110 Volunteers Swear in With Group 54

110 Volunteers Swear in With Group 54.  

 Written by Michael Andrews, Peace Corps Response Ukraine

110 New Volunteers

Raise Their Hands and

Embrace Their Butterflies 

Butterflies.

We’ve all had them. Those anxious feelings that meet us when we experience something scary, wonderful or weird.

On October 16, a swarm of raging butterflies overtook 110 of our Peace Corps volunteer colleagues when Deputy Chief of Missions for Ukraine, Kristina Kvien, asked them to “raise their right hands” to repeat the oath of service during their swearing in ceremony in Kyiv. 

Regardless of where we came from, we have all been there, relishing the moment when twists and turns of a decision to leave home, travel and training brought us together to embrace something larger than ourselves. 

Peace Corps Ukraine Group 54 is no different. Yet their service is remarkable. For the first time since the EuroMaidan, Peace Corps Ukraine is placing volunteers in Zaporizka oblast, which now extends Peace Corps work to 22 oblasts in Ukraine, the largest post in the world. Peace Corps Country Director, Michael Ketover, called that work “person-to-person” diplomacy in his opening remarks. At this moment in history, such a personal and passionate approach to helping Ukraine strengthen its democracy is crucial.

Regardless of how or where we serve, teaching English, helping youth, guiding civic education or fighting HIV, we play critical roles helping our Ukrainian hosts accomplish dreams for a better future. Our initial butterflies never leave. They are just transformed from aspirations to actions.

Sarah Chappell, a community development volunteer who just arrived to serve at an environmental NGO, describes her butterflies succinctly. 

“When I heard the words, ‘now raise your right hand,’ that moment felt more surreal than any experience I’ve had since leaving to start this journey. Though we have heard this oath countless times on TV, saying it was something different. It was a true reminder of our purpose here and the commitment we are making. In that moment, I felt a sentiment that I will recall again and again when I’ll inevitably be faced with hardships and frustrations – this service is not for me – these extraordinary moments are just a bonus.”

Indeed, it is not really about us. As Peace Corps volunteers, we all must balance the give and take of living far away, reaching for sometimes mysterious and elusive results. Our butterflies remain echoes of the oath we take and sustain us to do what Peace Corps volunteers do – bring expertise and hope.

We give more than we take. We amplify what new volunteer Steve Hudson says about the reason he came.

“I joined Peace Corps to make a positive difference in the world,” he said after taking the oath. “When I raised my hand to swear in, my feelings were reminiscent of when I became an Eagle Scout – honored to serve.”

Honor lives at the core of the Peace Corps oath – “I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter.”

We still get butterflies when we remember saying it. Today’s turbulent world needs that obligation and us more than ever. 

Good luck, Peace Corps Ukraine Group 54. Wage peace.

Photos courtesy U.S. Embassy in Ukraine