Two Queens residents rejoin Peace Corps Response team
TIMESLEDGER | Q 32 NS.COM | MAY 28-JUNE 3, 2021
After serving the
Peace Corps in the
Kingdom of Eswatini as
a health extension volunteer
and among the
nearly 7,000 volunteers
serving when the agency
globally evacuated
in March 2020, Deane
thought her journey with
the agency had come to
a final end. While she
never imagined serving
again, Deane still has a
spirit of volunteerism
and service, she said.
“I see this special
deployment as a call to
action; it is within my
ability to respond and
do my part to positively
affect the course of the
pandemic and the lives
of others,” Deane said.
Meanwhile, Jones,
who had served in Belize
as a literacy support specialist
before the evacuation,
said it’s an extremely
important effort
and that everyone should
pitch in and do whatever
they can to help fight the
virus.
“The faster we get
this virus under control
in the U.S., the faster can
help other countries mobilize
and eradicate this
scourge everywhere else
in the world,” Jones said.
“We are at war with the
coronavirus, and we can
only win if more people
get vaccinated quickly.”
The Peace Corps began
recruiting volunteers
for the special domestic
deployment after
it was announced by the
agency and FEMA on
March 31. Peace Corps
volunteers and Peace
Corps Response volunteers
who were given
“completion of service”
status in 2020 as part of
the global evacuation
due to COVID-19 are eligible
to serve.
Volunteers will be
assigned to language
support, administrative,
logistical and other work
that supports the operation
of FEMA-funded
Community Vaccination
Centers, but will not be
administering the vaccine,
nor will they engage
in any other clinical
work during their
assignment.
The agency’s shortterm
contribution to
the domestic response
to COVID-19 will not alter
its commitment to
overseas service once
conditions permit. Preparations
for returning
overseas posts continue
in parallel to the special
assignment.
“Over the last 14
months, we have all seen
the depths of destruction
and experienced loss in
some form as a result of
this pandemic,” Deane
said. “This project holds
extreme importance, because
it serves as another
puzzle piece toward
betterment for everyone.
There is no going back to
life before COVID-19, but
aiding in vaccination efforts
is a place to start.”
For Jones, her truest
motivation is that
she wants the world to
know that Americans
are working together to
make the world a better
place, saying, “Because
we care about our planet
and every person on it,
this is what we do — we
help others.”
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
Two Queens residents
are rejoining the Peace
Corps as a response volunteer
for the agency’s
special domestic deployment
to a FEMA-supported
Community Vaccination
Center (CVC) in the
United States to aid in
the country’s response to
the COVID-19 pandemic.
Simmone Deane, 32,
of Laurelton, and Judith
Jones, 60, of Jamaica,
will join the Peace Corps
Response, a program
that sends individuals
with specialized experience
to short-term service
assignments. Deane
and Jones are training
in Texas and will head to
their respective postings
on Thursday, May 20.
The three-month assignments
reflect the
agency’s commitment
to President Biden’s call
to service to combat the
pandemic with a wholeof
government effort and
to mobilize all resources.
The Peace Corps is placing
an emphasis on assisting
in communities with
the greatest need, where
populations are traditionally
underserved.
“The Peace Corps
works hand-in-hand
with communities on
their most pressing challenges,
and right now
the U.S. faces some of
the biggest challenges
in our country’s history,”
said Carol Spahn,
Peace Corps acting director.
“The volunteers
who contribute to this
effort will bring valuable
cross-cultural experience,
language skills
and adaptability fostered
during their time overseas
as they contribute to
an equitable vaccination
campaign here at home.”
In June 2018, Simmone Deane snaps photos at a College
and Career Fair she helped to organize with teachers in
her community high school.
Photo courtesy of Peace Corps
SAMPLE
/NS.COM
