RPCV: Oral History Interviews, Countries: N (#184)

Administrative Information
Historical Note
Collection Overview
List of Countries

Country Description

Namibia
Rex, John, 2003-2004
		2 tapes. Interviewed by Frieda Fairburn, May 23, 2006. (See also Ethiopia)
Sha'ir, Rasul, 1999-2001
	Recruited from a Southern African American College in Prairie View, TX, Rasul trained in country, including a village home stay, to serve as an English language teacher. The program was USAID funded, near the end of a ten year cycle with a new emphasis to be more Peace Corps-like. Rasul did reporting to AID. His project role was a changing one: school-based, ESL. Rasul articulates changing role and question of Peace Corps/AID relations.
		3 tapes. Interviewed by Robert Klein, March 22, 2003.
Shockley, Marie, 2002-2004
	Marie joined the Peace Corps in Namibia upon retiring from the federal government with over 36 years of service. In her interview she describes how her desire to volunteer spanned many years – dating from the first time she heard President Kennedy speak about the Peace Corps. During her pre-serve orientation in Okahandja she was prepared to enter her community and acquire needed skills. Community Based Training was held in Okhanasha, where Marie was introduced to the Namibian language and culture. Mrs. Shockley’s assignment was with the Parents and Communities for Education (PACE) Project, where she worked in two schools, Skikoyeni in the village of Ononime and Mupewa in Oshikuki. Marie worked in several projects while being a catalyst for the community, including obtaining funds to build an addition to the school in Mupewa, establishing libraries at both schools, as well as delivering training to teachers, “Learners,” and the community.
		2 tapes. Interviewed by Wendy McLaughlin, August 10, 2008.

Nepal
Chance, Ron, 1980-1983
	Ron Chance was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Nepal secondary education from 1980 to 1983. A graduate of Bradley University in Southern Illinois in International Studies, he trained in Nepal with an emphasis on language and 6 weeks of practice teaching in a small village. Chance requested and was assigned alone to a remote village in Western Nepal; the nearest PCV was 2 hours walking distance. In for six months at a time, he taught English to lower grades only after experiencing a 6 month-delay because of a national teacher strike. The interview contains descriptions of day-to-day life in a remote village.
		2 tapes. Interviewed by Robert Klein, August 2, 2004.
Chapman, James, 1975-1977
	James Chapman served in Nepal in fisheries.
		1 tape. Interviewed by Robyn Michaels, October 17, 2006.
Farmer, Mike, 1963-1965
	Mike Farmer was a community development worker in Nepal from June 1963 to June 1965. In his interview, he recounts his experiences and observations as a Peace Corps Volunteer.
		2 tapes. Interviewed by Paul Kinsley, June 17, 2008
Gerzoff, Bob, 1976-1978
	Bob Gerzoff. served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Nepal working as a math and science teacher. Bob attended two weeks of initial High Intensity Language Training, in Kathmandu, with the remainder of the training, two and a half months, in Pokahara, where he lived with a family. In the interview he discusses his experiences as a teacher in Balkot, Arghakhanchi District, Western Development Zone.
		1 tape, Interviewed by Karen Voetsch, July 27, 2006.
Grossi, Peter A., 1974-1975
	Bob Peter Albert Grossi served in Nepal from August 1974 to September 1975. He trained entirely in Nepal and learned Nepalese, a critical skill for his assignment, by living apart from other volunteers in Nepalese homes. He worked as a Drinking Water Engineer Overseer and in this capacity traveled from village to village, living with Nepalese people. His only semi-permanent base was an apartment in Katmandu that he shared with other male Peace Corps Volunteers who, like him, were often out working in the field. Grossi emphasized the high degree of danger and discomfort in his work, recalling his experiences crossing ravines by rope bridges and walking though snow with inadequate footwear. He was often ill and was in fact terminated early because he contracted typhoid fever. Grossi mentions that more Peace Corps Volunteers had died in Nepal than in any other country, and stressed that his Peace Corps experience was a turning point in his life that greatly impacted his future. He said he learned more during his short time in the Peace Corps than he had learned in his life until that point.
		1 tape, Interviewed by Susan Luccini, January 17, 2008.
Morris, James, 1968-1970
	James Morris was in Nepal from early 1968 until early 1970 serving as an elementary science teacher in the southern village of Poklihawa near the town of Bhairawa, where there were no other volunteers. Morris trained in a migrant labor camp in Davis where he felt that the rather harsh conditions mirrored the conditions he later found in Nepal so much so that in his group, Nepal XV, several people deselected themselves. Morris comments that, though he did not feel that he was very successful in inculcating the scientific method in his Nepali students, he emerged from his experiences with a broader understanding of the many different ways to confront life’s challenges, all of them valid within the context in which they occur. This interview concentrated on Morris’ experiences rather than the global impact of the Peace Corps in Nepal.
		3 tapes. Interviewed by Susan Luccini, October 7, 2007.
Pasternak, Bob, 1966-1968
	Oral history interview of Bob Pasternak, Peace Corps volunteer, Nepal, 1966- 1968.
		4 tapes. Interviewed by Steve Stewart, March 7, 21, 28, 2002.
Potter, Jeffrey, 1994-1996
	Having completed a degree in Fine Arts (cinema) at NYU and worked for several years, Jeffrey Potter became a Peace Corps Volunteer in 1994 and served in Nepal in a Horticultural Extension project until 1996. He describes his role in a remote farming village, commenting on both the philosophy and the process of Peace Corps efforts in rural development. Jeffrey has maintained contact with his village and is working on producing a long-term documentary about his experience, including periodic 3 month stays there through 2030.
		3 tapes. Interviewed by Robert Klein, May 16, 2009
Shostak, Gary, 1967-?
	Oral History Interview, user's guide and transcript. Northeast Oral History Project, 1998.
		Box 70
Stewart, Steve, 1966-1968
	Oral history interview of Steve Stewart, Peace Corps volunteer, Nepal, 1966- 1968.
		4 tapes. Interviewed by Bob Pasternak, March 7, 21, 28, 2002.
Weber, William, 1970-1974
	Will Weber received a second invitation to join the Peace Corps in Nepal and accepted. He trained in California with an emphasis on language. Nepalese natives taught the volunteers about their culture. In country training was interrupted by the death of the King of Nepal. The village to which he was assigned required him to walk four days into the mountains. His students had a desire to learn, but lacked basic supplies such as pens, pencils and books. Will taught his students about disease, and also started a school vegetable garden project. Weber extended his Peace Corps tour of duty and worked one year for the newly formed Nepal National Parks and Wildlife Department as a training director.
		2 tapes. Interviewed by Ernest Zaremba, August 27, 2004.

