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Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2020-071
Toby Marion served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Afghanistan from 1971 to 1975 in an education program. As a science teacher, he took experiment kits (provided by the United Nations Development Programme) around to middle and high schools in Kapisa Province and taught local science teachers how to use them. Marion then extended his service to teach three semesters of engineering in Kabul. In the interview, he discusses his reasons for joining the Peace Corps, what Afghanistan was like in the early 1970s, the comfortable standard of living he enjoyed on $90/month, and how his group was encouraged to dress professionally in order to garner respect. He speaks about the life-long friends he developed, of the satisfaction of becoming fluent in Farsi, and how impressed he was with the world knowledge of illiterate local villagers. He also recounts a 46-day hike across central Afghanistan, and shares how the Peace Corps influenced him to become an internationalist. Interviewed and recorded by Candice Wiggum, February 3, 2020. 3 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2020-062
Regina DeAngelo served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Ghana from 2000 to 2002 as a teacher. She joined mid-career at age 35 and was the oldest in her cohort. She describes training, which included living with a family in a small village outside of Accra, as intense and thorough. After training, DeAngelo began working as a computer-usage teacher at an elite school in Accra. After her first year, Accra was deemed too dangerous and she moved out into the country to teach at a nursing school. DeAngelo particularly enjoyed working with the young women, which included setting up a scholarship so some could afford to go to school, and interviewing a native healer to find out about their ancient religion. Returning home and reintegrating into her own culture proved challenging when confronted both with the abundance and waste in the U.S., and with the sense of being out of step with her age cohort. Interviewed and recorded by Candice Wiggum, March 8, 2020. 2 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-2019-079
Elisa Gillette served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Thailand from 1966 to 1968 in a community health project. She served alongside her husband. She talks about how the Vietnam War impacted their decision to join the Peace Corps and the government's decision to put more volunteers in Thailand. She describes training in California and the group she trained with. Once at their site in Thailand, the couple faced a challenge in finding a niche where they could do their work, and also experienced some cross-cultural difficulties. Gillette describes their travels throughout Thailand and the conditions of life there. Finally, she discusses how the Peace Corps impacted her life and what happened after they returned to the U.S. Interviewed and recorded by Candice Wiggum, May 1, 2019. 2 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-077
Celia D'Arienzo (nee McAvey) served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Swaziland from 1976 to 1978 as a secondary education science teacher. She joined the Peace Corps to get away, have an adventure, and hopefully to do some good. She ended up meeting her future husband and teaching a lab-based science curriculum in a school that had no electricity or running water. D'Arienzo discusses some of the cultural differences, like the challenge of being left-handed in a culture that sees the left hand as dirty, how marriages involved the payment of a bride price over time, and how the girls often got pregnant and had to leave school early. She also speaks about how she tried to help the girls. D'Arienzo describes the daily challenges of living there, including a "kidnapping" when officials from a larger school came and got them because they wanted the couple to teach at their school instead. She also recounts a time of danger they faced and her difficulty staying healthy while eating a vegetarian diet. Interviewed and recorded by Candice Wiggum, April 23, 2019. 2 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-076
Dennis D'Arienzo served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Swaziland from July 1976 to December 1978 as a secondary education math teacher. He had little previous experience traveling and he recounts his family's response when he decided to join the Peace Corps. He relates how he met his future wife in training at the University of Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland, and how training was comprised of different stages, including a home stay, to prepare them for their assignment. After volunteering for a site in the bushveldt (bush country), D'Arienzo and his girlfriend arrived at a school and residence far from any town and with no one around. He taught math classes to middle-school students in English and speaks of the challenges and sacrifices of the job, but also how much education was valued there. He remembers with sadness what has happened to Swaziland since they left due to the devastation of AIDS, and states that the maturity he gained in the Peace Corps helped him in his later career. Finally, D'Arienzo closes with an account of his travels home and the shock of arriving back in the U.S. Interviewed and recorded by Candice Wiggum, April 23, 2019. 2 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-075
Edythe Ben-Israel served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Malawi from 1968 to 1970 on a health project. She was motivated to join the Peace Corps to learn about other cultures, travel, and do some good in the world. Her training was interrupted by her mom's unexpected illness, and when she was ready to return to training she had to change from the health program to TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language). Fortunately, when Ben-Israel arrived in Malawi she was able to switch back. She and her counterpart set up clinics to work with mothers and children to help teach them how best to supplement the children's diets. She also taught health at a local school. Ben-Israel relates a frightening incident in Malawi when a volunteer got stoned, but also recalls a rewarding time when she danced for and met the president. She felt accepted into the community and feels she got more out of her experience than she ever could give. She also talks briefly about the importance of Peace Corps in connecting Americans to other cultures and peoples. Interviewed and recorded by Candice Wiggum, April 6, 2019. 2 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-066
