Hello. My name is Caroline Mackenzie and I am a Peace Corps Volunteer.

I am honored to work with Tatyana Victorovna Barantsova and the Association of Young Disabled of Eastern Donbass-East.

I am also a member of the Peace Corps Special Needs Working Group, which is a group of Peace Corps volunteers who are passionate in helping Ukrainian people move forward in the area of special needs awareness. Our group works on current projects with partner organizations such as social service centers, Special Olympics and local non-government organizations.

As many of you may know, the Congress of the United States passed into law the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990. The ADA prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in employment, transportation, public accommodation, communications, and governmental activities. Communities and businesses across the USA are modifying their buildings and communities for the handicapped. Communities and businesses are installing many things, from simple ramps to accessible toilets and accessible kitchen sinks, Braille signs in elevators and textured sidewalks to warn the blind that they are about to step into a traffic way. 

Many of you know the Special Olympics program, started by the Kennedy Family, is a program that encourages children and adults with special needs to be active and to compete for fun. The "Buddies" program is a program where children with special needs and disabilities are matched with buddies to walk, to race and to play.

I hope that our combined experience and my role as a Peace Corps volunteer in Ukraine will contribute to the efforts made by your organizations to increase accessibility, decrease stigma, and improve the quality of life for people with Special Needs.

Thank you very much.  It is a pleasure to be here and work with all of you.

Caroline Mackenzie
Peace Corps