Nicaragua
Davis, Kathy, 1975-1978
	Kathy attended Simmons College in Boston where she studied nutrition. After graduation, she decided to join the Peace Corps and practice her new career. Ms. Davis was invited join the PRODESAR and JNAPS program in Nicaragua. Her training took place in Managua at a religious training camp. She lived with a family in Diriamba while learning advanced Spanish and taking field trips to learn about the culture and history of the country. During her first year she taught nutrition within her community (Masatepe) with PRODESAR. During her second year she worked with JNAPS, improving the dietary intake of those living in orphanages, day care centers, and an elderly home. In addition, she taught nutrition to teenagers through an agriculture program. There was much political upheaval during her time of service including: Martial Law under President Somoza; organizing of the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN); and the uprising after the assassination of La Prensa editor Pedro Chamorro. Upon completing her service, Mrs. Davis obtained her Masters degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and worked toe the Public Health Service for 22 years until her retirement.
		1 tape. Interviewed by Wendy McLaughlin, July 19, 2009.
Hoffman, Anne Marie, 2000-2002
	Anne Marie Hoffman served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Nicaragua working in environmental education.
		1 tape. Interviewed by Lorie Burnett, March 5, 2005.

Niger
Hartz, Rebecca, 2004-2004
	Rebecca received her undergraduate degree in cultural anthropology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She had always wanted to travel globally, especially to Africa, and because of her previous experience studying French requested an assignment in West Africa. She was invited to join the education program in Niger. Her training group consisted of 24 volunteers. They lived with host families in Homduli for three months learning French and the local language Zarma; local culture; and technical skills to work within the educational system. Rebecca worked with local administrators to train teachers in English, classroom management methodologies, and new teaching methods. During her service she provided workshops for teachers; started a soccer team; resurrected a community library; hosted a local weekly radio show; and started an English club. Her site, Simery, was 2-3 hours north of the capital, Niamey. Rebecca extended her service for an additional year to work in the capital as the HIV/AIDS Coordinator. She also spent 6 months in Uganda working in health with the Crisis Corps, and is currently studying to obtain her MPH from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.
		1 tape. Interviewed by Wendy McLaughlin, March 14, 2009
		See also: Uganda
Heffron, Laurie Cook, 1996-1998
	Laurie Cook Heffron joined the Peace Corps after completing her Bachelor of Arts in Linguistics. She was assigned to Niger to work on a project in maternal health and nutrition.
		2 tapes. Interviewed by Robert Klein, February 2, 2004.
Lordier, Martha, 1979-1983
	As a Peace Corps Volunteer in Niger, Martha Lordier worked on a joint project with the United States Agency for International Development identifying types and numbers of rodents surviving during a long term draught.
		2 tapes. Interviewed by Joanne Roll, January 28, 2006.

