DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — Right now, thousands of Peace Corps volunteers are evacuating dozens of countries amid the coronavirus outbreak.
One of those volunteers from DeKalb County is trying to get out of Namibia in southwest Africa.
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She said the evacuation is bittersweet because she was supposed to be there until October, but now she could be home in Georgia by Monday.
Channel 2’s Michael Seiden spoke with Ellen Bishop, 62, of Decatur, on Friday. The volunteer was still in southwest Africa but said she was doing well.
She is still waiting to get a flight home.
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For as long as she can remember, Bishop said she has always had dreams of becoming a Peace Corps volunteer.
So, in 2018, the Decatur mother of five and grandmother of nine, packed her bags and headed to southwest Africa.
There, she began teaching math and science to students at a high school in Namibia.
“I definitely miss my family. My grandchildren, (and my) friends,” Bishop said. “I love it here. I’ve made many new friends.”
But after 18 months of service, Bishop’s time in Africa has come to an end.
In fact, she remembers the moment she saw a letter posted on the official Peace Corps website.
“We were almost like, ‘Has the Peace Corps site been hacked or something? This can’t be!’ We were all in shock,” she said.
Despite no reported cases there, the US government is not taking any chances.
That is why earlier this week, officials took the historic step of temporarily suspending all Peace Corps operations and evacuating more than 7,000 volunteers around the world.
“It feels like unfinished business,” Bishop said.
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Bishop and nearly 50 other volunteers from all over the United States are now waiting to fly home, where they will all be under a self-quarantine for at least 14 days before they can be reunited with their families.
Until then, Bishop has a message for her loved ones.
“I love each and every one of you and I’ll be home soon,” Bishop said.
Bishop says she says she plans to eventually return to Africa.
She also told Seiden that in addition to spending time with her friends and family, she is looking forward to a vanilla milkshake from Chik-fil-A.
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