Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2020-035
Ingrid Nishimoto served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Tonga from July 1967 to October 1969 on a maternal child health project. She received her training on Molokai island, Hawaii, where she studied language, cross-cultural skills, and basic prenatal and infant care. Nishimoto was stationed in Tonga's middle group of islands, Ha'apai, on the island of Lifuka. She worked with a Tongan counterpart, who was a trained nurse and midwife, and communicated using the local language. Nishimoto helped set up clinics on other islands in the area, performed house calls in the afternoons, and was part of a program to issue oral polio and tetanus vaccinations. She also served as an interpreter during the moon landing, translating the radio broadcast coverage of the event to local residents. Interviewed and recorded by Christine Musa, October 31, 2019. 5 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).