Downloading Tip: If clicking "Download" opens a new browser window, you may need to hold the "Option" key when clicking -- or right-click and select "Save Link As" -- to download the file.
About Oral History
Digital Identifier:
RPCV-ACC-2016-030
Use Restriction Status:
None
Description:
Maria del Carmen Moreno served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Mauritania and Mali from 1989 to 1992. Born in the Dominican Republic and raised in New York, Moreno declined her first invitation to join the Peace Corps as an English teacher in Costa Rica. A few years later, after earning a master’s degree, she applied again and requested a placement in Francophone Africa. This time she accepted the invitation to serve in an agricultural program in Mauritania. Her training began with agricultural skills in Frogmore, South Carolina, and continued in Mauritania where she learned French and Arabic. Moreno's initial assignment was to encourage vegetable gardening in a remote desert hamlet, 13 hours from the capital city. However, her Arabic-speaking host family did not believe that women should undertake agricultural work. After several months, Moreno moved to the nearest town and found satisfying work teaching children about agriculture. However, in January 1991, Saddam Hussein sent his family to shelter in Mauritania, causing the Peace Corps Volunteers to be evacuated to Mali. Instead of terminating, Moreno decided to continue her service in Gao, Mali. A few months later, amid unrest and active gunfire in her town, she was evacuated again, to the city of Bamako. Upon conclusion of her service, Moreno was hired by Peace Corps to train new volunteers in both Mali and Mauritania. 3 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file). Interviewed and recorded by Phyllis Noble, May 1, 2016.
Date(s) of Materials:
1 May 2016
1 May 2016
Deed Status:
Deeded
Copyright Status:
Public Domain (Donated to the United States Government)
Use Restriction Note:
Some of the archival materials in this collection may be subject to copyright or other intellectual property restrictions. Users of these materials are advised to determine the copyright status of any document from which they wish to publish.
Accession Number
ACC-2016-030