Sustainability. It’s a word every Peace Corps volunteer knows and swears by. No development idea leaves the conception phase without being thoroughly tested for sustainability. Of course feasibility is important, but if project results are short-term and unsustainable, it’s back to the drawing board.

After months of questionnaires, medical tests, and interviews I was extended an invitation to serve as a Community Development volunteer for the Peace Corps in Ukraine. An emerging, post-Soviet country like Ukraine may not strike many as a place in need of development assistance, at least not the kind provided by Peace Corps volunteers; yet during my time in Ukraine, I have come to discover that this was just the challenge that was waiting for me.

My service began in March 2011 with awkward ...