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.