Close
Not finding the information you're looking for? Please contact the Archives research staff.
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-MR-2002-014-029
Part of a series of research interviews conducted by Jonathan Zimmerman for his article "Beyond Double Consciousness: Black Peace Corps Volunteers in Africa, 1961-1971." Dr. Carolyn Payton served as a Peace Corps staff member in various locations from 1964 to 1970, and later as the Director of the U.S. Peace Corps from 1978 to 1979. Interviewed in person, February 3, 1994. 1 tape (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-MR-2002-014-011
Part of a series of research interviews conducted by Jonathan Zimmerman for his article "Beyond Double Consciousness: Black Peace Corps Volunteers in Africa, 1961-1971." Leon D. Dash served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Kenya from 1969 to 1970. Interviewed in person, January 13, 1994. 2 tapes (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-MR-2002-014-007
Part of a series of research interviews conducted by Jonathan Zimmerman for his article "Beyond Double Consciousness: Black Peace Corps Volunteers in Africa, 1961-1971." Dr. David Closson served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Uganda from 1966 to 1968. Interviewed by phone, February 1, 1994. 2 tapes (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-MR-2002-014-001
Part of a series of research interviews conducted by Jonathan Zimmerman for his article "Beyond Double Consciousness: Black Peace Corps Volunteers in Africa, 1961-1971." Dr. Walter Agers served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Nigeria from 1966 to 1968. Interviewed by phone, January 31, 1994. 1 tape (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-MR-2002-001-008
Ruth Ann Van Hala (then Stanonik) served as a Peace Corps volunteer in India from 1965 to 1968 on a poultry project. She trained at St. John's College in Annapolis, Maryland, with the India 16 group, and learned Hindi and how to care for chickens. Due to political instability in India at the time the group was due to depart, they were temporarily sent to a kibbutz in Israel instead. Van Hala was then stationed in Satara in Maharashtra state in central India, where she worked with a poultry project sponsored by the Indian government with funding from USAID. The project was intended to encourage people to raise chickens and to introduce eggs into their diets, which was challenging due to cultural norms. At the end of her first year, Ruth married fellow volunteer Marcus Van Hala and moved to Udaipur. Note: Interview ends abruptly. Interviewed and recorded by Robert Klein, November 17, 2001. 1 tape (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-MR-2002-001-007
Marcus Van Hala served as a Peace Corps volunteer in India from 1965 to 1968 on a poultry project. Van Hala was on track to become a minister when he decided to apply to Peace Corps in order to broaden his outlook. He trained at St. John's College in Annapolis, Maryland, with the India 16 group, and appreciated the discipline of the physical education component. Due to political instability in India at the time the group was due to depart, they were temporarily sent to a kibbutz in Israel instead. Van Hala was then stationed in Udaipur in the state of Rajasthan in western India, where he worked to sign up more farmers for the poultry cooperative society, opened an egg store in town, and introduced barbeque as a way to encourage people to eat more chicken. At the end of the first year, Marcus married fellow volunteer Ruth Stanonik and they then served an additional two years as a couple. Note: Interview ends abruptly. Interviewed and recorded by Robert Klein, November 17, 2001. 2 tapes (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-MR-2002-001-006
Barbara Straub served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Ghana from 1962 to 1964 as a chemistry teacher. She was part of the Ghana II group. She trained at UC Berkeley in the Twi language with a stint in the Oakland emergency room. Straub was assigned to the prestigious Aburi Girls Secondary School, a Presbyterian mission school, which had almost 100 percent expatriate staff. She taught general science, chemistry, and physical education, and sponsored the newspaper club. She developed her own teaching methods to promote understanding of the scientific principles, rather than just rote learning. Despite having a degree from Stanford, Straub had to contend with the headmistress' notion that Peace Corps volunteers were underqualified. She also discusses her bout with malaria and local reaction to the Kennedy assassination. Interviewed and recorded by Robert Klein, December 2, 2001. 2 tapes (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-MR-2002-001-005
Nancy Deeds Meister served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Peru from 1964 to 1965 in a community development project. She befriended a sixteen year old boy, Alejandro Toledo, whose family Meister lived with. Alejandro Toledo later became President of Peru in 1999. Interviewed and recorded by Robert Klein, October 13, 2001. 2 tapes (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-MR-2002-001-004
