Close
Not finding the information you're looking for? Please contact the Archives research staff.
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-005
Rebecca Madden-Sturges served as a second-generation Peace Corps Volunteer in the country of Georgia from 2005 to 2007 in non-profit development projects. Stationed in Sagarejo, she discusses her early struggle to find meaningful work with the non-profit Spectry organization and Youth House, a cultural center for school-age children to which she was assigned. She discusses her successful fundraising work, which resulted in a Peace Corps Partnership grant and the donation of books to the Youth House, and her more significant impact in obtaining funds from the U.S. State Department and Counterpoint International to renovate the gynecological department in the local hospital. Madden-Sturges also discusses her English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) teaching activities with children and adults; the friends she made while in Peace Corps with whom she is still in touch; her travels in the Georgia region; and her recent activities serving as Secretary of the Boston RPCV group and attending National Peace Corps Association conferences. Interviewed and recorded by Evelyn Ganzglass, August 25, 2018. 1 digital audio file.
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2020-008
Sara Feldman served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Micronesia from 1979 to 1981 on a community development project. She also served in Georgia from 2014 to 2016 on an individual organization development (IOD) project. For Micronesia, Feldman trained in animal husbandry in the Philippines, followed by language and teaching methods in Gagil on the island of Yap. Feldman was first assigned to Lamotrek as part of a development strategy to prepare the Outer Islands to join the Federated States of Micronesia. She worked on various initiatives that included increasing food production for export and shifting from diesel fuel to solar energy. It was very isolated, which likely contributed to a high attrition rate in her Peace Corps group. In Feldman's second year she relocated to Satawal atoll, a challenging site with scarce natural resources, and worked on development education and cooperative programs. After the Peace Corps, Feldman focused on her law career and family for 30 years before deciding to rejoin and accepting an assignment in Georgia. She worked at an NGO (non-governmental organization) in Gori with internally displaced persons from Russian occupied provinces. After completing her service, she remained in Georgia for another three years to start a business in Tbilisi to fund local programs for disabled children. Interviewed and recorded by Robert T. K. Scully, September 21, 2019. 3 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-150
Melissa Loffler served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Georgia from 2013 to 2015 as a teacher. She completed in-country training in Kvishkheti, then taught English in a combined elementary and secondary school in Khashuri. Loffler talks enthusiastically about the country, Georgian food, and the close relationships she developed with her host families. She remains in touch with these friends and returned to Georgia in 2019. She also talks about friendships with other volunteers, whom she says she wouldn't have gotten to know as well under other circumstances. Loffler conducts an annual Peace Corps event in the Dallas area. Interviewed and recorded by Evelyn Ganzglass, September 10, 2019. 1 digital audio file.
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-126
Charles Forbus served as a Peace Corps volunteer in programs for five different countries and also as a Peace Corps Response volunteer in Georgia. Forbus served in the U.S. Air Force after high school and had been inspired by John F. Kennedy's vision for the Peace Corps during the 1960 election, however he did not apply until after raising a family and retiring from AT&T. In 1997, he received his first assignment in Nepal, but had to resign for family-related reasons after completing pre-service training. He applied again and served in the Ukraine from 2002 to 2004 with an organization for disabled individuals, helping to automate record keeping at offices in Kiev and remote locations and providing computer training to the center's clients. In addition, he taught English as a secondary assignment. Next Forbus served in Honduras from 2011 to 2012 with one NGO that supported small farmers and another that supported people with HIV. That assignment was cut short when Peace Corps pulled out of the country due to unrest and security issues. Forbus applied again and was invited to serve in Madagascar in February 2013, but sustained a severe knee injury during training and was unable to continue in that program. In May 2014, he undertook a six-month Peace Corps Response assignment in the Republic of Georgia working with a youth organization to develop training programs in leadership, citizenship, and communications. Finally, Forbus served in Armenia from 2015 to 2017 working with locals to develop their tourism industry. The interview covers each assignment as well as the continuing impact of the Peace Corps on Forbus' life. Interviewed and recorded by Julius (Jay) Sztuk, August 3, 2019. 2 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-116
Yoomie Huynh served as Peace Corps volunteer in Mongolia from 2007 to 2009 in community youth development. She later also served as a Peace Corps Response volunteer in the Republic of Georgia from 2013 to 2014. She talks about being a first generation immigrant growing up in a poor Vietnamese household in Sioux City, Iowa, and volunteering as a teenager. In Darkhan, Mongolia, Huynh worked as a social worker, assisted the kindergarten program, and taught life skills with the Asian Child Support organization. With Peace Corps Response in Tbilisi, Georgia, she served as a youth program development consultant with the Children and Youth National Center, a public entity under the Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs. This experience set her on a career path in policy and politics. After the Peace Corps, Huynh worked in Tajikistan for the International Organization for Migration on such issues as human trafficking, child labor, gender issues, and reintegration programs. Interviewed and recorded by Evelyn Ganzglass, July 1, 2019. 2 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).