Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2016-036
Keesia Harrison Hyzer served as a Peace Corps Volunteer from 1972 to 1974 in Zaire (later known as the Democratic Republic of Congo). Hyzer taught English in a secondary school for girls. Before applying to the Peace Corps, she had already obtained a teaching certificate in the United States. The first part of Peace Corps training occurred in the Virgin Islands, where the trainees were taught French using a very effective method of language learning developed at S.I.T. (School for International Training in Vermont). The idea was that the volunteers would then use that same method to teach English later in Zaire. Hyzer's training continued in Zaire for another month. Her group was the first group of Peace Corps teachers to be assigned to Zaire. The interview includes a discussion of the differences between the American volunteers and the several Belgian ex-patriots who worked in Zaire, and also touches briefly on an episode of violence in her home near the end of her service. 2 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file). Interviewed by Phyllis Noble, May 10, 2016.