Interview with Helene Ballmann Dudley, September 7, 2021

Interview Summary

Inspired by President Kennedy’s call to service and her own longing for adventure, Helene Ballmann Dudley served twice as a Peace Corps Volunteer, first in Colombia (Urban Community Development) from 1968-1970 and then in Slovakia (Small Business Development) from 1997-1999. In Barranquilla, Colombia, Helene worked at several CARE “comedores infantiles” (feeding centers) in poor areas. There, she helped establish kindergartens and family nutrition programs. She still maintains her close connection to the Colombian family whose apartment she rented in Barranquilla. Her second assignment was at a non-profit foundation in Presov, Slovakia. She also served on the Peace Corps committee to review Small Projects Administration (SPA) grants. Applying her skills from Slovakia, Helene co-founded The Colombia Project in 2000 to provide micro-loans to Colombia’s internally displaced persons. Helene recruited members of her Peace Corps community over the next 20 years and evolved the project into TCP Global in 2014, now including over 120 loan programs in 14 countries on 3 continents. TCP Global is an affiliate group of the National Peace Corps Association (NPCA) which serves as the fiscal agent.

Interview Keyword

Peace Corps (U.S.) Colombia (Country of service) 1968-1970 (Date of service) Peace Corps Volunteer Job (Urban Economic Development) Bogota (capital of Colombia) Barranquilla (the town in Colombia where Volunteer was assigned) Albania (Country of service - training only before evacuation) 1997-1997 (Date of training) Tirana (capital of Albania) Bari, Italy (Site of RPCV evacuation from Albania) Slovakia (Country of service) 1997-1999 (Date of service) Peace Corps Volunteer Job (Small Business Development) Presov (town of Volunteer assignment in Slovakia) St. Louis, MO (Volunteer’s birthplace) President Kennedy Miami, FL (Volunteer’s current residence) St. Louis University (Volunteer’s undergraduate degree) CARE (international humanitarian organization) CARE “comedores infantiles” (feeding centers) in Colombia economic collapse from pyramid schemes (Albania 1991) Peace Corps evacuation (1999, Albania) Nelson Chase (Peace Corps Country Director, Rumania) micro-loan program elections and election monitors (Slovakia) USAID Small Projects Administration (SPA) The Colombia Project (Micro-loans for marginalized communities in the Americas from 2000 to 2014) Helene Ballmann Dudley (The Colombia Project co-founder and co-executive director, 2000-present) Returned Peace Corps Volunteers of South Florida (RPCV-SF) 2003 Peace Corps Ruppe Award (RPCV-SF for Colombia Project)2013 Peace Corps Lillian Carter Award (Helene Ballmann Dudley) TCP Global expands microloans for marginalized communities (2014-present) TCP Global partners include: • National Peace Corps Association (NPCA), fiscal agent for TCP Global • Rotary International, Partnering for Peace • Care Community Education Centre (CCEDUC) in Uganda • Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLA) in Africa TCP Global taps Peace Corps network for expertise: • Chris Roesel (RPCV Guatemala and TCP Global's Director for Africa Programs) • Curt Commander (RPCV Colombia-Covid Evacuee and TCP Global Director of Technology Systems) • Yogi Kayesha (Former PC language instructor in Nepal now Country Coordinator for Development Fund Norway and TCP Global Country Advisor for Nepal) • Ibrahim Boubacar (Former PC Niger Agriculture consultant now TCP Global Country Advisor for Niger)

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