Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-004
Charlaine V. Loriston served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Guinea from November 2016 to November 2017 in a health education program. She discusses her life and work in the village of Lyasando, especially her interactions with women speaking the local language. As a first generation American of Haitian heritage, she talks about the similarities she found between Haitian and Guinean language and culture, and how her experience in Guinea helped her better understand Haitian language and customs. She also talks about watching the show "Roots" with the villagers and talking to them about African American history and racial diversity in the U.S. A year into her service, Loriston was severely injured in an accident while riding in a van taxi. She discusses her treatment in Guinea, her evacuation first to Conakry and then to the U.S., as well as problems with her recovery in Florida and Washington, D.C. She is very critical of the Peace Corps' initial response to her urgent medical needs. Interviewed and recorded by Evelyn Ganzglass, August 15, 2018. 2 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).