Our Grant!

This post is a few weeks overdue, but the rapidity with which things moved forward on our project and our grant has left me trying to catch up. I was really nervous about everything with the fast approach of September and the new school year, and that feeling was compounded with a little bit of guilt when I left for vacation in Germany.

I was so ecstatic when, not even a few days into the trip, I got a message from Olga saying that our grant had been filled! I checked the PCPP website and couldn’t find our project, which is the first sign a PCV knows the grant has been filled. A week later I got the confirmation email from Oksana at the PC Ukraine office.

Reading the donor list was sobering, to say the least. The amount of people who helped us with this project is staggering. Friends from high school and college, family, people I’ve met only briefly through mutual friends, a teacher from elementary school–all these people took the time and the money to help my colleagues and students here in Ukraine, and I’m incredibly thankful.

Once I got back to Ukraine and we got the paperwork and order forms settled, (ie, last Friday, the 7th) Olga and I traveled to Kyiv to withdraw the money and place our book order. This had to happen in Kyiv because the ProCredit branch in Sumy closed, and to add insult to injury, the trains between Sumy and Kyiv have been cut. I had a MAC meeting on Saturday at the PC office, and Olga had a meeting with the Camp Excite directors in Sumy the same day–we took the 6am train to Kyiv on Friday, which arrives at 11:45. The only other train that doesn’t cost a ton of money leaves at 3:45. Let the dash begin!
First we took the metro to the Zoloti Vorota station to withdraw the money from the bank.

Olga with the fat stack in the bookstore’s office.

Outside the bookstore.

Me and the bookstore

We ordered the books on Friday, and Olga got a call today saying that they had arrived. I had no idea that they would come so quickly–apparently Ukraine’s new FedEx type delivery system really works!

Sixth graders! Aliona, Vladik, Lyosha, Sasha, Zhenya, Lera, and Katya, holding some souvenirs I brought back from London.

On the way to Nova Poshta to pick up our books!

There we go!

Excited in line

A whole pallet of books!




Unloading the books at school

We snuck the boxes open

Things are definitely moving fast. We’re going to spend a lot of time tomorrow going through the books thoroughly, organizing and labeling. Tomorrow is also the day when the smartboard is going to be installed in the classroom, one of the school’s contribution to the project. This weekend we’re going to install all the programs and audio cds on the computer, and then on Monday we’ll begin teaching with all our new classroom resources!

Thank you again to all of you for your continued support, and look out for more blog posts as we start to really implement our project! Next installment: English club, Thank You!! Edition!

Love,

Jenny

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