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Photograph folder
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-1961-04-29-A
AR06
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-LJB-01
Barrows discusses the 1961 plebiscite to determine the fate of British Cameroon, U.S.-Cameroon relations during the John F. Kennedy administration, and differences in State Department policy towards Francophone and Anglophone African nations, among other issues.
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2020-068
Sara Holtz served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Togo from 1995 to 1998 in a safe motherhood and child survival program. She trained in-country at a dedicated Peace Corps center in Pagala. Afterwards she was stationed in the rural village of Affem Kabye with 1,200 residents, who welcomed her and named her Naka. Holtz worked in the health hut with two Togolese to provide maternal and child health care and health education to school students. After a tragedy where her neighbor had obstructed labor and died awaiting a cesarean section, Holtz knew she wanted to pursue a degree in public health. She later obtained a doctoral degree and wrote her dissertation on cesareans in developing countries. The Peace Corps made her who she is and shaped her global public health career. Interviewed and recorded by Elaine Staab, December 15, 2019. 1 digital audio file.
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2020-053
James E. Hill served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Togo from October 1974 to December 1976 on a primary school construction project. After completing program training in-country, he was stationed in Tsevie. His French language skills were strong to begin with but he had to work hard to understand the construction aspects of the job. One project in Kplaba, a remote village, involved him living with the school director's family for an extended period. Hill worked to build a 3-room primary school and cistern and latrine complexes in cooperation with local subsistence farmers who volunteered to provide the materials and labor. Hill states that he matured greatly from this experience, and learned to appreciate another culture and the importance of small things in life. His international cross-cultural work in the Peace Corps prepared him well for a subsequent career with the Red Cross and the Pan American Health Organization. Interviewed and recorded by Christine Musa, January 14, 2020. 1 digital audio file.
Sound recording
White House Audio Collection
JFKWHA-082-001
Sound recording of President John F. Kennedy’s welcome address to President Sylvanus Olympio of the Togolese Republic (also known as Togo) at Washington National Airport.
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-MR-2006-073-004
Melanie Spence served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Togo from 2003 to 2005 in a community health and HIV/AIDS prevention project. She discusses her training, her host family, and her work in community health and peer education. Interviewed and recorded by Gloria G. Curtis, July 31, 2006. 2 tapes (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-056
John Stoney served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Togo from 1989 to 1991 in an appropriate technologies program. He talks about teaching local women how to build and use ameliorated cook stoves, cisterns, and other low technology tools to save energy and improve their lives. He discusses the importance of these stoves in producing beer and the role of beer in the local Mobo culture. Stoney discusses his experiences during a coup that overthrew the dictator, President Gnassingbe Eyadema, and the ensuing fighting among villagers in many places, as well as the effect on large elephant herds in the Fosse aux Lions national game park near where he was stationed. In addition, he talks about his relocation from Dapaong, a small border town near Burkina Faso, to Tambong, a smaller village, after using a knife to defend himself when he was attacked by a mentally ill young man whom he had befriended. The process of building a forge with local materials and producing metal sculptures in Togo convinced him to remain an artist when he returned to the U.S. Finally, Stoney reflects on how he did not experience culture shock overseas, but rather on his return to rampant consumerism in the U.S. Interviewed and recorded by Evelyn Ganzglass, December 23, 2018. 2 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-054
Stephen A. Jonathan served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Togo from 1975 to 1977 as an English teacher. He talks about his motivation to join the Peace Corps and have an on-the-ground experience in a developing country, despite the wishes of his parents. Jonathan's training was in Philadelphia and then continued in Atakpame, Togo. He received instruction in French and some local dialects, teaching methods, and some cultural training. Jonathan worked at a girls' Catholic private school. In addition to teaching English to middle school girls, he coached the girls' basketball team and enjoyed it immensely. He traveled extensively through Western Africa, mostly on his own, and spoke of observing some of the after-effects of colonialism and the many changes happening in Africa. Finally, Jonathan discusses how his degree in international relations and his Peace Corps experience guided his career in international business and currency exchange and what he might do after he retires. Interviewed and recorded by Candice Wiggum, February 10, 2019. 2 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2018-014
