Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2020-044
Richard (Rich) Klingner served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Honduras from 1969 to 1971 as a civil engineer. He wished to counter the destructive effects of the Vietnam War by sharing his skills. Klingner worked with SANAA (a Honduran government agency), Caritas, and local governments to build gravity water systems for villages, with labor provided by the inhabitants. Fieldwork challenges required devising quick solutions. Klingner emphasizes the value of developing language proficiency and cross-cultural understanding through collegial relations, and tells the story of how Honduran engineers taught him to roll his Rs properly. He describes how access to clean water freed the community members (especially women) from the arduous task of fetching water, losing children to dysentery, and repeated risky pregnancies. The Peace Corps was the foundation for Klingner's subsequent career in teaching earthquake-resistant building techniques throughout Latin America. Interviewed and recorded by Gail B. Gall, September 10, 2019. 1 digital audio file.