Pam Mount served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Micronesia from 1967 to 1970 as a teacher. She was initially inspired by meeting a Peace Corps recruiter at a Girl Scout Jamboree in high school. She married her boyfriend right after she graduated from college, and a week later they left for training together. Because of some political pressure, a lot of volunteers were sent to Micronesia in 1966. The couple was initially assigned to the Yap district (and had learned Yap in training), but before long they were asked by the chief of the island of Satawel to come there instead. Mount taught English first, then became an all-purpose teacher. She speaks of the communal culture and how much could be learned by her husband sitting with the men in the canoe huts and her cooking on the beach with the women. She is proud that the people of Satawel have become leaders in Micronesia, which the islanders attribute to the help that the Mounts gave them. Mount also talks about her father's death during her service and the trip home for his funeral. Finally, she discusses the challenge of figuring out what to do after their tour of duty and how the lessons of the Peace Corps continue to guide their activism in their community. Interviewed and recorded by Candice Wiggum, February 26, 2019. 3 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-065
Lew Hemmer served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Macedonia from 2011 to 2013 on a community development project. He later completed two more service terms with Peace Corps Response, first in Saint Lucia on a youth development project (2014-2015), and then on the island of Dominica with the Ministry of Education (2016). Hemmer had wanted to join the Peace Corps for a long time, and found a good opportunity once he had retired but his wife was still working. He joined at age 68 and was sent to Macedonia, where he worked at a non-governmental organization (NGO) for disabled adults to expand services and activities and to decrease discrimination. Hemmer established a sports and exercise program which eventually expanded to include community members, and in the process broke stereotypes about what older men could do. He talks about training and his difficulty connecting with the younger volunteers and language challenges, but he had success once he reached his site. After feeling restless upon returning home and wanting to contribute more, Hemmer volunteered to go to Saint Lucia to develop protocols to strengthen the resiliency of youth and decrease suicidal ideation, especially among young girls who were frequently bullied. He mentions the differences between being a regular volunteer and a Response volunteer. After returning home from his year in Saint Lucia, he saw another Response position perfectly suited for him and went to Dominica to work with autistic children. However, the island was very small and had few truly autistic kids, so due to lack of work and a knee problem he returned home early. Interviewed and recorded by Candice Wiggum, March 21, 2019. 2 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-062
Diane Bendahmane served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Morocco from 1966 to 1968 as an English teacher. Later, after taking part in the Peace Corps Fellow program, she returned to Morocco as a Peace Corps staff member. Bendahmane talks about her independent spirit and the hardship it was on her parents to see her leave initially. Her training was in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and in Beirut, Lebanon, where she was excused from the physical training because of the after-effects of having had polio as a child. She had taught French and English in high school before joining, so she was able to take high-level French classes and Arabic during training and utilized her teaching experience on site. Bendahmane taught in the city of Fes. She reflects on the continuing impact of French colonization on Morocco and the educational system, and the difficulty of integrating into the culture as a woman. She served in Morocco during a tumultuous time in the U.S. and the Middle East, and reflects on its impact on training, her identity as an American, and the change she saw in the volunteers she supervised. Directly after completing her volunteer service, Bendahmane joined the Peace Corps staff as a training instructor for Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) volunteers headed to Morocco. She next completed the Peace Corps Fellow program (1968-1969), and worked as the TEFL Program Technical Representative for the Peace Corps staff in Morocco (1969–1972). She served under Richard Holbrooke as a staff member and discusses the close relationship they developed. Finally, Bendahmane talks about the impact that the Peace Corps, Morocco, and Islam have had on her life. Interviewed and recorded by Candice Wiggum, February 19, 2019. 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-2019-053
Stanley (Stan) Laser served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ecuador from 1962 to 1965 as an engineer. He joined because he wanted to travel, have adventures, and serve others. He had eight weeks of training at Washington State University and three months of training in Puerto Rico. Besides intensive language training and cultural training, he had a good deal of physical training. He was based in Cuenca, a provincial town. When he arrived, he had to find a place to live and also figure out what he was going to do. After a few months, the director of the Centro, the department in charge of building infrastructure, came and asked if he wanted to help with surveying for a project. After completing that, Laser went to survey for a irrigation ditch from a mountain high in the Andes to the town of Cochapata. Living in very primitive conditions, he first determined the project could be done, surveyed the route, and extended his service for another year so he could help get it started. Laser returned to Ecuador 40 years later to find the irrigation canal was still in use. He has continued to have contact with some of the people in the town. After returning to the U.S., Laser worked for a few years as an engineer and then switched to teaching in New York City so he could continue a life of service. Interviewed and recorded by Candice Wiggum, December 10, 2018. 1 digital audio file.