Nigeria
Bell, Elizabeth Holtzman 1963-1965
	Elizabeth Bell Holtzman served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Nigeria, June 1963 – June 1965, as a high school teacher. Holtzman attended training in Puerto Rico and Columbia Teachers College. She had some issues with a fellow volunteer and did not like her remote location, so after 5 to 6 months she was reassigned to a larger city. She taught biology classes and one English class at a catholic high school.
		2 tapes. Interviewed by Wendy Sinton, February 8, 2009
Boyd, Lucinda, 1962-1964
	Lucinda Boyd taught mathematics at the Government Girls School in Kano, Nigeria. She gives a detailed description of "sensitivity training" used in early groups to aid in the "de-selection" process. A mid-service highlight for her was a three week stint in a remote under-equipped elementary school, a marked change from the urban setting of Kano.
		2 tapes. Interviewed by Frieda Fairburn, September 17, 2006.
Burke, Kevin, 1965-1967
	Kevin Burke trained at Michigan State with a group that was given the opportunity to ear an M.A.T. as part of the Peace Corps experience. Trained in Yoruba, Kevin taught science in a secondary school in what then called the Western region of Nigeria. He lived in an isolated area without transport or means of communication in town. Kevin had hoped to extend for a third year, but the political situation in Nigeria made extension impossible. After Peace Corps, Kevin continued to work as a science teacher in the U.S. throughout his professional career.
		Interviewed by Phyllis Noble, September 9, 2009. 1 tape.
Carroll, E. Timothy, 1963-1965
	Tim Carroll served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Nigeria directing and producing programs for an educational television project for schools. Carroll served with Nigeria Group 9. Originally trained to teach English, Carroll instead worked in Kaduna on an educational television project for schools. He wrote, directed, and produced programs and traveled around Africa to acquire material. After two years as a Peace Corps volunteer, Carroll worked on television projects in the Middle East and Samoa. He returned to the Peace Corps as a country director in Pakistan, Poland, and Russia.
		1 tape. Interviewed by Frieda Fairburn, June 9 and 11, 2005.
Criso, Robert , 1966-1967
	Bob Criso trained for the Peace Corps in a unique program in St. Croix, Virgin Islands. After a successful and satisfying first year of teaching English in a secondary school in the Easter region of Nigeria, the political situation became tense and then terrifying. Criso speaks of his harrowing experience in evacuating other Peace Corps Volunteers in areas near his remote village. Criso opted to complete his Peace Corps service as a teacher in Somalia, a situation which presented difficulties of its own. In 2008, Criso returned to Nigeria with a delegation of friends of Nigeria. He visited the Igbo village in which he had taught and where he had feared for his life.
		3 tapes. Interviewed by Phyllis Noble, August 26, 2009. See also: Somalia
D oucet, Joseph A. , 1966-1967
	Joseph Doucet served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Nigeria 1966-1967 and in Tanzania 1967-1968 in secondary education programs. He was assigned to and taught in the Easter Region of Nigeria but was evacuated by Peace Corps in mid 1967 with the start of the Biafran War. He accepted a transfer to Tanzania where he also taught for a year and a half.
		2 tapes. Interviewed by Robert Klein, August 25, 2009. See also: Tanzania
Ellis, Nat B., 1966-1969
	Nat Ellis was inspired to join the Peace Corps by a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer who spoke at his high school. Nat applied for the Peace Corps in 1965 during his senior year of college, and trained in Boston during June 1966.He taught French, English and Math at a girl's school in Bauchi. He also helped in organizing sports and developing the library.
		2 tapes. Interviewed by Frieda Fairburn, August 26, 2007
Elsaesser, Bill, 1961-1963
	Bill Elsaesser, a nuclear engineer working towards a PhD, joined the Peace Corps in 1961 at age 29. He trained at Harvard in the first Nigerian teachers project followed by a three month training program at Ibadan. Bill taught Physics and Math to upper forms at Ughelli Government Boys School.
		1 tape. Interviewed by Robert Klein, June 13, 2007.
Finlay, Jack, 1961-1963