Phil Lopes served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Colombia from 1961 to 1963 on a community development project. He was first assigned to Santa Cruz, Santander Del Sur, where he worked at the Rockefeller Foundation Station. Interviewed and recorded by Robert Klein, October 15, 2001. 2 tapes (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-MR-2002-001-003
Pamela Lopes served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Brasilia, Brazil, at an urban community development and social services foundation. She later became the Country Co-Director for Brazil (1978-1980). Interviewed and recorded by Robert Klein, October 13, 2001. 2 tapes (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-MR-2002-001-002
Thomas (Tom) Bruyneel served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Kenya from 1964 to 1966 as a land settlement officer. He was part of the first group sent to Kenya, one year after the country gained independence. His training at the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee focused on the Swahili language and featured lectures by well-known African scholars. In Kenya, Bruyneel worked for the Ministry of Lands and Settlement to administer settlement schemes where native people were being resettled on farmland previously held by British colonialists. He was first stationed at the Lietego scheme outside the town of Sotik, where he worked with the Kisii tribe. After about six months, he also assumed management of the much larger Manga scheme. Bruyneel's duties as settlement officer included cooperative development, agricultural outreach, crop management, and general administrative tasks. Interviewed and recorded by Robert Klein, November 18, 2001. 2 tapes (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-MR-1996-032-010
Anita Turner served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Kenya from 1982 to 1984. Turner was stationed in Nairobi with the USAID office and worked with the Kenyan government and other organizations as a management training specialist in regional housing and urban development. In this capacity, she created and administered a low-cost housing program. Interviewed and recorded by Susan Goganian, May 24, 1994, as part of a Northeastern University public history class. 1 tape (web streaming files combined into 1 file). A user's guide and transcript are available in Box 93.
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-102
Heather Michelle Lynn Reed served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Paraguay from 2018 to 2019 on an environmental project. She began her service in September 2018 and had to return to the United States in May 2019 due to medical reasons. In this interview, she reflects on her service as she waits to learn whether she will be able to return to Paraguay. Reed formed many close friendships, both with other volunteers and the members of her community in Santo Domingo. She taught hands-on agriculture classes to middle school students, and worked with a local women's committee. One of her favorite projects was teaching English classes at the local elementary school. Even with less than a year in country, Peace Corps taught her to make the most of every situation and to see the value not only in success but also in the effort made. Interviewed and recorded by Christeen Pusch, June 21, 2019. 2 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-101
Susan Selbin served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Chile from 1967 to 1968 on a community development project. She later served in Liberia (1982-1983) and Swaziland (2009-2010) as well. In Chile, Selbin was assigned to Nogales where she worked with a Mother's Club to arrange educational workshops for women. To help support the club, she organized film festivals and the construction of a building. After rejoining the Peace Corps in the 1980s, Selbin worked at a university in Monrovia, Liberia. For her third tour, she focused on teacher training work in Makayane, Swaziland. Selbin says that her Peace Corps service gave her a can-do attitude, which she has carried with her throughout her life. In between her time in the Peace Corps, she taught special needs and inner city children and then served in the Foreign Service for 20 years. Now retired, she continues to enjoy volunteering and putting on film festivals focusing on environmental and other social issues. Interviewed and recorded by Christeen Pusch, June 21, 2019. 2 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-100
