Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2020-008
Sara Feldman served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Micronesia from 1979 to 1981 on a community development project. She also served in Georgia from 2014 to 2016 on an individual organization development (IOD) project. For Micronesia, Feldman trained in animal husbandry in the Philippines, followed by language and teaching methods in Gagil on the island of Yap. Feldman was first assigned to Lamotrek as part of a development strategy to prepare the Outer Islands to join the Federated States of Micronesia. She worked on various initiatives that included increasing food production for export and shifting from diesel fuel to solar energy. It was very isolated, which likely contributed to a high attrition rate in her Peace Corps group. In Feldman's second year she relocated to Satawal atoll, a challenging site with scarce natural resources, and worked on development education and cooperative programs. After the Peace Corps, Feldman focused on her law career and family for 30 years before deciding to rejoin and accepting an assignment in Georgia. She worked at an NGO (non-governmental organization) in Gori with internally displaced persons from Russian occupied provinces. After completing her service, she remained in Georgia for another three years to start a business in Tbilisi to fund local programs for disabled children. Interviewed and recorded by Robert T. K. Scully, September 21, 2019. 3 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).