	Jack Finlay applied to the Peace Corps in 1961 after serving in the US Navy. After training at UCLA, he was assigned to teach biology and chemistry in Iddo-Ekiti. He joined fellow Peace Corps Volunteer John Skeese for motorcycle trips in and around Nigeria culminating in a post service trip to Gabon where Finlay worked for a year with Dr. Albert Schweitzer at his hospital in Labarene.
		2 tapes. Interviewed by Frieda Fairburn, September 6, 2006.
Gaal, Ken, 1963-1965
	Ken Gaal was a graduate student at the University of Arizona when he volunteered for the Peace Corps. He was invited to train for service in Nigeria. Two weeks before his training began he married his fiancée, Phyllis. They trained at Columbia University in New York City and did practice teaching in Harlem. After they arrived in Nigeria, he was assigned to teach mathematics at the Enugu Campus, University of Nigeria. Ken found his students so highly motivated that they willing to attend at 5:30am class in order to make up for material they had missed. During the break between academic years, Ken and Phyllis worked on completely different projects in different countries. He had the experience of heading a surveying team, living in tents and traveling throughout the Eastern Region. After his service ended, Ken did not immediately return to the United States. He took a job in Switzerland for a year so his wife could continue to study French. In his interview, Ken also discusses teaching basketball to his students, a sport that at that time was relatively unknown in Nigeria, and his concern over the Biafra experience.
		1 tape. Interviewed by Susan Luccini, January 15, 2009.
Gaal, Phyllis, 1963-1965
	Phyllis Gaal joined the Peace Corps because her fiancé, Kenneth Gaal, wanted to volunteer. They were both selected and invited to serve in Nigeria. Phyllis was married two weeks before their training began at Columbia University in New York City. Among the over one hundred volunteers, there were ten married couples and these couples tended to socialize with one another. Prior to arriving in Nigeria, the volunteers had no idea where they would be stationed. Phyllis and her husband were sent to Enugu, the capital of the Eastern Region, which later became Biafra. Phyllis found herself in a generally pleasant posting, with highly motivated students, a nearby market, and other amenities. Since Phyllis was interested in learning French, she spent the summer between sessions in the Cameroons. After their service, instead of returning to the United States immediately Phyllis and her husband lived in Switzerland for a year so Phyllis could continue to work on her French. In her interview, Phyllis discusses her reaction to the Biafra experience, and how it left her wondering whether her students survived and whether any traces of her work as a Peace Corps Volunteer would remain.
		1 tape. Interviewed by Susan Luccini, January 15, 2009
Gage, Portia L., 1967-1969
	Portia Gage served as a teacher in Nigeria from 1967 to 1969. The interview describes life as a Peace Corps Volunteer.
		2 tapes. Interviewed by Kandis Scott, June 29, 2004.
Goodkind, E. Michael, 1965-1967
	Michael Goodkind graduated from Dartmouth with a degree in History. In 1965 he joined the Peace Corps and trained at Michigan State University for an assignment in Nigeria on agriculture and rural development. He was assigned to a remote village in Eastern Nigeria working under the Regional Ministry of Rural Development. Along with other Peace Corps Volunteers, he was evacuated when the Biafran War began. After his Peace Corps service, Goodkind was drafted for a tour of duty in Vietnam.
		2 tapes. Interviewed by Robert Klein, September 11, 2005.
Goodwin, Stefan, 1965-1967
	Stefan Goodwin served in the Peace Corps from 1965-1967 in Nigeria in an education project, teaching French at two different secondary schools. He joined after several years as a civil rights activist in the US. As an African-American, Stefan is particularly articulate in describing problems he encountered during his service.
		3 tapes. Interviewed by Robert Klein, November 11, 2008
Hansen, Kathryn W. (Katy), 1966-1968
