和平队志愿者凯尔西•布朗诺科与她所在的菲律宾社区的一群孩子

华盛顿——来自佛罗里达州惠灵顿（Wellington，Florida）的和平队（Peace Corps）志愿者凯尔西·布朗诺科（Kelsey Brannock）正在与她所在的菲律宾社区共同努力建立一个青少年活动中心。该中心将为学生提供学习的地方，并为社区志愿者提供开展扫盲活动的场所。

布朗诺科是佛罗里达州立大学（Florida State University）的毕业生，她说：“青少年活动中心于两年多以前动工，但中途因资金耗尽停工。目前青少年在学校或社区内没有专门的学习场所。青少年活动中心将为学生们提供一个场所，让他们在一个专注于教育的、舒适的环境中会面、阅读和学习。”

布朗诺科计划通过菲律宾社区的帮助以及“和平队合作伙伴计划”（Peace Corps Partnership Project）的资金——该计划帮助支持世界各地的和平队志愿者社区项目——建成这个中心。社区将使用通过伙伴计划募集到的资金购买建筑材料、涂料、书架和椅子。

为了通过和平队合作伙伴计划获得资助，一个社区必须为整个项目提供至少25%的经费，并需设定具体项目的成功指标。这有助于保证社区的主导性，并使项目更有可能长期持续下去。

布朗诺科表示，除了提供学习场所外，青少年活动中心还将为社区的老年人开辟一个聚会场所。她说：“菲律宾社区非常尊重老年人。我所在的社区有一群老年人代表，他们向社区成员传授菲律宾的历史和文化，但令人遗憾的是，他们没有聚会场所。我们希望将新活动中心的底楼用作老年人定期聚会的场所。” 布朗诺科从2011年7月起一直在菲律宾生活和工作。

自1961年在菲律宾设立项目以来，已有超过8,680名和平队志愿者在这里服务过。现有223名志愿者在该国服务。志愿者们在教育、青少年发展和沿海资源管理等领域工作。他们都经过培训，并且能够根据需要使用官方语言他加禄语（Tagalog）以及地区方言开展工作。

Peace Corps volunteer Kelsey Brannock and some of the children in her local community in the Philippines

Washington — Peace Corps volunteer Kelsey Brannock of Wellington, Florida, is working with her Filipino community to build a youth center that will provide study space for students and an area for community volunteers to conduct literacy programs.

“Construction of the youth center began more than two years ago but stopped when funds for the center ran out,” said Brannock, a graduate of Florida State University. “The youth currently have no space within their school or community to focus on their studies. The youth center will provide a place for the students to meet, read and study in a comfortable and educationally focused area.”

Brannock plans to finish the center with help from her Filipino community and funding through the Peace Corps Partnership Project, which helps support Peace Corps volunteer community projects worldwide. The community will use funds raised through the Partnership Program to buy construction materials, paint, shelves and chairs.

In order to receive funding through the program, a community must make at least a 25 percent contribution to the total project cost and outline success indicators for the individual projects. This helps ensure community ownership and a greater chance of long-term sustainability.

In addition to providing an area for academic use, Brannock says, the youth center will serve as a meeting space for community elders. “Filipino communities have great respect for their elders. My community has a group of senior citizen representatives that teach the community about Filipino history and culture, but unfortunately they do not have a meeting place. We hope that the bottom floor of the new center will also serve as an area for the elders to meet regularly,” said Brannock, who has been living and working in the Philippines since July 2011.

More than 8,680 Peace Corps volunteers have served in the Philippines since the program was established in 1961. Currently, 223 volunteers serve in the country. Volunteers work in the areas of education, youth development and coastal resource management. They are trained and work in Tagalog, the national language, and regional dialects as appropriate.