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Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2020-079
Robert Crisp served as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Dominican Republic from August 1962 to July 1964 as a rural community development specialist. Prior to joining, he had served in the Army and completed a degree in international relations. Crisp trained both in the Outward Bound camp outside of Arecibo, Puerto Rico (for language and physical and emotional endurance) and at the University of Puerto Rico (for cultural and community development studies). He was assigned to Hato Mayor to work on youth clubs and chicken production but became disenchanted with the work ethic of the community. He asked for a transfer and moved to the town of Constanza, where he dug wells and built an oven and wash basin. During his service, the government of the Dominican Republic was overthrown in a military coup. In the interview, Crisp discusses both positive and strained relations with the Dominicans, but feels that his experience was extremely valuable. Interviewed and recorded by Randolph Adams, November 22, 2019. 1 digital audio file.
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2020-075
Jim Brown served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Nigeria from September 1962 to August 1964 as a secondary school teacher. Growing up in Chicago, he became interested in exploring the world at a young age. Brown applied to the Peace Corps during his senior year of college. His training was held at UCLA and covered a full range of topics: language, technical, culture, and health. In Nigeria, Brown was dropped at a remote secondary Catholic boys' school in the middle of the jungle where the nearest village was an hour away. The structured school day included some open time to talk about issues in the U.S. in comparison to Nigeria. Upon completing his service, Brown attended graduate school for African studies and gave lectures on his experience in Nigeria. He became a professor of African studies and also curated a museum of African art at his university. Interviewed and recorded by Randolph Adams, December 21, 2019. 2 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2020-074
Megan Nejjari served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Morocco from March 2012 to May 2014 in a youth development program. Several of her family members had careers in foreign service and other global areas, and Nejjari completed a degree in international studies. She was first invited serve in Kazakhstan, but then her group was transferred to Morocco. Her community-based training included living with a host family. She also had a practicum at a local youth center and experiential activities in the town. Although she was trained in the wrong language for her location, there were excellent technical resources. Nejjari was assigned to the town of Tiznit in a Berber region in southern Morocco. She taught English classes of 10 to 65 students at night, a women's aerobics group, and health (HIV/AIDS) and environment classes at a local youth center. She says that the curiosity of the people she met allowed for great interpersonal exchanges about our different lives. Nejjari married a Moroccan man and remains very connected to Moroccan culture. Interviewed and recorded by Randolph Adams, December 21, 2019. 2 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2020-066
Jimmy Cloutier served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Armenia from August 2015 to September 2017 in a TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) program. His family had immigrated to the U.S. from Quebec, Canada, which helped him relate to students learning a new language. After training in Baghramyan, Jimmy and his wife were stationed in the village of Aragatsavan. Early in their service a neighbor was murdered, and they were pulled out of their site for a week while an investigation ensued. Cloutier's work teaching English involved a trainer-of-trainer approach and experiential learning. He also set-up English clubs, an environmental education program, and a "Border-to-Border" project where he visited 30 communities along a conflict zone to teach a variety of health education topics. Cloutier sees the U.S. differently after his Peace Corps service, and appreciates the value of a strong community helping each other. Interviewed and recorded by Randolph Adams, November 14, 2019. 2 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2020-030
Elaine Staab served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Paraguay from 2000 to 2002 on an agriculture project. She had an interest in anthropology and several of her family members had also served in the Peace Corps. In Paraguay, Staab did three months of in-service training outside of the capital. She was then assigned to her community, San Francisco, Calle 15, a rural Guarani speaking community. Staab's primary project was working as an agricultural extension agent to promote crop diversification and soil conservation. She worked with several families and also created model gardens. Her secondary activities included teaching English at the high school; teaching health, nutrition, and sanitation classes; building sanitary latrines; and building fugon brick ovens in several homes. The Peace Corps contributed to her decision to pursue a career as an English teacher in public school. She also serves on the Northern Virginia RPCV Board. Interviewed and recorded by Randolph (Randy) Adams, October 9, 2019. 1 digital audio file.