	Kathryn Hansen was a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Nigerian education program from 1966 to 1968. She served with her husband Peter. She holds a Masters in Chemistry from Iowa State. Hansen trained in Roxbury, Massachusetts in an experimental urban based non-university program run by a contractor. Most of the group was trained for secondary education in Northern Nigeria, however a few were trained for universities. Hansen was assigned to the University of Ife (then in Ibadan) though the school did not need or expect a Peace Corps Volunteer. She worked in the Chemistry Department as a lab assistant. After the first semester she negotiated an assignment to a secondary school, Ibadan Grammar School, teaching science and math. Hansen talks of life in Ibadan during tensions of Biafran War. The interview contains extensive discussion of her post Peace Corps Service, of establishment and development of Returned Peace Corps Volunteers organization at the national level in which Kathryn was an active participant.
		2 tapes. Interviewed by Robert Klein, July 30, 2004.
Hansen, Peter J., 1966-1968
	Peter Hansen and his wife Kathryn were in Nigeria from 1966 to 1968. He served as a university lecturer in Chemistry. He earned a Ph.D in Chemistry form Iowa State University. He was active in anti-Vietnam War activities and saw the Peace Corps as an alternative way to serve. Hansen trained in an urban based, non-university affiliated program in Roxbury, Massachusetts by a contractor, which included student teaching at Boston Latin. The interview contains a discussion of "avant garde" training. In Nigeria before and during the Biafran War, Hansen taught Chemistry at the University of Ife (then located in Ibadan) as part of a multi-national faculty. At the end of the interview Hansen discusses the role of the Peace Corps in the development of Nigeria.
		2 tapes. Interviewed by Robert Klein July 30, 2004.
Hibbard, Dave, 1961-1963
	Trained at Harvard for eight weeks and then five weeks at the University of Ibadan, Davie Hibbard was a member of the first Nigeria project. The previous summer to his Peace Corps tour, Hibbard had been to Nigeria with Crossroads Africa, working at a well-known Nigerian self-help secondary school, Mayflower. Hibbard was in Nigeria for, and comments on, the Marjory Michelmore Postcard Incident. A hardworking science teacher at Mayflower school, he concentrated on teaching. Midway through his service, Hibbard was invited to Liberia for three weeks to help establish the first Peace Corps project there. Hibbard had taken a leave from medical school to join the Peace Corps. After his service, he resumed and qualified as a doctor. Late in 1968, he became a Peace Corps doctor in India, supervising ten Peace Corps doctors (there were 1500 Peace Corps volunteers in country at the time).
		2 tapes. Interviewed by Robert Klein, May 4, 2003.
Hodes, Elizabeth, 1968-1970
	Elizabeth Hodes worked in Nigeria as a Peace Corps Volunteer teaching Math.
		2 tapes. Interviewed by Norma Wilder Benavides, May 18, 2003.
Johnson, Jerome, 1966-1968
	Jerry Johnson served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Nigeria from November 1966 until November 1968 as an agricultural technician. He attended training near San Diego. Although his work was in rural areas he actually lived in the city of Owo and commuted to his work in the rural areas on a motorcycle. In his interview, he explains his work and lifestyle and describes how he had a twin brother, Jim, who was also serving in Nigeria during his first year.
		1 tape. Interviewed by Paul Kinsley, June 2, 2009
Johnson, Jim, 1966-1967
	Jim Johnson served as a Peace Crops Volunteer in Nigeria from September 1966 until June 1967 as an agricultural advisor until he was evacuated due to the Biafran War. He then chose to go to Ghana for a two-year period doing the same job that he started in Nigeria. He worked on protein and fertilizer projects, primarily on his own, being able to get around with help of a Honda motorcycle provided by the Peace Crops. His twin brother, Jerry, served in Nigeria in a project 70 miles away and was allowed to stay because he was out of the war zone.
		1 tape. Interviewed by Paul Kinsley, June 8 2009 . See also Ghana.
Koren, Elner McCraty, 1963-1965
	Elner McCraty Koren served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Nigeria working as a secondary school teacher. As a biology student at Washington University in St. Louis, Elner applied to the Peace Corps in 1962 but didn’t begin her training in New York City until the Fall of 1963. Elner missed the swearing-in ceremony with her Nigeria VIII training group because she was on trial in Milwaukee for her arrest in August at a civil rights demonstration. Cleared of charges, she was able to leave with the group on New Year’s Eve, 1963. As an Africa-American, she had high expectations for her return “home”. Her training led her to believe that all Nigerians were well educated and accepted social and cultural differences. Despite experiencing some disappointments in Nigeria, she considers the Peace Corps service as life-changing. One of her sons also has served in Guinea as a Peace Corps volunteer.
