Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-027
John Cortright served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Fiji from September 2015 to December 2017 in a youth development program. He joined at age 35 to enhance his career in international public health by gaining extended on-the-ground cultural experience working and living in another country. Due to his Master of Public Health (MPH) degree, he was assigned to the Ministry of Education to advance the national secondary-level health curriculum. Cortright discusses the close friendships he made with his Indo-Fijian female co-workers and the many life lessons he learned in Fiji. He talks about Fijians' conservative attitudes toward women's equity in the workplace, and attitudes about reproductive health and mental health issues. He also discusses his and other volunteers' concerns about safety because of the high crime rate in Fiji, especially in Suva, the capital where he was stationed. Finally, Cortright talks about his medical termination and the need for volunteers to think about their safety net upon returning to the U.S. after service. Interviewed and recorded by Evelyn Ganzglass, October 13, 2018. 2 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).