Peer Support Network

This past month I self nominated myself for Peace Corps Paraguay's (PCPY) Peer Support Network (PSN). This was the second time during my service an email was sent out asking volunteers to self nominate and I had been thinking about it for a while. I don't know if I have self nominated myself for many things in my life but this felt right. I have arrived at a place in my service where I am genuinely really happy and enjoying the daily highs and lows service can bring. I am in a place where I feel capable to be of support to my peers and use my experiences to support them in any way possible.

Once I self nominated I had a quick interview with the Senior Staff member and training coordinator and was later invited to attend PSN training to become a PSN member. What an honor. I took it with great responsibility and was looking forward to the three days of training. A chance to get away, surround myself with other like minded volunteers with the same vision to support the volunteer community and to learn from some of the Senior Staff from the office.

The training took place in a beautiful location called Marianela. It felt like a sanctuary in the middle of Italy. It was a Catholic retreat center with the most beautiful details. Everything was hand crafted- the floor tiles were imports from Italy and each door was hand craved differently from local Paraguayans. It was all a masterpiece and made the training feel more like a retreat. I hope to be able to go back there again soon.

We had three days training, discussing different topics each day. We began discussing what exactly we are as a PSN, then we learned about the Coach Approach and how to ask powerful questions. We had a session on energy leadership and stress management. We brainstormed ideas on how to market ourselves and be more approachable to the volunteer community. We ended on the third day with a visit from our new Country Director (CD) and the Peace Corps Medical Officers (PCMO's).

My favorite part was the last day when we met with the CD and the PCMO's. First of all the CD has an incredible vision for PCPY and the support provided to volunteers. It is an incredible feeling to be part of that vision and to essentially be on a team of volunteers who take that seriously. I found myself overwhelmed with such gratitude and joy to be in this group of volunteers. It was a unique feeling and one that will be remembered. I did not know how much passion I had and to discover it there was something wonderful.

We finished the session talking with the PCMO's about confidentially and some logistics and protocols. They are so supportive of us improving volunteer support it was empowering to hear from them. Once we heard from everyone we had the opportunity to sign the PSN agreement and officially become a member of the PSN.

Overall it was an enriching, empowering and inspiring training. I met and bonded with new volunteers from other sectors that I had never even talked to before. Volunteer support is something that PC takes very seriously and I walked away from that training equipped to partner with PC in supporting my fellow peers.

The the whole PSN plus some coordinators and the Senior Staff 

Some of the floor tiling at the retreat center 

The church that was in the middle of the center