Amy Amessoudji (nee Waldren) served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Guinea from 1995 to 1997 in a public health and community development program. She was a graduate of the University of Wisconsin Madison. Amessoudji received initial training in Senegal and finished her training in-country before going to her rural site in south Guinea. Later, she volunteered for Crisis Corps (now called Peace Corps Response) in Togo in 2001 for a 6 month period, where she served as a technical adviser on HIV and AIDS. She met her husband while serving in Togo. Interviewed and recorded by Harry E. Bennett, April 10, 2018. 2 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2018-013
Brenda Brown Schoonover served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Philippines Group One from 1961 to 1963 as a 5th and 6th grade English teacher. She began training at State College Pennsylvania and then continued her language and cultural training in-country at Los Banos in a group of 128 volunteers. In the Philippines, she was stationed in the town of Magarao in the Bicol Region where she worked in the elementary school and established a community library. In her interview, she describes the warm relations she enjoyed with host country nationals. While interacting with students, teachers, and other host-country nationals, she says she learned valuable lifelong lessons in cross-cultural sensitivity -- lessons she believes have served her well throughout her subsequent career as an American diplomat. After completing her teaching assignment, Schoonover continued working as a Peace Corps staffer in Tanzania and at the Peace Corps office in Washington, D.C., and eventually became a foreign service officer. President Bill Clinton appointed her Ambassador to the West African nation of Togo, and she served there from 1997 to 2000. Interviewed by Ivan C. Browning, April 6, 2018. 2 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2016-041
Elinor Carstens Gbedey served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Togo from 1965 to 1967. Her training took place during two summers: first at Dartmouth, between her junior and senior years in college, and then in Quebec, after her college graduation. The emphasis was on learning French, in preparation for going to a Francophone West African country, and on teacher-training. In Togo, Gbedey was assigned to teach math in two boys’ secondary schools. After her first year, she transferred to a different assignment. During her Peace Corps service, Elinor began a relationship with a Togolese man to whom she is still married. 3 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file). Interviewed and recorded by Phyllis Noble, June 16, 2016.
Moving image
United States Government Agencies Collection
USG-01-L
Motion picture covering the official state visit of President Sylvanus Olympio of Togo to the United States. After welcoming ceremonies with President John F. Kennedy, they go to the White House where President Olympio meets with African-Americans. Also included are stops at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia, where President Olympio places a wreath, the Capitol, and American University, which presents President Olympio with an honorary degree. President Olympio also visits New York City and the United Nations (UN) headquarters and Niagara Falls, New York.Presented by: United States Information Service (USIS).
Produced by: Sidney J. Stiber.
Photograph folder
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-1962-03-20-E
AR17, KN13
Photograph folder
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-1962-03-20-D
AR17, KN13
Photograph folder
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-1962-03-20-C
AR17, KN13
Textual folder
Leon B. Poullada Personal Papers
LBPPP-002-007
Textual folder
Leon B. Poullada Personal Papers
LBPPP-002-003
Textual folder
Leon B. Poullada Personal Papers
LBPPP-002-002
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. White House Staff Files of Harris Wofford
JFKWHSFHW-007-011
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. White House Staff Files of Harris Wofford
JFKWHSFHW-007-010
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. White House Staff Files of Harris Wofford
JFKWHSFHW-007-009
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. White House Staff Files of Harris Wofford
JFKWHSFHW-007-008
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. White House Staff Files of Harris Wofford
JFKWHSFHW-005-020
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. National Security Files
JFKNSF-165-006
This folder contains cables, reports, memoranda, and correspondence regarding Togo.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-124a-006
This folder contains materials collected by the office of President John F. Kennedy's secretary, Evelyn Lincoln, concerning Togo (officially known as the Togolese Republic). Materials in this folder include background information on the history and government of Togo, biographical information on prominent Togolese officials, a transcript of a press conference given by Press Secretary Pierre Salinger, memoranda regarding President Kennedy's interactions with Togolese heads of state, correspondence between President Kennedy and Sylvanus Olympio, Prime Minister and President of Togo, and copies of "African Problems and the Cold War" by President Olympio. This folder also contains materials concerning President Olympio's visit to Washington, D.C., including a program, itinerary, guest lists for events, and press releases of toasts by Presidents Kennedy and Olympio during the visit.