On January 20th, we were told that we had to leave Peace Corps early. We were supposed to leave mid-September, but now we are being forced out April 30th. Peace Corps has recently decided that Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador are very dangerous countries and their tactics regarding work and volunteering need to be changed. So, no new volunteers are coming to El Salvador, the group that was supposed to leave in March is leaving 6 weeks early, and we are leaving about 6 months early. It was very upsetting because I haven't not been in my new site for that long and I'm really enjoying it. I have possibilities of doing some great things, but my time has been shortened, so now it won't be possible.
This time is also very hard for Peace Corps staff because they don't know what the future holds for them in regards to the continuation of Peace Corps in El Salvador. The Honduran volunteers were pulled out almost immediately because it was deemed too dangerous. We are lucky and have been able to stay while they implement changes, but the staff and everyone else, is so unsure of what the future holds.
Well, we recently found out that the office is being moved out of San Salvador, which will be hard for many staff members, and Peace Corps will only be working in the northern part of the country. That means that no one will be coming to my beautiful, wonderful site. Its a shame because the people are so great there and there are so many possibilities. Everyone is sad about it - but hopefully in the future, El Salvador will be more stable and have volunteers in more areas.
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