Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-MR-2004-003-001
Norma Wilder Benavides served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Guatemala from 1963 to 1965 on a community development project. Her family was always internationally oriented. President Kennedy died while she was in training in Las Cruces, New Mexico, where she was the youngest in her cohort. Benavides was stationed in Guatemala City, where she initially worked with CARE to implement projects such as vegetable gardens, school lunches, milk distribution, and inoculation programs. After about a year, the CARE volunteers were transferred back to a Peace Corps director. Benavides also taught English, played on a semiprofessional basketball team, and participated in public relations activities for Peace Corps. She later lived in Costa Rica for 12 years while working on a refugee project, then became a bilingual therapist. Interviewed and recorded by Elizabeth Hodes, April 26, 2003. 2 tapes (web streaming files combined into 1 file).