GEORGETOWN, S.C. — Andrews native Vince Lambert was just starting a new career as an accountant when he decided to leave everything he knew in Columbia, S.C. and join the Peace Corps.

For most of the last year, he has been living in a small village in a country called Moldova in Eastern Europe — a country that declared its independence from Russia in 1991.

He will return in September or October of 2011 and he may decide to serve another two years in the Peace Corps.

Some of his friends and family members thought going into this type of service overseas was a good idea, others did not.

“Some people didn't really understand why I would leave behind such a good career that I had studied so hard in college to get,” Lambert said.

His mother, Sherry Tubbs, has been one of his biggest supporters.

“My first reaction, when I learned where he was going was, ‘Lord knows what country he is going to be in,’” Tubbs said. “From a mother’s view point I was apprehensive.”

Now she says she is very proud of her youngest son and talks to him using Skype on the computer at least twice a week.

“It is just amazing what he is doing over there,” Tubbs said. “I get so excited hearing his stories.”

She said Lambert’s employers at a CPA firm in Columbia are supportive too.

They told him he had a job there when he decided to come back, she said.

Lambert has an older brother named Derek, who lives in Andrews, and an older sister, Kelianne Gavin, who lives in Galveston, Texas.

Lambert’s father, Tommy “T.L.” Lambert, worked for Nucor Steel, which helped Lambert with scholarship money for college, Tubbs said.

His mother is now married to Roger Tubbs.

The decision

After traveling to Ireland and Scotland to visit friends, Lambert had the urge to continue traveling, or even live somewhere overseas.

Lambert says he was intrigued the day his invitation from the Peace Corps came in the mail and he found out exactly where he was going.

The only thing he knew at that point was that his assignment would be somewhere in Eastern Europe.

“When I opened my invitation and read that I would be going to Moldova, I was in shock because neither me or my friends had ever heard of Moldova,” Lambert said.

He spent the entire evening and part of the night reading about Moldova on the Internet, he said.

The village

Lambert lives in a village of 2,500 native Romanian and Russian speaking people.

He has been assigned to work with a small, local non-profit organization called NGO Fortuna that focusses on social and economic development in the village.

He has also been working with the mayor's office in the village, and they have collaborated with the NGO to work on a community-wide project together.

Since declaring independence, the country has suffered many challenges including poverty, unemployment and deteriorating infrastructure.

The community-wide project he is now working on is building an amphitheater for the local children to use for sports and other activities.

“Unlike we have in America, there are no sports teams, no extracurricular activities at school, no drama clubs, no concerts, and no other kinds of organized recreation for the kids to be involved in,” Lambert said. “The community leaders want to offer more opportunities for the youth in our village by promoting folk dances and concerts and involving more youth in becoming active in the community.”

Daily life

Lambert says it has been an adjustment to live in the village in Moldova.

He has no running water or central heat/air conditioning and has to fetch buckets of water from a well and burn logs in a large stove for heat in the winter.

All of the food he eats is grown at his host family’s house and he hitchhikes or takes public transportation wherever he goes.

“Living so simply has taught me a lot, and I think my life in America will be much different when I return,” Lambert said.

He says he highly recommends the Peace Corps for those who are adventurous and want to help people.

“I think it's a great opportunity for people interested in volunteering and traveling,” Lambert said. “Mainly I encourage volunteerism, whether it be in the Peace Corps or in a community back home.”

To learn more about Lambert’s experiences in Moldova, visit his blog at vinceinmoldova.blogspot.com.

To learn more about the peace corps, visit peacecorps.gov.

By Clayton Stairs

cstairs@gtowntimes.com