Sina B.

1. What got you interested in the Peace Corps?

I wanted to make a tangible, positive change in the world and challenge myself by embracing difficult conditions.

2. What projects are you working on?

I work with a rural savings and loans cooperative that provides business services for local farming communities. After identifying errors in the cooperative’s financial statements, I conducted accounting classes for the staff, enabling them to identify and correct their own statements. I audit their financial records on a monthly/ad hoc basis while teaching accounting, English, and computer skills to locals of all ages across the municipality and occasionally in the capital, Dili.

Over the past year living in the village, I have contributed to building a gym, a cow pen, water tanks, and several homes and roofs entirely by hand. In the process, I gained skills in welding, cement mixing, and the use of power tools.

In addition to construction projects, I assist on local farms and successfully secured a grant to build a greenhouse on a nearby farm. The greenhouse, now nearing completion, will help diversify crop production during the rainy season and provide extra income for farmers.

I have also facilitated connections between local farmers and NGOs. For instance, I coordinated with USAID to provide classes on producing organic compost, improving soil health, and enhancing agricultural sustainability. Through a partnership with Projecto Quinta Portugal, I introduced several new crops to the area, including red and yellow dragon fruit, coffee, durian, and gravinha trees.

I am currently working with my community to construct a greenhouse as part of a grant. Additionally, I am collaborating with USAID to train local farmers on composting and other agricultural practices.

3. What strategies have you used to integrate into your community?

I take lots of photos and label people’s names on them so I never forget who they are. I often look at the pictures and found this to be a very effective method for community integration because remembering someone’s name shows that you care.

4. What is a highlight of your time in service so far?

I improved my organization’s accounting systems and taught accounting classes based on errors I observed in the systems. Staff members have developed a high level of understanding in accounting, and every time I review their work, I notice fewer and fewer mistakes. It’s impressive!

5. What have you enjoyed most about the community where you are serving?

I love the misty mornings, the rice fields, and the sound of buffaloes mooing in the distance in Timor-Leste. Most of all, I love how close-knit everyone is in my tiny rural village. It feels like one big family, where every adult helps raise every child. It’s an amazing feeling of camaraderie and love.

6. What are some of the most important things you’ve learned from your community?

Service has ignited my passion for sustainable development and helped me realize that I want to do similar work for the rest of my life. After joining the Peace Corps, I found my purpose and I look forward to making a difference every single day.

7. How do you spend time when you are not working on a project?

In my free time, I lift weights in our community’s homemade gym, write in my journal, go on runs, read books, study languages, go hiking, play with dogs and my monkey, and play games with my younger host siblings.

8. What are you looking forward to in your remaining time as a Volunteer?

I’ve written hundreds of pages in my journal, and one day I’d love to turn it into a book. I hope to make significant progress toward this goal in the next year. Additionally, I am working with my organization to establish a community seed bank where farmers can buy new seeds and diversify their crops. Finally, I look forward to preparing to attend grad school in the future.

9. Once you finish service, what will you do differently when you return to the U.S.?

I will always bring a smile to everything I do. It’s the little things that make life meaningful, and my time in Timor has taught me the value of positivity and resilience.