The group collectively served in more than a dozen Peace Corps countries, some as long ago as 1968, including three members of Peace Corps Ukraine group 1 that arrived in 1992.

In 2012, Peace Corps will celebrate its 20th anniversary in this strategic Eastern Europe country where PCVs are paying an important role in helping Ukrainians transition from its Soviet past.

As a former Peace Corps Volunteer myself (Morocco 1971-73), I spoke briefly on the impact that Peace Corps had on my life and told the group that they are very much part of the Ukraine Peace Corps family.

The primary assignments for the current group of 445 Ukraine Peace Corps Volunteers are as English teachers and in youth and community development.

Posted by Douglass Teschner, Peace Corps Country Director in Ukraine. Blogs of the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv can be found at http://usembassykyiv.wordpress.com/