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-052
Nicholas Montalto served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Iran from June 1969 to June 1971 as an English teacher. He served alongside his wife Gloria. He describes his previous overseas volunteer activities and how the training he received did not fully prepare him for the challenges that he met both culturally and educationally, and how he and his wife overcame those challenges. After considering leaving within the first three months, Montalto grew to love Iran and continued in his position teaching English at a boys' school. He relates how his Peace Corps experience led him to his life-long career helping immigrants. Interviewed and recorded by Candice Wiggum, January 27, 2019. 1 digital audio file.
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-051
Gloria Montalto served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Iran from June 1969 to June 1971 as an English teacher. She served alongside her husband Nicholas. She speaks about the exciting time, including her marriage, prior to leaving for the Peace Corps, and impact of her New York City Italian-American background on her family's reaction to her decision. She discusses training both in the U.S. and in Iran, and the couple's desire to serve in the Iranian countryside. Montalto taught English in a girls' school. She is frank about her difficult first three months and the break-throughs that finally helped them integrate into the community. She also discusses her inexperience in cooking and other things, the challenges she faced in the school, her connection with the Muslim culture, and her life as a woman in Iran. Finally, Montalto talks about difficulty reintegrating upon her return to the U.S., as well as a trip back to their site in the 1990s. Interviewed and recorded by Candice Wiggum, January 27, 2019. 1 digital audio file.
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-050
Janet Matts served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Kenya from 1977 to 1979 as a special education teacher for the mentally disabled. She trained at George Peabody College in Nashville, Tennessee (now part of Vanderbilt), followed by another three weeks in-country at Kenya Science Teachers College. Matts helped to establish a new school, Treeside School, outside of Nairobi in conjunction with the Kenya Department of Special Education, which was led by Kristina Kenyatta Pratt, daughter of the first president of Kenya. Matts talks about the challenge that joining Peace Corps created for her family, the importance of her work, and the feeling of satisfaction it gave her. She also discusses the dangers she and a friend encountered while in-country and the historical events that occurred during her service. Finally, Matts describes difficulties she encountered after returning to the U.S., and her views on the importance of Peace Corps both to individuals and to the United States. Interviewed and recorded by Candice Wiggum, January 21, 2019. 1 digital audio file.
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-049
Pat Spencer served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Tunisia from 1994 to 1996 as a special education teacher. She recalls her desire to join the Peace Corps from an early age and her family's reaction to her decision. Spencer describes various challenges in Tunisia, including with her health, her youth and inexperience, the culture, and her placement, but describes how her solutions contributed to her current career. She also talks about a local family she connected with and their warmth. Finally, Spencer explains some of the difficulties she encountered upon returning to the U.S., and gives her views on the importance of the one-to-one relationships she and others develop in the Peace Corps. Interviewed and recorded by Candice Wiggum, January 22, 2019. 2 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-048
Kenneth "Ken" Rizzi served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Botswana from October 1986 to December 1988 as a drought relief technical officer. He applied immediately after college and initially had an assignment in the Philippines, but after political unrest he was switched to Botswana. He had three days of special training in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, where they subjected potential volunteers to a variety of difficult scenarios and stressful situations. In Botswana, he had three more months of primarily language training, and became proficient in Setswana. Rizzi was initially stationed in Kasane and later moved to Maun as his job expanded. He led a team that determined projects for villages and insured that the materials for the projects were delivered. He also ensured that food donations were distributed throughout the Ngamiland district. Rizzi's interview includes a description of his job and how honored and pleased he was to do it. He also discusses the positive impact it had on his work and family life after he left the Peace Corps. Interviewed and recorded by Candice Wiggum, November 18, 2018. 1 digital audio file.
