VAC

Most of you know that I've wanted to run for the position of Volunteer Advisory Committee (VAC) representative on SKN ever since Geoff first told me about it. Well I am lucky enough to now tell you that I was elected as the new VAC representative last week at IST. The main office for our PC region (the Eastern Caribbean) is in St. Lucia, which is where I will be going in two weeks for my first VAC meeting. The six island nations that comprise the PC Eastern Caribbean post are St. Kitts-Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Dominica, Grenada and Antigua & Barbuda and each island has a VAC representative. For the next year I will meet my fellow VAC representatives along with out PC staff to discuss volunteer issues, concerns, suggestions, requests, etc. between all of the islands and with our Country Director. The goal is to improve communication between the two sides.

For those of you who haven't had the pleasure of hearing me talk your ear off about the VAC position, here is a little something for you to better understand what I will be doing:

The Volunteer Advisory Council is a formal representative channel for facilitating communication between Peace Corps Volunteers and the Peace Corps staff. The VAC is comprised of Volunteers serving as representatives for Volunteers from the island nations making up the Eastern Caribbean post, plus the Country Director (CD), and any other invited staff. One elected Volunteer represents each island nation in the post. The VAC meets on a quarterly basis with Peace Corps Eastern Caribbean senior staff, or as the budget allows.

The VAC is a representative body to:
1. Serve as the official liaison between Peace Corps Eastern Caribbean Volunteers and Peace Corps Eastern Caribbean staff members
2. Hold regular island-nation forums to hear and document Volunteer concerns, comments, and ideas—normally held during regularly scheduled Volunteer meetings called by staff in consultation with Volunteers
3. Initiate action assuring that the collective concerns of Volunteers are addressed and resolved fairly and promptly
4. Provide an environment of peer support

Duties and responsibilities of the VAC representatives:
1. The VAC representatives have first responsibility to their primary projects and VAC responsibilities should be a secondary project commitment
2. Represent Volunteer concerns to the Associate PC Director (APCD) and other staff when appropriate. In some cases, refer Volunteers directly to staff.
3. Survey Volunteer opinions and concerns as requested by the CD, PTO (Program and Training Officer), APCD, or other Peace Corps staff members. Be aware of general Volunteer community concerns and issues and act accordingly. In health and safety matters, notify appropriate individuals.
4. As requested, assist visiting Peace Corps staff members or consultants through organized visits and represent the Volunteer community during island meetings
5. As requested, gather information from the Volunteer community to provide programming and training recommendations to the APCD
6. Orient the incoming VAC representative prior to completion of term