by Len Lear

Can you imagine having a good job, a good home in Mt. Airy, good friends, a car and the other trappings that go along with a typical middle-class life in the U.S. and voluntarily leaving in all behind to go and live a Third-World country, possibly even in a village where they may be no running water, electricity, etc.? Maybe no restaurants, cars, computers, cell phones, etc. Things we take for granted.

Well, that is exactly what Roxanna “Roxy” Kestner, 47, who lived on the 7100 block of Chew Avenue and whose most recent local job was as a licensed loan officer for NVR Mortgage in Blue Bell, did last Saturday after giving away or selling almost all of her belongings when she moved to Uganda in East Africa to be a Peace Corps volunteer.

“I downsized by about 85% back in May,” Kestner told us last week, “when I went to Colorado (to work for a few months on a guest ranch in the town of Clark). Yesterday, I sold my car. I’m down to my baggage limit of 100 pounds plus a few bins of keepsakes and essentials in my brother’s garage. It’s so liberating — shedding stuff!

“I know it’s crazy by American standards! We take everything for granted. If I want a latte, I can have one in 10 minutes. If I want a glass of water, 10 seconds. We’re saturated with information and stimuli. I think there is so much merit in slowing down to a pace required to just meet my basic needs. Gathering water, cooking from scratch, using a bicycle as primary transportation. Slowing down and experiencing life as the vast majority of humans on this planet do. I’ll be learning a new language and building relationships relying on that language. There will be impossibly difficult moments, but the potential for gratitude and spiritual growth is immense.”

Kestner, who has never been married and has no children, has always been a rolling stone. She was born just outside Seattle but grew up in Central Florida. She dropped out of high school in Florida at age 16.

At 19, she got her G.E.D. and enrolled in community college, but after a year and a half, quit school and moved out west, working on dude ranches for five years (Montana, Arizona, California and Colorado). She eventually returned to school and spent a year at Montana State University before moving to Philly at age 30 and completing her BA in History with an Education minor at Arcadia University in Glenside in 2004. “Let’s just say I’m not inclined to take the straight path,” she explained.

After graduation, Kestner taught middle school Social Studies for about two years and then transitioned into Adult Literacy with a non-profit in Kensington for six years. After more non-profit work, she took a job in the finance industry, “which taught me that I am not designed to work in the for-profit world.”

Kestner has lived in Chestnut Hill and Mt. Airy for the past 15 years, except for two years in Ambler. “I love Mt. Airy. It’s my favorite place I’ve ever lived. It’s part of Philly but feels like a small town. It’s safe. It’s comfortable. It feels like home. I love its proximity to the Wissahickon and to Center City. The best of all worlds!”

Kestner's interest in joining the Peace Corps was born during a conversation with her father decades ago. “I remember quite clearly sitting in the back seat of the car with my parents, spouting off about deforestation or overuse of fossil fuels, knowing we had technology for alternative energies, and he said, ‘If you want to save the world, you should join the Peace Corps.’ I’d never heard of it, so I headed to the library. Prior to that I had no motivation to continue with school. Both my parents had 8th grade educations, and no one in my family had gone to college. Upon discovering that, with few exceptions, I’d need a college degree to meet Peace Corps requirements, I changed course and left my fast food career behind.”

Someone joining the Peace Corps can choose his/her destination or leave it up to the organization. “I applied specifically to Uganda, as I was drawn to the culture/natural resources (I like to hike), and the English Literacy program there has a component where volunteers work in Teacher Training programs, preparing incoming teachers for the classroom. Having taught Adult Literacy and ESL, this felt like a good fit.”

Regarding compensation, Peace Corps volunteers are provided a monthly allowance that permits them to live at the level experienced by members of the community where they will reside.

Up until now, what was the hardest thing Kestner ever had to do? “Learn to love and trust myself enough to follow my heart.”

What is the best advice she ever received? “From my dad: Don’t give a crap what anyone else thinks. You can do whatever you want.”

What is Kestner’s most impressive characteristic? “It’s my sense of humor. It’s gotten me through my toughest days.”

If Kestner could meet and spend time with anyone on earth, living or dead, who would it be and why? “Willie Nelson. I’ve loved him since birth. He’s a wise and funny humanitarian. I think we’d get along famously.”