Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-055
Jean Parcher served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Costa Rica from 1980 to 1983 in a community development and health education program. She served alongside her husband. The couple was stationed in Coroma, an indigenous Bri Bri community, where their program operated in conjunction with the National Commission of Indigenous Affairs (CONAI). Parcher discusses her work teaching women to build school gardens and holding cooking and weaving classes, as well as her experience treating people for skin lesions and a snake bite. She reflects on the lessons she learned through Peace Corps service, especially on how to help indigenous people achieve their own priorities. Finally, Parcher discusses her on-going involvement in international activities and her continuing commitment to achieving Peace Corps' third goal of bringing the world back to the U.S. Interviewed and recorded by Evelyn Ganzglass, February 16, 2019. 2 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).