Louise Liller served as a Peace Corps volunteer in El Salvador from 2006 to 2008 on an agroforestry and environmental education project. She also served with Peace Corps Response in Panama in 2009. In San Lucas de Gualococti, El Salvador, there were initial challenges with work partnerships and housing. However, Liller was able to adapt to the situation and work with her neighborhood to identify projects. Her focuses were on projects such as reforestation, gender and youth development, and workshops for youth environmental business ideas. She felt she made an impact by working with the local school vegetable garden. She is proudest of the reforestation project that allowed the community recapture land and use it for community events, and enjoyed the friends she made in her community. In Cuesta de Piedra, Panama, Liller felt that her improved language skills and strong local partner helped her utilize her strengths to make a major impact in agroforestry. She enjoyed her experience teaching youth environmental education classes throughout the region and working with local organic farmers. She enjoyed Panama's beautiful scenery, her close host family, and well-defined work project. Liller says the Peace Corps taught her about community building and the importance of relationships within the community. Interviewed and recorded by Jeff Liu, June 19, 2019. 2 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file)
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-099
Benny Cespedes served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Pakistan from 1961 to 1963 as an engineering instructor. He was part of Pakistan I, which was only the ninth group to be trained and the seventh group to go abroad in Peace Corps history. His main assignment was to teach engineering in the Lahore Polytechnic Institute. He also worked on building two schools for girls and setting up the Dewey decimal system in the library. Cespedes believed that he did not make any tangible changes, but rather his impact came from interactions with the locals, answering their questions, teaching Pakistanis about the morality of American women, and openly answering questions on how blacks were treated in the United States. He continued his service after Pakistan with Habitat Global Village and Friends of Pakistan USA. Note: Benny's wife, Carol Cespedes, was also present for the interview to assist him. Interviewed and recorded by Jeff Liu, June 22, 2019. 2 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-098
Benedicte Naudin served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Senegal from 2003 to 2005 on an agriculture extension project. She also served in Peace Corps Response in Rwanda in 2018 as an English education volunteer. Naudin was already proficient in French before applying to the Peace Corps. In Senegal, she focused her worked with agricultural and health projects within her village and the region. Her major accomplishment was a tree grafting project and seeing how it was able to positively influence change in someone's life. She was able to extend to work in a successful poultry project that brought 200 chicks to her village. She enjoyed being able to explore Senegal and meet the local people. In Rwanda, the work was more intense. Naudin taught English to 700 students in the local school and also had secondary English projects. She is proud of her work with the outing club, where she took students on long hikes on the weekend to discuss anything they wanted to, all in English. Interviewed and recorded by Jeff Liu, June 22, 2019. 2 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-097
David Gittelman served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Zaire from 1982 to 1984 on a health project. He had taken courses in African Studies and French at Georgetown University, and spent his junior year at the University of Dakar, Senegal, where he honed his French language skills and learned about development work from Peace Corps volunteers he met. Gittleman's Peace Corps training in small animal husbandry and cross-cultural skills was conducted at the Penn Community Center in South Carolina. After arriving in Mbuji-Mayi, Zaire, he learned the child immunization program needed a good French speaker, so he switched programs and became the Deputy Regional Supervisor for immunization program in the Kasai Oriental Region. Gittelman discusses getting host country nationals out of jail, confronting corruption, and still learning to contribute and thrive professionally. After the Peace Corps, he had a long career in global health with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Interviewed and recorded by Edwin Blanton, June 22, 2019. 1 digital audio file.
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-096
Michael (Mike) Roman served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Kiribati from November 2000 to June 2002 in an education program. Stationed on the island of Tamana, he spent his time teaching students that were having difficulty in learning English. In addition, he also organized after-school activities that allowed the youth of his village, Bakaka, to get involved in running and table tennis. Roman discusses his living situation and life in Kiribati. After the Peace Corps, he completed his Ph.D. and now partners with international organizations to raise global consciousness of climate change. Interviewed and recorded by Edwin Blanton, June 21, 2019. 1 digital audio file.
