February 6, 2012
Alison Cumbow
Peace Corps Volunteer
TEFL in Ukraine
akcumbow@gmail.com
Dear Faithful Blog Readers,
I’m writing to you all specifically for assistance funding a very important Peace Corps Partnership Project. This project is in collaboration with 17 other volunteers and eight Ukrainians from around the country to conduct a summer camp in east Ukraine. Our goal is to develop homegrown Ukrainian leaders by teaching youth about project management, teamwork, and multiculturalism. Camp MAKE motivates, encourages, and opens the minds of youth to new ideas and new ways of doing things.
At first glance, Ukraine is not a country you would expect the Peace Corps to be in. There are signs of what looks like a country’s development — among other things, there are roads, schools, and power stations.
But, there’s a catch: the roads fall apart and aren’t repaired, the schools have no heat in winter, and the power stations occasionally blow up. Beneath the veneer of development, deep cultural attitudes and a legacy of Soviet
leadership chip away at the ability of the people to organize themselves and improve their country.
In a society where individuality was openly discouraged, few people are creative enough to come up with solutions to problems. In a country where all the native leadership was systematically destroyed for the better part of the last two centuries, too few Ukrainians are equipped with the skills to change and develop their country.
So, that’s where we — and hopefully, you — come in. As Americans, we’ve been raised to take charge, make things happen and change something if we’re unhappy with it. We question why something is the way it is, and we don’t stop at “no.” We fund raise, volunteer, work together, lead, follow and progress. We’ve been given a unique perspective at life that doesn’t agree with Ukrainians’ motto that they survive, not live. So, while we preach to our students about English grammar in front of classrooms every day, we’re also representing something else — we’re living, breathing examples of something different.
Camp is a breath of fresh air in a toxic smoke cloud. Camp is hearing a 14 year-old boy, raised in a culture that sells its women to the West say, “In a marriage, it’s not important who’s the bread-winner or who stays at home, just that both people contribute.” Camp is hearing a 16-year-old girl, raised in a culture that still refers to Black people by the N-word say “It doesn’t matter what you look like, as long as you are nice and care about other people.” Camp is listening to a group of Ukrainian teens who have just spent 3 days renovating a local community center discussing how a better action plan and communication would have improved their project. Camp is seeing meaningful changes in attitudes and actions.
Ukraine needs of lot of things to meet the challenges of the 21st century: clean water, medication, safe and reliable transportation, etc. Our project is designed to correct the underlying challenges that keep Ukrainians from solving their own problems: a wholesale lack of native leadership and innovation. Camp MAKE aims to create a generation of curious, creative, compassionate Ukrainian leaders. Camp MAKE focuses on the potential of Ukraine to do for herself sustainably. MAKE stands for multiculturalism, action, knowledge, and empowerment, but it means much more.
Camp makes change. Camp makes waves. Camp makes a difference.
To read more and consider helping our cause, please visit our website at: campmake.wordpress.com, or go directly to the Peace Corps donation website at: https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=donate.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=343-295
We sincerely appreciate any help you can give. Donating to Camp MAKE 2012 will help make the possibility for a better future a reality for our promising Ukrainian youth. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Alison
Camp MAKE Co-Director
CONTACT US BY EMAIL: CAMPMAKE@GMAIL.COM • WEBSITE: CAMPMAKE.WORDPRESS.COM • OR PHONE: +380 63 746 4139
