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Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2014-038
Harry E. Bennett served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Belize from 2002 to 2004 on a sustainable agriculture and rural community development project. Harry and his wife joined the Peace Corps when Harry was age 53, after thirty years of living and working on an organic farm in Kansas. His Peace Corps projects in Belize provided an excellent opportunity for Harry to combine his university studies in business with his long experience in farming. He worked with Mayan subsistence farmers in projects to supplement their family farming with cooperative efforts to bring in cash. A project to grow hot chile peppers failed when their market disappeared, but a subsequent project to grow cacao in the rainforest was successful. Interviewed and recorded by Phyllis Noble, February 19, 2014. 3 tapes (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-MR-2012-023
David Zakem served as a Peace Corps volunteer in four different countries: Somalia (1968-1969, agriculture); Swaziland (1969-1971, secondary education); Belize (1987-1989, community education); and Guatemala (1989-1992, maternal and child health care). He talks about leaving his project in Somalia because he felt the assignment would ultimately hurt the people with whom he was working. The Peace Corps headquarters agreed with his assessment of the situation and reassigned him to Swaziland. After establishing a career in international education and pursuing an advanced degree, Zakem rejoined the Peace Corps and was sent to Central America. In the interview, he discusses the influence of his Peace Corps experience on the rest of his life. Interviewed and recorded by Phyllis Noble, June 9, 2012. 2 tapes (web streaming files combined into 1 file).