		2 tapes. Interviewed by Frieda Fairburn, June 12, 2006.
Lipton, Larry, 1965-1967
	Larry Lipton served as a Peace Corps volunteer Science teacher in Nigeria.
		2 tapes. Interviewed by Jessica Naugle, April 15, 2002.
McMurray, Thomas, 1964-1967
	Tom McMurray, a graduate of Grinnell in History, served as a Peace Corps Volunteer from 1964-1967 in a Rural Development project in eastern Nigeria. The group trained at Wilberforce (Ohio) and in-country, this phase including training alongside Nigerian counterparts. Tom worked in a remote agricultural village in the Eastern Region in a government agricultural development scheme to locally grow export crops through a community farming system. Tom stayed as a PCV a third year to continue this work.
		2 tapes. Interviewed by Robert Klein, January 7, 2009.
Monahan, Frank, 1964-1967
	Frank Monahan served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Nigeria from 1964-1967 in a secondary education project. He was assigned to a Catholic Boys Secondary school in Otwa, 120 miles North of Benin City. In addition to teaching, Frank became involved in a community development project, completing a highway bridge whose construction had been halted after independence. He extended his tour three months to work on the project.
		2 tapes. Interviewed by Robert Klein, November 12, 2008
Noble, Phyllis, 1965-1967
	Phyllis Noble was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Nigeria from 1965 to 1967 working in secondary education. A graduate of Loyola University in English / Education, she taught one year in Chicago. Trained at Michigan State University she excelled in learning Ibo, but was assigned to replace the Peace Corps Volunteer in the mid-western region of the of the Niger Delta at a girls secondary school. She served during time of Nigerian civil disturbance and the Biafran War. The interview gives a good description of teaching experience and school environment. Also gives a full description of life on the edge of civil war in a town with Shell - BP operation (Noble evacuated with Shell - BP personnel to Lagos).
		3 tapes. Interviewed by Robert Klein August 1, 2004
Petersen, Beth, 1963-1966
	Beth Petersen taught secondary school with her husband, Carl, in a government school at Dekina, an isolated Peace Corps assignment. Involved primarily with school activities, she stayed a third year to help the first group of upper form students prepare for "O" level exams.
		1 Tape. Interviewed by Robert Klein, January 15, 2003.
Petersen, Carl, 1963-1966
	Carl Petersen taught secondary school math and physics in government school at Dakina, an isolated Peace Corps assignment. His background was as a geophysicist from Stanford and SRI. Petersen served with wife, Beth, and stayed a third year to help the first group of upper form students prepare for "O" level exams.
		2 Tapes. Interviewed by Robert Klein, January 13, 2003.
Petrides, Bette , 1965-1966
	Bette Petrides, with her husband, George, served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Nigeria from 1965-1966. She taught at a girl’s boarding school in the Eastern Region but was evacuated at the start of the Biafran War. They accepted reassignment to Botswana where they served as teachers.
		2 tapes. Interviewed by Robert Klein, November 10, 2008. See also: Botswana
Reiblein, Rudolph, 1965-1967
	Rudy Reiblein served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Nigeria 1965-1967 in a secondary education program. He trained at Michigan State and was part of a combined M.A.T. Peace Corps service program. He was assigned alone to an Anglican Boys Secondary School in an isolated Yoruba village. Rudy offers an articulate and reflective discussion of the challenges of such an assignment.
		2 tapes. Interviewed by Robert Klein, August 26, 2009
Roduit, Chris, 1964-1966
	Chris Roduit joined the Peace Corps in 1964. He trained at Teachers College, Columbia for a Nigeria secondary education project. He served in the midwest region of Nigeria teaching English.
		2 tapes. Interviewed by Robert Klein, April 4, 2004.