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-095
David Lipman served as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Philippines from June 1970 to January 1974 as an elementary teacher trainer. He served alongside his wife Arlene. The couple trained in Vermont for three months, and learned the Malay language of Cebuano. In the Philippines, they were stationed south of Davao City, on the island of Mindanao. Later the Lipmans transferred to the city of Tagbilaran on the island of Bohol. David provided teacher instruction in the sciences. He also discusses politics in the Philippines. After returning to the U.S., David and Arlene and others in the Denver area formed I.F. (Independent Foundation), which was the precursor to the Returned Peace Corps Volunteers of Colorado group. They have also been involved with the Filipino American Community of Colorado, and have returned to the Philippines to assist Uplift International with cleft lip and palate surgeries. Interviewed and recorded by Barbara Kaare-Lopez, May 30 and June 13, 2019. 2 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-094
Arlene Berg Lipman served as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Philippines from July 1970 to January 1974 as an elementary teacher trainer. She served alongside her husband David. The couple trained in Vermont for 3 months, and learned the Malay language of Cebuano. In the Philippines, they were stationed south of Davao City, on the island of Mindanao. Later the Lipmans transferred to the city of Tagbilaran on the island of Bohol. Arlene provided teacher instruction in basic modern math. She discusses her work and the history of the Philippines. Following their service, the couple has been involved with the Filipino American Community of Colorado, and they have returned to the Philippines to assist Uplift International with cleft lip and palate surgeries. Interviewed and recorded by Barbara Kaare-Lopez, May 30, 2019. 3 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-093
Gary Mount served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Micronesia from 1967 to 1970 on an agriculture project. He served alongside his wife Pam. The couple was among the first volunteers to be trained in-country in Udot on Truk. After that they were sent to Colonia in the Yap District where Gary worked with an agriculture extension agent. They moved to the small, remote Satawal Island after the leaders there requested them. Mount recalls their initial trepidation at leaving the ship, but after being greeted by the entire village with song and dance, they quickly settled in. He describes his many projects working with the men of the island and his special closeness with three of the leaders. After being a part of a very small community for three years, returning home presented challenges, and Mount describes how they were ultimately solved. He also recalls a return visit to Micronesia 25 years later and his happiness at seeing that the results of his projects were still helping the people there. Interviewed and recorded by Candice Wiggum, June 10, 2019. 4 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-092
Joann Munoz served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Namibia from October 1998 to November 2000 in the education sector. She was trained in-country and assigned to work as a teacher trainer in primary schools. Her language training was in Oshikwanyama, a dialect of Oshiwambo, which is spoken by the largest tribe in the country. Munoz experienced and adapted to many challenges during her time in Namibia, including having to evacuate from her first assignment to another location because her village was too close to the border of a neighboring country where a civil war was taking place. She also discusses difficulty in being accepted by some of the local people and how she became ill due to a Lyme-like disease near the end of her term and had to be medically evacuated to a hospital in South Africa. Interviewed and recorded by Stanley (Stan) Laser, May 30, 2019. 1 digital audio file.
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-091
Christeen Pusch served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Honduras from 2005 to 2007 in a municipal development program. She was stationed in Colomoncagua and assigned to work with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to provide support to nearby residents and farmers. In the second half of her service, she focused more on basic student education with a USAID program called Educatodos (Education for All). Pusch formed friendships with her neighbors, including one neighborhood girl that she tutored named Karin. Karin later went on to become the first person in her family to earn her high school diploma and inspired her younger siblings to do the same. Some of Pusch's favorite things about Honduras were the natural beauty, the walkability of the neighborhoods and towns, and the openness of the culture, which allowed her to visit neighbors at any moment. She credits her Peace Corps service with altering her perspective on her life by making her more appreciative and, as a child of German immigrants, helping her find her own cultural identity back at home in the States. Interviewed and recorded by Sally Waley, June 13, 2019. 1 digital audio file.
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-090
Kelli Haynes served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Botswana from April 2010 to June 2012 on a health project. She completed her training in the village of Molepolol before being assigned to the nearby village of Thamaga for her work as an HIV educator and secondary school guidance counselor. In the interview she describes her work rolling out life skills curriculum, adventures with bees, and her host family and neighbors that gave her the Setswana name Tumisang and helped shape her Peace Corps experience. Interviewed and recorded by Sally Waley, May 5, 2019. 1 digital audio file.