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2020-028
Margaret (Peggy) Bangham served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Paraguay from January 1980 to March 1983 as an elementary education teacher trainer. She later served as a Peace Corps recruiter in the 1980s, and as Associate Peace Corps Director (APCD) in Tonga from 1993 to 1996. Bangham was already an experienced teacher when she joined the Peace Corps. She attended training in Aregua, a town outside of Asuncion. The preparation focused on cultural studies, teaching techniques, and the Spanish and Guarani languages. Bangham was based in Villarrica, Guaira Department, but she was part of a roving team that also visited other schools in the region. In the interview, she describes her workdays, free time activities, and summer projects. She concludes by discussing the lessons she learned and how her service influenced her career. Interviewed and recorded by Randolph (Randy) Adams, September 20, 2019. 1 digital audio file.
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2020-027
Courtney Columbus served as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Dominican Republic from February 2012 to June 2015 on a community environmental development project. She served an additional year as a regional volunteer leader. As an undergraduate, Columbus had completed a study abroad program in Ecuador. Her Peace Corps community-based training included Spanish, Dominican culture and history, and specific environmental technical elements. She served in an agricultural community that had previously had volunteers. Columbus worked with a women's group and youth environment groups on a variety of projects, including introducing gas stoves to replace firewood and providing presentations on environmental issues. She also worked on a secondary activity to help Dominican-born Haitians obtain their birth certificates. Eventually, the Peace Corps environmental program was eliminated in the Dominican Republic. Interviewed and recorded by Randolph (Randy) Adams, September 19, 2019. 2 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2020-026
Norman Graham served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Brazil from August 1964 to August 1966 as a prison social worker. Prior to the Peace Corps, he had completed a degree in social work with a minor in criminology and an internship at a federal prison. Graham attended training at New York University (and in Rio de Janeiro) with a group of nurses. His technical preparation focused on health care and Portuguese. Graham lived in a satellite town outside of the new half-built capital, Brasilia, where he started a program in the local penitentiary (100-120 inmates) to show films on health care, literacy, mathematics, and Brazilian history. He then started a library, added carpentry training, ran a dispensary, and arranged for doctors to visit the prison. Graham also volunteered at the local boys' school. Interviewed and recorded by Randolph (Randy) Adams, August 22, 2019. 1 digital audio file.
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2020-001
Duane Karlen served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Nepal from February 1970 to July 1972 in the education sector. He later served on Peace Corps staff as a training contractor (1977-1989), in the Eastern Caribbean (1991-1994), and at the Washington headquarters (1994-1999). In addition to living in a cooperative intercultural house during college, the Vietnam War also influenced his decision to join the Peace Corps. Karlen completed training at the University of California-Davis as well as in-country and received his teaching certificate. He lived in an isolated rural community of 100 houses, Gaunsahar, in the Lamjung District. He taught math and science and conducted teacher training. Karlen built meaningful relationships with the community members, especially through exchanges of understanding about the U.S. and Nepal. He returned to Nepal ten years after his service to see the changes. The Peace Corps altered Karlen's career path and he became interested in adult education and leadership development. As a staff member, he learned that work structure and a safe living situation are critical to volunteers' success. Interviewed and recorded by Randolph A. Adams, August 8, 2019. 2 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2020-078
Mary Quattro served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Malaysia from August 1968 to November 1970 as a secondary education teacher. She was born and raised in a small rural community in West Virginia with a large immigrant population. She joined after completing a degree in education, and her pre-service training in Hawaii covered the Bahasa Melayu language, teaching techniques, and Malaysian culture. At the time, Malaysia was a newly independent country and welcomed Peace Corps support in various areas, especially education. Quattro boarded at her school in Lundu, East Malaysia, alongside a diverse group of students and teachers. She taught taught English as well as Malaysian history, and managed the school's library. While she loved her project in general, she felt the Peace Corps failed her in not dealing with a stalker, which forced her to leave service two months early. The experience changed how she saw the world and helped develop her self-confidence. Interviewed and recorded by Randolph Adams, December 9, 2019. 2 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).