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-047
Vikki Ott served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Sierra Leone from July 2017 to December 2018 in a community health project. She discusses her life before Peace Corps and the reason she joined, what it was like being the oldest person in her cohort (age 47), and life in the most eastern part of the country. She reflects on what she was trained to do and what that evolved into once she reached her site, and the difficult decision to interrupt her service and return to the U.S. early. Ott also discusses what she misses about her service, what the next stage of life looks like for her, and the importance of the Peace Corps. Interviewed and recorded by Candice Wiggum, January 15, 2019. 2 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-042
Yancy Garrido served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Honduras from January 1987 to August 1990 in a community mental health program. He speaks of how his heritage as the son of Cuban refugees influenced his decision to join the Peace Corps. As he was already fluent in Spanish, he convinced the trainers to let him do an internship at a health center in Comayaguela. Garrido was stationed in Gracias a Dios in Lempira Department, where he gave workshops and ultimately built a network of community mental health facilitators. He talks about the rewards and dangers of being a volunteer in Honduras at that time, and how he integrated with the community. He shares a continuing connection with the country because his wife and daughter are from there. Finally, Garrido discusses the importance of the Peace Corps and states that people of color should be more actively recruited. Interviewed and recorded by Candice Wiggum, December 9, 2018. 1 digital audio file.
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-041
Barbara Kelly served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Senegal from 1971 to 1973 as a coordinator of a social center. At that time, the social centers in Senegal were all staffed by women from Peace Corps. Kelly trained in Dakar at a school of social work where she and the other volunteers lived in a dormitory. She was already fluent in French so studied only Wolof and learned it well enough to converse with people who spoke only Wolof. Stationed in M'Bour, Kelly worked with another Peace Corps volunteer who had extended their service in order to insure continuity in the program. They had a library and taught classes at the center, but their primary job was mother and infant healthcare in the surrounding neighborhoods and villages. They trained local women as "animatrices" (leaders) who then taught the mothers how to keep their infants healthy. Kelly discusses some of the challenges and how they overcame them. She also discusses her travels and how Peace Corps impacted her life. Interviewed and recorded by Candice Wiggum, December 8, 2018. 1 digital audio file.
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-122
Richard (Dick) Wood served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Iran from 1964 to 1966 on a community development project. He had studied philosophy and engineering at Yale. His training was with an all-male group, Iran 5, first in Utah and then for a week in the agricultural college outside of Tehran. Wood was stationed in Sari in the province of Mazandaran. He and a friend were placed with a government community development firm that went around the province gathering information about what the people in villages needed, surveying, and drawing up proposals. Wood describes the warmth of the Iranian people and how his worldview expanded. He often talked with locals about American foreign policy and other matters. After the Peace Corps, Wood traveled with friends before returning to the U.S. to enter graduate school in Middle Eastern studies. He continued to work in the Middle East for several years. Interviewed and recorded by Candice Wiggum, July 16, 2019. 1 digital audio file.
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-120
Evelyn Kohl (now LaTorre) served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Peru from 1964 to 1966 in a RCA Tools community service project. She had previously done missionary work in Mexico through the Catholic Church and heard Sargent Shriver speak at a conference. She describes the extensive physical and language training at Cornell University and in Puerto Rico, as well as the winnowing down of her large class of trainees. After arriving in Peru, she recounts the difficulty in finding a town to serve in and a job that would help the poor. After settling in Abancay, LaTorre coached a soccer team and ran clubs with the young people in a nearby town. Her ability to sew and her experience in 4-H were heavily utilized. She also talks about her romance with her (now) husband, their wedding after completing service, and returning to the U.S. Interviewed and recorded by Candice Wiggum, July 11, 2019. 2 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).