Peace Corps in Ukraine: five years of involvement (01/04/98)

Peace Corps in Ukraine: five years of involvement

by Roman Woronowycz
Kyiv Press Bureau

KYIV - When Jerry Dutkewych arrived here in November 1992 as the first country director of the Peace Corps in Ukraine, in charge of the first inter-governmental collaboration between Ukraine and the United States, he had an American staff of three, a small, Ukrainian support staff, two telephones and a load of boxes.

"We did have offices, but they were very primitive. Many of the staff were working on top of boxes, the furniture hadn't arrived yet. We had two telephones and 50 volunteers in training," said Mr. Dutkewych, a 49-year-old Detroit native of Ukrainian descent.

When the first group of 47 volunteers, who came to Ukraine in fulfillment of an agreement signed by U.S. President George Bush and Ukraine's President Leonid Kravchuk, went into the field in February 1993 they had to deal with Ukrainians who could not understand why well-educated, young Americans were doing volunteer work in this post-Soviet country, which a few short years ago was considered a prime U.S. enemy. "In a humorous way we were often asked if we were here gathering intelligence," explained Mr. Dutkewych.

Less humorous were visits by members of the local militia after volunteers had arrived in cities and towns to begin their projects, who wanted to know the nature of the work the volunteers were to undertake. But those misunderstandings were cleared up after more contact with local and state officials. "Today we don't have those problems." said Mr. Dutkewych.

Now, after five years of developing the organization's infrastructure, the Peace Corps can be found in every oblast of Ukraine, and most people know what it is that the group does. "I think one of our biggest successes is that Ukrainians know that Peace Corps volunteers are in Ukraine," said Mr. Dutkewych.

Today he works closely with many of Ukraine's state organizations and ministries, including the National Agency for Reconstruction and Development and the Ministry of Education, to expand and deepen the Peace Corps' involvement in this country of 50.9 million. He has a volunteer group of 190 U.S. citizens working in 78 cities in all the oblasts of Ukraine, who will be joined by 45 additional volunteers in February to make the Peace Corps-Ukraine the organization's largest country project in the world. He has a support staff of 38, proper accommodations and plenty of telephones.

He also was renewed for a third term of assignment, the first time a country director has been given a third tour; not an easy achievement given that Peace Corps regulations direct that no one stay in one spot for more than five years.

Brendan Daly, the press director of the Peace Corps in Washington, explained that the decision to renew Mr. Dutkewych's contract was straightforward. "We are pleased with the work he has done. He has been very effective. He has begun a number of projects that we felt he could best complete," said Mr. Daly.

Roman Shpek, chairman of Ukraine's National Agency for Reconstruction and Development, while congratulating the Peace Corps and Mr. Dutkewych on five years' work in Ukraine at a party thrown in the organization's honor at the American Business Center in Kyiv on December 8, 1997, made the comment that when even the president of the U.S. is limited to two terms Mr. Dutkewych's success here must truly be amazing.

For his part, Mr. Dutkewych explained that his success is merely evidence of the success the Peace Corps has enjoyed here.

The organization that Mr. Dutkewych directs in Ukraine today is not your daddy's Peace Corps. Although the volunteers are still all college - educated, today Peace Corps volunteers come with work experience and living experiences, not just a degree and youthful enthusiasm, which were the only real requirements when the Peace Corps began its work in the early 1960s. And their field work today is done more often in business offices than on the street or in the village.

The average age of the volunteers in Ukraine today is 35, and about half have master's degrees. Those in the business development program must also show at least five years' work experience in the business sector to qualify for a volunteer assignment in Ukraine. In the 1960s most volunteers were fresh out of college with degrees in liberal arts.

The 400 volunteers who have served in Ukraine since 1992 are the key to the success of the Peace Corps program here. Their mission is to teach Ukrainians Western business practices and to give them exposure to Western standards and Western life.

But Mr. Dutkewych said there is a deeper underlying theme that runs through all the Peace Corps programs, which it tries to instill in Ukrainians - that "individuals need to take it upon themselves to make change happen."

It is up to the volunteers, who are the ground troops, to instill that notion. They are given three months' training in language, culture and customs, in the history of the country and in its current economic development after they arrive in Ukraine. When they go into the field they must rely on that and their education and general knowledge to get the job done.

Economic development a priority

The first volunteers in Ukraine worked on the economic development project, whose aim it is to transfer free market business skills and expertise to those who are interested in entrepreneurial careers. That project continues with 89 of the 199 volunteers involved.

They work in regional and municipal government offices, post-privatization centers, business centers that are now cropping up throughout the country, non-governmental (NGO) centers and educational institutions, where they help current and future entrepreneurs develop skills in forming business plans, marketing plans and a sense of business ethics, explained Mr. Dutkewych.

At these locations they are used as consultants by organizations and individuals interested in developing or maintaining businesses. They are never assigned to individual firms, although they will work individually with enterprises going through privatization, but only as consultants to the government.

The second program that the Peace Corps has developed in Ukraine, which currently involves 85 volunteers, is the English as a Foreign Language project. The idea behind the effort is to help Ukrainians participate in international exchanges of information through the most widely used language in the world. The program was begun in June 1993, earlier than had been planned, because the Ukrainian government realized that a need existed not only for business education but for training in the language of business, according to Mr. Dutkewych.

Today Peace Corps volunteers teach English in secondary schools and at teacher re-certification institutes. There are several volunteers assigned to Kyiv State University and the Ministry of Education to develop teacher preparatory materials, textbooks and audio cassettes on how to teach English. Volunteers also aid teachers and school administrators in requesting textbooks from U.S. publishers. To date 200,000 English-language books have been gathered for Ukrainian schools and libraries.

New project focuses on environment

The newest Peace Corps program, initiated on December 10, 1997, when 16 volunteers were sworn in at the American Business Center by U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine William Green Miller, is the environmental protection project. Its aim is environmental education and public awareness, as well as community development.

Many of the 16 volunteers will spend time in the Carpathian Mountains in villages and small towns working on forestry and water projects. Some will help communities develop tourism programs. One of the ecology consultants will be stationed at the new Environmental Resources Center in Kyiv, which is funded by the United Nations and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Mr. Dutkewych said a team of volunteers would also develop an ad campaign on the environment and the individual's role in maintaining it.

While the volunteers, whether ecology consultants, English teachers or business advisors, work to complete their primary assignments, they are encouraged to develop secondary projects that might fulfill personal interests or a need in the community in which they are placed, as well.

Mr. Dutkewych cited numerous projects that have blossomed in Ukraine from the personal initiatives of a volunteer. One was an Earth Day clean-up campaign along the Dnipro River in May. A project that started with a class of English-language students cleaning up trash along the banks of the Dnipro River one weekend mushroomed into a community effort that eventually collected 20,000 pounds of trash.

In Zaporizhia, volunteers helped the handicapped purchase sewing machines to put their skills to use and give them the ability to generate income. A baseball little league has been formed in Ukraine, also through the help of Peace Corps volunteers.

Many of the volunteers must enjoy their experiences in Ukraine. Only 7 percent leave before training is complete (the world rate is 26 percent). And more strikingly, 25 percent of the volunteers have stayed on in Ukraine to pursue business or other interests after their Peace Corps days were up. Another interesting statistic: 10 percent have married Ukrainians.