North H.S. grad, Peace Corps volunteer forced home after Covid-19 outbreak

The winters can be tough in Radomyshl, a city of nearly 15,000 people in northern Ukraine. At a few points the heat broke down in the small house that Valley Stream North High School graduate and Peace Corps volunteer Victoria Tytone had rented out.

But for nearly a year and a half she persevered, building a life there, albeit a temporary one, teaching English to primary- and secondary-school students at a school of roughly 350 kids, and helping to build relations between America and the populace within the large Eastern European country. She even adopted a dog — a cocker spaniel named Dima.  

All of that ended abruptly, however, on March 16, when all Peace Corps volunteers worldwide were recalled to the United States from their respective countries as the coronavirus pandemic tightened its grip on the world, forcing many nations to close their borders. 

“We got a call that we had 24 hours to pack up our stuff, throw away our food and pay our landlord,” Tytone, 23, said. “It was really scary.” 

Of chief concern, she said, was what would happen to Dima. Fortunately, she had recently finished his adoption paperwork, and he was able to come along with her to Kiev, the Ukrainian capital, where all Peace Corp volunteers stationed in the country were scheduled to fly out from. After a number of delays and canceled flights, five days after the initial recall order, Tytone, Dima and two pet cats were with other PC volunteers on a plane that the federal agency chartered to Washington, D.C., where Tytone’s family picked her up and brought her home to Franklin Square. 

“It’s not the homecoming she envisioned,” her mother, Laurette, said. There would be no in-person celebrations with friends and family, but she said, “She’s home.” 

Tytone graduated from North in 2014. She earned her bachelor’s from St. John’s University in 2018, and after, she was unsure of what to do or where to work, so she decided to volunteer. 

She let the Peace Corps choose her destination, and that August she was in Zhytomyr, a city roughly 83 miles west of Kiev, for a two-month orientation, which consisted of daily language and culture classes, preparing the volunteers for service. 

“It was really intense because of how short the time frame was,” Tytone recalled, “and Ukrainian is not exactly the easiest language to learn.” 

From there, the volunteers headed to Kiev for their swearing-in before they were bused to their assigned cities and towns. 

In Radomyshl, Tytone was paired with Tamara Sachenko, a 26-year-old native and English teacher at the school that she was assigned to, and the two soon developed a close bond.

“Every volunteer gets a counterpart who works with them throughout their service, and my counterpart became my best friend,” Tytone said. “Tamara was not only a work partner. She helped me move into my house. She helped me every day of my service.” 

“She’s a really kind person,” Sachenko said of Tytone. “We became like sisters, like two halves.” 

As a scholar of the English language, Sachenko said she was excited to meet a native speaker. 

“It was like a dream come true,” she said. “I’m in love with the English language. I’m always watching the movies, and now here’s a real American out of the blue.” 

Sachenko said the two worked well together, and students and residents alike enjoyed Tytone staying in their neighborhood. 

Peace Corps volunteers can work in one of three sectors: youth development, community development and English instruction. As an English teacher, Tytone was responsible for running summer camps and after-school English clubs, in addition to teaching classes every day. 

She taught children in grades three through 11, and as part of her instruction she introduced various aspects of American culture to the students. They celebrated holidays such as Halloween, Valentine’s Day and Easter. They even put on a play of “Cinderella” in English. 

Dima was initially Sachenko’s dog, but Tytone decided to keep him after her counterpart announced she could no longer care for him, and in a country that lacked a shelter system, many dogs in Ukraine end up as strays. “I knew his fate if I let him stay there,” she said. “So I definitely wanted to bring him back.” 

Tytone kept in touch with friends and family through FaceTime. Her mother said she worried about her daughter, particularly when she met with adversity, but she noted, “When she’s determined to do something, she does it.” 

Tytone was scheduled to stay in Ukraine through October this year, but as coronavirus infections spread, Peace Corps Director Jody Olsen ordered all 7,300 volunteers and trainees, operating in more than 60 countries, back home. The logistics of the feat were staggering, Tytone said, noting, “It was a real scramble.”

But the hardest part, she said, was being unable to say goodbye to her colleagues and students, even Sachenko. “It felt like almost a betrayal that their teacher just got up and left,” she said. 

Sachenko said the two were forced to say a tearful farewell over video chat while Tytone was delayed in Kiev. 

Tytone said the decision likely came as borders closed, and the possibility arose that volunteers could have become trapped if another, different catastrophe struck.

When she returned, she was plunged into a world familiar but alien at the same time. 

“I haven’t been back in so long I definitely have culture shock,” she said, “but on top of that, seeing all of the nail salons, bars and restaurants closed — so close to me but out of reach — I feel like I’m not even back in America yet.”