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TURNING LEMONS INTO LEMONADE - ePCV continues service

TURNING LEMONS INTO LEMONADE - ePCV continues service

When 7300 Peace Corps Volunteers were abruptly evacuated in March, a common first reaction was to mourn the untimely end of service.  But across the decades, Peace Corps Volunteers learn the importance of being flexible.
 

Elyse Magen's evacuation created two economic hardships:  loss of a critical Small Projects Administration grant, end of plans for a yet unfunded loan program.

Not one to be deterred by a 3000 mile separation or a pandemic, she reached out to the RPCV community and secured funding through Friends of Colombia and the National Peace Corps Association to replace the SPA grant.  Her successful campaign to replace the lost SPA funding is included below.  Then she worked with TCP Global to get loan funds to her site despite a quarantine and a bank that had initially sent the TCP Global funds back to the U.S. 

 

Within two months of arrival back home Elyse and four other Colombia evacuees are working together to continue their service on a global scale. They had witnessed the positive impact of TCP Global loans on small, underserved rural communities and jumped at the chance to help TCP Global replicate its success around the world. 

Curt Commander built a data base to facilitate expansion of the loan program.  Zack Coen designed a form to improve the ease and quality of reporting from the 30 loan sites in 11 countries. Then Zack and Curt worked with TCP Global to upload 15,000 financial transactions for the more than 3000 loans issued over the last thirteen years and to verify that all reporting needs were addressed.  

Elyse and Josh Concannon developed training materials for TCP Global loan program mentors and Kenney Tran took responsibility for  social media outreach, starting with the story below about two programs opening in Uganda during the pandemic. 

Calvin Yahn, who introduced TCP Global to his site in Zambia joined the mentoring contingent and YOU CAN TOO !! 

The RPCV community is ready to assist other evacuees just like they helped Elyse.