U.S. PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEER IN UKRAINE RECEIVES KENNEDY SERVICE AWARD

Barbara Schlieper, a Peace Corps Volunteer serving in Ukraine, was given one of the first new U.S. John F. Kennedy Service Awards at a special ceremony on March 4 in Boston. Peace Corps Director Gaddi H. Vasquez presented the new awards to six recipients for their exemplary service and leadership in fulfilling the Peace Corps' mission.

Established in honor of Peace Corps' 45 years of service to the global community, the awards will be given every five years to six notable individuals: two current volunteers, two returned volunteers, and two Peace Corps staff.

“The John F. Kennedy Service Award is an opportunity to recognize a few of the many people who go beyond the call of duty for the Peace Corps, both in the United States and in countries where Peace Corps serves. I know their contributions will leave a lasting impression in the hearts and minds of those whose lives they have touched, and I look forward to seeing the legacy of their accomplishments well into the future,” Director Vasquez said.

Ms. Schlieper greatly enhanced the Teaching English as a Foreign Language project for the Peace Corps in Ukraine. She worked as a teacher trainer in one of Ukraine's teacher training institutes, where she led seminars, workshops, and conferences for hundreds of regional English teachers who otherwise would not have had exposure to contemporary teaching methods or a native English speaker. Nearly 250 teachers have participated in her teaching recertification courses. Ms. Schlieper also created the Institute Resource Center and helped the center acquire hundreds of textbooks and resource materials. She gathered her seminar materials into a manual for secondary school teachers so teachers even in remote areas could build their professional skills. Ms. Schlieper embraces the best characteristics of Peace Corps volunteerism: cheerful optimism, altruism, deep respect for a different culture, and hard work. Ms. Schlieper is from Vashon, Washington, and has a degree from Stanford University.

At the awards ceremony, Ms. Schlieper said: “This award is an honor for me and for Ukraine. There should be about 100 people up here on this stage with me right now. I thank our astonishing Country Director, Karl Beck, and Tamara Prydatko and Tetiana Gaiduk, the fearless leaders of the English teaching program at Peace Corps Ukraine. I thank my Ukrainian friends and colleagues, who have invited me into their classrooms, their lives and their hearts. I want to thank someone who is not here tonight, but whose voice and face are as real to me as though he were. I want to thank President Kennedy. He believed in us. He believed that every year several thousand Americans would leave their microwaves and washing machines behind and travel to faraway lands to live and work for two years because they want to help, they want to give back, they want to serve. Thank you, Mr. President, for giving me this opportunity. I am so proud to say tonight, “Mene zvate Barbara Schlieper. Ya dobrovolits Korpusy Myru.” “My name is Barbara Schlieper and I am a Peace Corps Volunteer.”

The Peace Corps is celebrating 45-years of service in the United States and overseas, and enjoys a 30-year high for the number of volunteers currently serving in the field. Since 1961, more than 182,000 volunteers have fostered better understanding between Americans and the people of the 138 host countries in which they have served.

For additional information, please contact Henry Shymonovych, Information Management Coordinator, Us Peace Corps in Ukraine by phone: 8 (044) 247-68-40 or e-mail: hshymonovych@ua.peacecorps.gov