Close
Not finding the information you're looking for? Please contact the Archives research staff.
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-MR-2013-005
Jack Laun served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Panama from 1967 to 1969 on a community development project. He had already completed a law degree from Stanford when he applied to the Peace Corps. Laun was stationed in the very remote village of La Soledad, in Veraguas province, where he worked with impoverished farmers on a cooperative rice farming project. In the interview, Laun discusses some frustrating parts of his service such as the flooding rains and the inaction of the local government, as well as the joys of living among very kind people. Interviewed and recorded by Phyllis Noble, March 26, 2013. 2 tapes (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-MR-2004-002-010
Catherine Whitaker Davidson served as a Peace Corps volunteer on a rural community development project in Panama from 1965 to 1967. She was also a mental health volunteer in the Crisis Corps in Venezuela in 2000. Interviewed and recorded by I. Lynn Rinehart, May 21, 2003. 1 tape (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-100
Louise Liller served as a Peace Corps volunteer in El Salvador from 2006 to 2008 on an agroforestry and environmental education project. She also served with Peace Corps Response in Panama in 2009. In San Lucas de Gualococti, El Salvador, there were initial challenges with work partnerships and housing. However, Liller was able to adapt to the situation and work with her neighborhood to identify projects. Her focuses were on projects such as reforestation, gender and youth development, and workshops for youth environmental business ideas. She felt she made an impact by working with the local school vegetable garden. She is proudest of the reforestation project that allowed the community recapture land and use it for community events, and enjoyed the friends she made in her community. In Cuesta de Piedra, Panama, Liller felt that her improved language skills and strong local partner helped her utilize her strengths to make a major impact in agroforestry. She enjoyed her experience teaching youth environmental education classes throughout the region and working with local organic farmers. She enjoyed Panama's beautiful scenery, her close host family, and well-defined work project. Liller says the Peace Corps taught her about community building and the importance of relationships within the community. Interviewed and recorded by Jeff Liu, June 19, 2019. 2 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file)
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-019
Asiha Grigsby served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in El Salvador from 2013 to 2015 in the Community Organization and Economic Development (COED) program. She also served as a Peace Corps Response volunteer in Chiriqui, Panama, from 2016 to 2017, training members of an organic farming cooperative in small business development strategies in the community of Volcan. Grigsby initially discusses her participation in the Peace Corps Masters International Program at Rutgers University and the unexpectedly long road to becoming a volunteer and completing her degree due to a previously undiagnosed kidney disease. After three years of treatment while her application was on "medical hold," she was eventually accepted into the Peace Corps and earned her Masters degree. In retrospect, she considers her diagnosis during the application process to be a blessing because early discovery of the illness has allowed her to maintain a healthy, happy lifestyle. Once stationed in Estanzuelas, El Salvador, Grigsby shares how the community members reacted to her as a very tall, unmarried African-American woman without children. She describes the work she did empowering the local women and girls to come together to address domestic violence issues. She also talks about restrictions on volunteers in El Salvador because of safety concerns, which eventually led to the closure of Peace Corps in the country only three months after she completed her service. Finally, Grisgby discusses reentry issues after each of her tours of service. Interviewed and recorded by Evelyn Ganzglass, September 23, 2018. 2 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2020-031
Mecca Luster served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Panama from 2016 to 2018 in an agribusiness program. Having majored in finance at Howard University, she took an unconventional route to the Peace Corps to fulfill a personal promise to serve. She was initially invited to Mali, but was then switched to Panama where she was the only black woman in her cohort. Despite limited Spanish and Woun Meu (Wounaan) language training, Luster was able to utilize her entrepreneurial and management skills to engage her community, Puerto Lara Darien. She learned how to not overthink situations and how to adjust to her surroundings. After the Peace Corps, Luster has been volunteering with Native Future, a non-profit that works to preserve the rights of indigenous groups in Panama. Interviewed and recorded by Charlaine Loriston, October 28, 2019. 2 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).