Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-MR-2002-020-001
Roland H. Johnson served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Kenya from 1964 to 1966 as a land settlement officer. After graduating from Lincoln University, he worked for Peace Corps headquarters in classification and recruitment. He decided to join as a volunteer and trained at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee with the Kenya I group. After additional in-country training at Kabete, Johnson was assigned to the Lessos settlement scheme in the highlands region to help manage farmland that was being transferred from European colonists back to the local Nandi tribe. As a settlement officer, he provided administrative and agricultural assistance to the farmers and the cooperative. He was also involved in building two bridges and planning a water system. At the end of his service, Johnson and another volunteer wrote a report evaluating the settlement project but their constructive criticism was poorly received by the Kenya government. In the interview, he also describes his experiences as a Black volunteer. Interviewed and recorded by Robert Klein, April 26, 2002. 2 tapes (web streaming files combined into 1 file).