Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-021
Ellen Gagne served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Sierra Leone from July 1968 to August 1970. She taught in an elementary school in Momajo, in the southern part of the country. Gagne discusses the negative attitudes of her fellow teachers to the more open and participatory teaching methods she used, as well as the corruption of teachers who didn't show up for work, slept with students, and used students to work on their farms. At the same time, she talks fondly of the students who lived with her in her second house and the enrichment activities she provided. She discusses falling in love with one of her Peace Corps language instructors and their long-term relationship while she lived in Sierra Leone. She describes her later teacher training activities for new Peace Corps volunteers. Gagne concludes by reflecting on the broadening experience the Peace Corps provided and the difference the volunteers made in Sierra Leone. Interviewed and recorded by Evelyn Ganzglass, September 17, 2018. 1 digital audio file.