I took this photo one evening while walking home during May 2010. I was in pre-service training at that time in a village in Ukraine. Pre-service training was difficult. We had lessons all day, were learning a new language, and still adjusting...
My host sister Liza and I cuddling one of the newest members of the family. This picture was taken May 21, 2006 in Trypillia, Ukraine towards the end of my training. I had become so attached to my host family I didn't even want to think about...
Camp HEAL (Human trafficking, Education, Aids/HIV, Leadership) is a camp held in Ukraine. The camp is a week long camp that helps educate the Ukrainian youth in these topics. In the picture are the camp directors, both Peace Corps Volunteers and...
This picture was taken during a village holiday celebration on August 7, 2011 in Ukraine. Each year there is a big celebration for the village of 3500 people. There is a concert, games for children, shaslik (Ukrainian style bbq) dancing, and a...
I took this picture on May 18th, 2012 in Ukraine. May 18th is Day of Remembrance for People Who Have Died of AIDS, the local social service center arranged for a memorial in support of those living with HIV and those who have passed away. The photo...
This photo was taken of a fellow Volunteer walking with her host grandmother and grandson on April 20, 2011 in Ukraine. The photo show a connection between the Volunteer and host family, although there is a language barrier.
I took this photo in the summer of 2009 in my yard with my host mother in a small village in Ukraine. Summertime brings so many fresh fruits and vegetables to the market and such beautiful weather after the long hard winter that it is hard to keep...
This photo was taken in March of 2006 in Uzyn, Kievskaya Oblast, Ukraine, when I had been living with my host family for about a month. On the right is my host "mother" Maria, making sure I was properly dressed to go out into the cold to use the...
This photo was taken during my training in Trypillia, Ukraine on March 6, 2006. The little girl is my host sister, Liza, all bundled up for her morning walk to school. It was one of the first major snowfalls I experienced while in Ukraine.
Shortly after arriving to site and moving in with our host family, three generations of Ukrainians teach Lauren how to make varenyky, stuffed dumplings, which were then filled with sour cherries. A labor of love that is so worth the effort!
After two years of service, Youth Development Volunteer Lauren Warchol knows to bring her own toilet paper to this bathroom in the government funded Social Services Center where she works in Ukraine. Not much more than a hole in the ground, but at...
This was taken in the May of 2010 in a Ukrainian village. This lake meant a lot to me. After the intense daily routine of PST, it was very relaxing to walk past this lake on the way back home everyday.
This photo includes RPCV Teresa Havenar and Volunteer Patrick. It also includes two children, Alyona and Igor, that attended the school I was working at and who also helped build our playground. We were jumping for excitement over the delivery...
Development Volunteer Lauren Warchol and her Ukrainian counterpart opened a Fitness Center for youth in her community, with the help of a Small Projects Assistance Grant. The Center is run by student volunteers, who monitor the Center, take care of...
I took this photo while site seeing across Cherinihiv, Ukraine and came across this bridge that had locks in formed into the shape of a heart. I learned from the locals that when you fall in love you take your significant other to the bridge lock...
This picture is when we were leaving the fort and the castle at Baturyn. This is probably the fifth take, but the best take I took of the monument. Anyways, it shows many historical and biblical figures looking to the next philosopher figure set to...
In June 2012 in L'viv on the same day as a EURO 2012 game was taking place in the city, my leadership club from school and the organization Prosvita partnered for an event. Prosvita organized a concert, while the leadership club implemented their...