I am a community development volunteer for Peace Corps Ukraine. As of January 2016 I have worked primarily with the Center of Legal Aid in Kovel, Ukraine. The Center’s mission is to empower citizens of the Volyn Oblast by enhancing their capacity to access legitimate channels of litigation through providing free legal consultation. And, my mission while working at the Center of legal Aid is to use my skills to empower my coworkers and increase the organization’s functional capacity.
The Center of Legal Aid has used my SWOT analysis to form a mission statement and identify a long term goal. We have also used the SWOT Analysis to identify strategies which will help the organization accomplish its long term goals. Furthermore, in order to help the organization accomplish their long term goals we have also collaborated to identify several international grant opportunities.
We have recently constructed a grant proposal which would give university students the opportunity to learn about shifting legislation within Ukraine’s legal system through utilizing our national network to connect students with practitioners. We are also cooperating with international partners in Hungary and Poland to create a proposal which would allow legal professional to meet in order to familiarize themselves with regional systems of alternative dispute resolution and create a collective dialogue which would enhance momentum for positive mediation reforms.
As a community development volunteer it is also important for me to empower the citizens of my community by sharing my skills with them. That is why I lead many different English clubs in the community. This is a great opportunity for citizens to learn from a native English speaker. The topic of each club are generally focused on empowering the people I am speaking to, such as: leadership, career building, volunteerism, project management, web design, or project management.
This list of activities only depicts the surface of my activities in Ukraine. It is clear to me that I will continue to be extremely busy for the next two years. Most importantly I am confident that my work will be meaningful and positively impact people throughout Ukraine.
*These are the thoughts of Richard J. Roman and in no way are affiliated with the Peace Corps or its affiliates.
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