This year is the 25th anniversary of Peace Corps in Moldova. Peace Corps began in Moldova in 1993, just 2 years after Moldova gained its independence. Since them over 1,500 volunteers have served here, working with 852 schools and other local organizations. Some statistics of the impact Peace Corps has had (source):
Yesterday, Peace Corps Moldova celebrated together with Peace Corps volunteers, staff, host families, and local partners in the capital. There was a nice ceremony, which included some short speeches by Jody Olsen (Peace Corps director), Tracey Hebert-Seck (Moldova Country director), and James Pettit (US Ambassador to the Republic of Moldova). A number of videos were shared with greetings from partners across Moldova, some volunteers shared their stories, and even stories from some Moldovans whose lives have been touched by Peace Corps Volunteers. A documentary, created over the past couple months and featuring a few Peace Corps Moldova volunteers as they go about their days, was shown (you can find that here). The finale was a dance performance with a group of Moldovan women and girls performing an African dance, which has been one of the projects of my fellow volunteer Anne.
After, there was a reception with delicious food and cake. I was glad my two teaching partners, school director, and my site mate Amir’s two teaching partners were all able to join us for this special day!
The Oke Den 