About Me


Hi! My name is Sorcha Vaughan and I am a United States Peace Corps Volunteer in Kosrae, Federated States of Micronesia. I am an English Literacy Co-Teacher and Co-Planner at Tafunsak Elementary School.



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What does an education PCV do during the summer?

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Summer vacation is a time of joy to teachers and students alike. However, what does a Peace Corps Volunteer do during the summer? This summer has been packed full of activities, travel, and planning. Here is an account of a few of my summer activities My Host Brother Eighth grade graduation was on the 2nd of June. It was full of smiles, laughter, beautiful songs, and happy parents. My oldest host brother graduated and received marmars and leis made out of chocolate, candy, dollars, and toiletries. Graduation is a large community event and it was great to see the hundreds of people that came to celebrate the ~50 graduating eighth graders. The week after graduation was the 70th anniversary of the people of Malem’s forced evacuation to Tafunsak by the Japanese during the Second World War. My host family took the Malemites (people from Malem) in 70 years ago and thus was a part of the celebrations. We attended church services, marched, and competed in canoe races. I was lucky enoug
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Rising Waters and Forgotten Nations

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For many Americans Climate Change is not something that is thought about everyday. It is not something that is currently affecting their lives. In Micronesia it affects everything. Communities on low lying coral islands or atolls will soon have to move off their islands, their family’s home for generations, because it will be flooded and will become part of the ever expanding Pacific Ocean. Since arriving in Micronesia a little over 14 months ago I have experienced a severe drought, flooding, and higher king tides than ever before. I have heard first hand of what is happening in small coral islands. One of my fellow Peace Corps volunteers told me how the ocean, at high tide, was flooding his island’s taro patch. For those of you who do not know taro is a staple in this region and is a major part of the diet. Losing an island’s taro patch, especially an outer island’s patch, is a huge blow to food security and preventing malnutrition. In February this year the majority of my communi
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Len Mutacn (Women’s Day) Celebration

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Picture of the setup of the celebration One of my favorite things about Peace Corps is the cultural exchange that occurs. A lot of time when you visit a new place it is hard to get involved in the culture and customs of the place. However, on March 11th this was not the case, as I was able to celebrate International Women’s Day with the women in my community. Groups of women from each part of Tafunsak (Yatta, Muntente, Tafunsak Srisrik, and Walung came together to celebrate the women in our community. The day started out with an opening prayer and speakers. Between the speakers groups from each part of Tafunsak sang a song. I performed the song with the women in my area of Tafunsak.       Basket weaving competition After the songs and the thanking of Donors were finished the Keynote Speaker talked (in Kosraean) about the women in their community and how they need to work together and support each other. She talked about the importance of graduating high school and how the
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