Monday, November 28, 2011

Hello fellow Volunteers,

I hope this find you all in good spirits as we continually work hard day in and day out representing Peace Corps.  I am writing to inform you that I would like to represent the volunteer body as a member of the Volunteer Advisory Committee, as its president or as regional representative of the great department of Huehuetenango.  I hope that you will have faith in me and allow me to represent your interests in either role.

Over the past year, there have been a few changes within Peace Corps Guatemala.  I would like to work together with fellow volunteers, to express our opinions and wants in a constructive manner and present them to the staff and administration in an effort to find solutions to these concerns.  I will look to coordinate with fellow VAC representatives and fellow volunteers who live throughout different parts of the country, so that we can have adequate representation of all of the needs of volunteers in Guatemala.  As a Municipal Development volunteer, I know the importance of strong dialogue between all parties to be able to work together and come to an amicable solution.  I will bring the voice and interests of fellow volunteers to meetings as I will argue for what we believe should be right and fair.  The importance of strengthening the relationship between administration and volunteers will be a fundamental objective.

Volunteers often feel alone in their site, trying to set forth plans and take action by themselves.  We know there is support from APCD’s and staff in Santa Lucia, but I would like to propose a cross program mentoring system where volunteer representatives from each program can help and assist other volunteers from different programs who require additional help.  Our programs overlap in numerous ways and having volunteers collaborate together not only will help volunteers develop and expand their skill set, but our communities will benefit more as well, allowing us to be more effective volunteers.  Also I would like to present a way to strengthen our volunteer network even more with a volunteer based hotline where trained volunteers can confidentially seek advice and support pertaining to the need of the calling volunteer.  These volunteers will be trained by PC and our medical staff to provide support and advice for these volunteers.

These are just some ideas I would like to work on with the collaboration of fellow volunteers to help strengthen our roles in Guatemala. If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to contact me. 

Keep up the hard work.

Frank Sherrill
Municipal Development
Malacatancito, Huehuetenango
fgsherrill@gmail.com
#1144/4015-9861