Corps Director. Together, we enjoyed the local flavor of Austin, shared stories, and planed steps our community could take to better the world in these trying times. At the same time, we “Kept Austin Weird,” as only RPCVs can.
The RPCV Alliance for Ukraine’s Regional Officers where out in full force on Saturday at the Affiliate Group Network Annual Meeting (AGNAM) – an annual gathering which brings together Peace Corps community leadership from across the nation. Representatives Gretch Upholt of Chicago and Nicole Braddick of Houston discussed ways in which the affiliate group community can more closely collaborate and empower each other, in order to create an even more vibrant and thriving RPCV community for generations to come.
RPCV’s who helped launch the Ukraine program in the 1990’s following Ukraine’s independence, the new groups of RPVCs who helped relaunch the program following the Revolution of Dignity, and all the groups in between, took this opportunity to foster new connections by sharing the experiences from service with Peace Corps community leadership.
Jody Olsen’s announcement that Peace Corps’ Kenya will reopen this year evoked the world-wind of emotions I felt, when, as part of group 48, we were tasked with re-integrating Peace Corps within Ukraine. I recalled the immense gratitude and excitement for us simply showing up in Ukraine as a group of what could only be described as a diverse and eclectic mixture of Americans. And while we had gotten on this flight as Americans, we had arrived in Ukraine as Peace Corps Volunteers. The feeling morphed into something much more profound as I began to understand how much we could serve as a force for good, even in the tiny role we were to play over the next 27 months in Ukraine’s development.
This was my first glimpse of what it means to be a Peace Corps Volunteer. The next, a long Lufthansa flight through Germany, and then a packed double-decker bus ride to Chernihiv for training, a northeastern city whose transformation since 2015 has been nothing short of breathtaking.
While I am thrilled and excited for not only Peace Corps Ukraine’s future, but Ukraine’s future as whole, I was touched by the emotions displayed by volunteers from countries without such optimism. I can only try to empathize – as an RPCV with such a deep connection to my country of service – with those other RPCVs who are watching as their country’s Peace Corps mission faces suspension or even closure. As PCVs, we become a part of our host country communities, while at the same time, wittingly or unwittingly becoming part of the broader community of Returned Peace Corps Volunteers all over the world.
The RPCV Alliance for Ukraine’s passion for enhancing the lives of those who served in Ukraine, or are serving as PCVs in Ukraine, is only rivaled by our passion for supporting Ukrainians themselves.
