Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2018-034
Jennifer Mamola was a Peace Corps Volunteer in an education program in Gulu, Uganda, from November 2012 until April 2013 when she was hit by a car and seriously injured. She discusses the circumstances of her accident, the role that Peace Corps played in her evacuation first to Kampala, the capital of Uganda, and then to Pretoria, South Africa, where she spent about a month in the hospital before returning home. Although Mamola praises the Peace Corps for her rapid evacuation and treatment while overseas and the help she received from the Peace Corps Advocate, she faults the agency and the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) for insensitivity to her needs and the poor medical coverage she has had since her return. (DOL is the agency that administers the Federal Employees Contribution Act (FECA) disability program, which covers Peace Corps volunteers.) Mamola discusses legislation pending in 2018 to address some of the medical issues faced by Peace Corps volunteers. In addition, she talks about Peace Corps training as well as her brief work in rebuilding a library in Uganda, which had been used as a safe space for children during the guerrilla attacks associated with Joseph Kony. Interviewed and recorded by Evelyn Ganzglass, 6 July 2018. 3 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).