Russell, LaVerne Majors, 1966-1968
	LaVern Majors joined the Peace Corps in 1966. She trained in Boston, MA, where she met trainer Tom Russell, her future husband. In Nigeria, Majors taught at a United Nations established school near Zaria. The school was well equipped for science in order to upgrade both male and female teachers for secondary schools. After their marriage, Tom and LaVerne Russell became Peace Corps staff in northern Nigeria.
		2 Tapes. Interviewed by Frieda Fairburn, October 21, 2007.
Russell, Tom, 1963-1965; Staff, 1967-1970
	Tom Russell was part of an experimental training that included an outward bound-like experience in Puerto Rico for only some of Nigeria 7. At Bauchi Provincal secondary school, Russell taught maths, general science, and physics, striving to balance school responsibilities with becoming familiar with Nigeria. In 1966, as a Peace Corps trainer in Boston, MA, he met LaVerne Majors, his future wife. After their marriage, Tom and LaVerne Russell became Peace Corps staff in northern Nigeria.
		2 Tapes. Interviewed by Frieda Fairburn, October 20, 2007.
Skeese, John R., 1961-1963
	John Skeese's interest in other countries began with his military service, continued with American Friends Service Committee international work camps, and led to his serving in Nigeria as a Peace Corps volunteer teacher. After training at UCLA, Skeese taught science in a Catholic Mission school near Onitsha. He tells many stories of his service, his many friends, and his motorcycle trips in and around Nigeria with Jack Finlay, culminating in a stay at Dr. Albert Schweitzer's hospital in Gabon.
		3 tapes. Interviewed by Frieda Fairburn, September 16, 2006.
Snoeren, Marge Shannon, 1964-1966
	Marge Snoeren taught at a girls high school in Efaki-Ekiti, Nigeria. She lived in a girls' dorm, taught several courses and established a library of 2000 books she solicited from various sources. As the spouse of an ex-patriate, she used her talents and acquired many more in volunteer positions in West Africa.
		2 tapes. Interviewed by Frieda Fairburn, October 6, 2006.
Stevens, Phillips Jr, 1963-1966
	Phil Stevens served in Nigeria as a teacher. He became fluent in the Yoruba language and was very involved in the life of the school where he taught for a year and a half. Stevens then had the opportunity to locate and preserve ancient shrines and antiquities for the Nigerian Antiquities Department. During his service, Nigeria underwent internal turmoil that eventually led to the Biafran War.
		2 tapes. Interviewed by Frieda Fairburn, August 19, 2006.
Wilson, John, 1965-1967
	John Wilson trained at Michigan State with a group that was given the opportunity to earn a masters degree as part of their Peace Corps experience. He taught successfully in co-ed secondary school in what was then called the Western Region of Nigeria. As an African American, John has a unique perspective on his experience in training, living in Africa, and his return to the United States after his volunteer service.
		2 tapes. Interviewed by Phyllis Noble, August 21, 2009
Yates, Clare McMahorn, 1964-1966
	Clare Yates was inspired to become a Volunteer herself by the Returned Volunteers while working for the Peace Corps in Washington. She trained at the University of California, Los Angeles with a group of 120. She taught History, and English Grammar and Literature at her site in Bauchi. Her stint was interrupted for six weeks due to an accident in a Honda that broke her jaw. During her service in Nigeria Clare married an English expatriate in 1966. Her experiences, including the births of two children, continued for ten years in East Africa following her Peace Corps service.
		2 tapes. Interviewed by Frieda Fairburn, August 25, 2007.
Yezerski, Katherine M., 1965-1966
	Oral History Interview, user's guide. Box 70
Zell, Gregory, 1962-1964
	Greg Zell served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Lagos, Nigeria after training at Columbia University. All the trainees in that group were prepared to teach math or science through observations and practice teaching in NYC schools. Their language training was for Hausa but Zell was sent to the capitol city of Lagos, a Yoruba area where he taught female students more English than science.
		1 tape. Interviewed by Frieda Fairburn, July 27, 2005.

Country Description

Namibia

Nepal

Nicaragua

Niger

Nigeria

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