Growing up in Clark County, Erika Hornli always knew she wanted to travel. That desire landed the 2005 Mountain View High School graduate in the Peace Corps shortly after she finished college at Western Washington University.
The 24-year-old, who has a degree in elementary education, picked Eastern Europe for her assignment and arrived in Ukraine in September 2010. She began teaching English to children in that country in December and said it’s been a fascinating experience.
“The people I have met here have become like my family in Ukraine,” Hornli said. “It is amazing how similar the relationships are, even though talking is a challenge because of my limited Russian. … Ukrainian people are very open and welcoming.”
Traditions and cultural norms are different, and sometimes she has to consider her actions more carefully when talking to supervisors or parents, but the warm nature of the people makes her feel very much at home, she said.
This summer, Hornli wants to help out her new community by working on a summer camp for students ages 16-20, called Camp HEAL.
“It focuses on education around human trafficking and HIV/AIDS awareness, as well as leadership training,” Hornli said. “Ukraine has the highest rate of HIV infection in Europe and the fastest-growing rate in the world.”
She’s hoping to gather donations for the program from people back home in the U.S. For more information, and to donate, visit http://campheal.webs.com on the Web.
“At this camp, students not only learn about these issues, but learn how to implement and plan projects in their own communities to spread awareness,” Hornli said.
Quilter’s work heads to international show
A Vancouver woman’s quilt is about to stitch its way to the big time.
The American Quilting Society chose “Dancing Curves,” a 37-block, queen-sized piece made by Karan Brooks, 69, to compete in the group’s annual Quilt Show and Contest.
Brooks’ work will be judged against quilts made by 296 other people from all over the world in the July 13-16 contest in Knoxville, Tenn.
“There’s a nice sense of creativity about quilting,” said Brooks, who’s been working on her technique since the mid-1990s. “When I’m finished, there’s a great sense of satisfaction.”
Brooks has won several ribbons locally from Clark County Quilters and Northwest Quilters, and her success made her decide to try for an even bigger audience, she said.
More than 15,000 people are expected to attend the Knoxville contest, which will be judged by three experts.
Brooks can’t make it to the show personally, but she’s getting ready to send her quilt there for display.
When asked how she’d feel if she won, the modest quilter just laughed. “That’s not going to happen,” Brooks said. “But I’m glad that it was selected.”
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