Name: Philip Fretz
Country of Service: Sierra Leone
Place of Service: Kenema
Service Type: English teacher
Dates in Service: 1967-1969
Keywords: Education
Accession Date: January 8, 2020
Access: No Restrictions
Collection Size: 85 digital files
Name: Ronald Rude
Country of Service: Nepal
Place of Service: Jaleshwar, Gorahana Panchayat (District)
Service Project Title: Junior Technological Assistants
Dates in Service: 1968-1971
Keywords: Agriculture, Community Development
Accession Date: December 5, 2019
Access: No restrictions
Collection Size: 94 digital files
Name: Sara Miller
Country of Service: Panama
Place of Service: Los Santos
Service Project Title: Community Environmental Conservation
Dates in Service: 2016-2019
Keywords: Agriculture, Community Development, Environment
Accession Date: October 6, 2019
Access: No restrictions
Collection Size: 1 digital file
Name: Gene Carl Feldman
Country of Service: Western Samoa
Place of Service: Upolu, Savai’i, and Manono
Service Type: Village Fisheries Development Project and Sea Turtle Conservation Project
Dates in Service: 1974-1977
Keywords: Agriculture, Architecture, Environment, Community Development
Accession Date: September 30, 2019
Access: No restrictions
Collection Size: 1 digital collection
Name: Rebecca Cors
Country of Service: China
Place of Service: Zigong, Sicuan Province
Service Project Title: Environmental Educator Volunteer
Dates in Service: 2004-2006
Keywords: Agriculture, Education, Environment
Accession Date: March 29, 2019
Access: No Restrictions
Collection Size: 1 digital item
Country of Service: the Gambia
Service Type: Education (Adult Literacy)
Dates in Service: 1976-1979
Keywords: Education, Community Development, Literacy
Accession Date: October 5, 2018
Access: No Restrictions
Collection Size: 2.75 linear feet and a USB containing Photos, Slides, and Audio; .01 linear feet of audio cassette tapes
MEP Workshop For Co-op Inspectors/Education, Training Schedule and Lesson Plans, November 1982
MEP Workshop For Co-op Inspectors/Education: Workshop Report, Feedback from Participants, November 1982
“Workshops for “Village Facilitators” of MEP Numeracy Classes, Administrative Tasks; held: Jenoi, December 1982; Chamen, January 1983
Workshops for “Village Facilitators” of Numeracy Classes; Feedback and Workshop Report; held December 1982, Jenoi, and Chamen, January 1983
Workshops for “Village Facilitators” of Numeracy Classes, Training Schedule, Lessons Plans, Notes, Participants and Staff; December 1982, Jenoi, and Chamen, January 1983
Workshops for “Village Facilitators,” Assessment Tools Interviews, Written Tests; December 1982, Jenoi, and Chamen, January 1983
Evaluation of “Intermediate” Course For CIES; Final Report, Feedback From CIES and Facilitators; Yundum, July-August 1983
Initial Planning for “Intermediate” Training Workshops For Coop Inspectors/Education (CIES’s), Held in July-August 1983 at Yundum
Schedule and Lesson Plans for “Intermediate” Course for CIEs; includes written work by CIEs; Yundum, July-August 1983
Assessments of Participants in the “Intermediate” Course for Co-op Inspectors; includes quiz, essays, and interviews; held in Yundum, July-August 1983
Workshop For MEP Supervisors, Held at New MEP Office at Co-op Department Headquarters at Banjul, March 1983
Workshop for Co-op Inspectors/ED, Proposed Agenda Interview, September1983
Workshop for Representation of Co-ops in 5 West African Countries, and of US-A and International Organizations Related to Co-Operatives: Lesson Plans, Schedule, “Study Notes” (Handouts); held at Atlantic Hotel in Banjul, October 1983
MEP Learning Resources 1982/1983: Curriculum Materials For Numeracy/Literacy Instruction
MEP Learning Resources: Core Numeracy Curriculum: Learners Notebook, 2 editions (1983 and unknown), Co-Op Numeracy Facilitator’s Guide (1983, Second Edition)
Homework Assignment Books: Bood 1, Addition, Book 2: Subtraction; Book 3: Money and Procedure Receipts, Undated
Guidebook of Training Support Activities, 1983
“Fun Activities:” Assorted Activities For Numeracy Facilitators, 1982
Picture Stories” adopted as visual aids (Discussion Starters) in Numeracy Classes: Prototype Sketches by Jurmo; more-finished versions by Various Gambian Artists
MEP Learning Resources 1982/1983: Curriculum Materials For Numeracy/Literacy Instruction (con’t)
“Simplified Bookkeeping” Guide for Numeracy/Literacy Training Groups, 1983
“Specific Literacy” Activities: UMass/CIE Book (198); Handouts for MEP Staff (1982); Follow-up Project with IBAs and NEF Services of Ministry of Education (1982)
Income-Generating Projects: Handouts for MEP Staff Training (1983); Meeting with Peace Corps Volunteers (1983)
Curriculum Overviews/ History, c. 1982
MEP Miscellaneous
Proposal for Calculator Project with UMass/CIE, 1983
Miscellaneous Background Readings Re: NonFormal ED From: UNESCO, Co-Op ED-Materials Advisory Service, MAP International, UMASS/CIE Health Education Games, c. early 1980s
Tree-Planting Curricula Prepared For Peace Corps Volunteers (by Jurmos): “Word Problems” Adapted from MEP Curriculum For Use in Forestry Dept. Training, 1983
Staffing Plans for Supervisors, Driver Performance Issues, Numeracy Education Coordinator Job Description, c. 1983
Proposal For Study at UMass/CIE by MEP Staffer Dodou Jome, 1982
Consultant Housing, 1983
Consultant Paul Jurmo Expenses Book, 1983
USB containing digitized audio, photographs, and slides
Throughout the blog, you have probably noticed the various records we use to tell the stories of Peace Corps Volunteers. This post highlights some of the more common types of records that volunteers donate and record their experiences with.
The most common type of record that PCVs donate that tell their story is letters. Volunteers send correspondence back and forth with their family and friends for two years in which they express their accomplishments, frustrations, and describe their everyday life. A letter like the one below, air mail, was a familiar sight for families as it was the fastest and most common way volunteers sent letters.
Joyce Emery Johnston served in the Philippines in Education from 1965-1967.
Similar to correspondence is volunteers’ journals or diaries. These are where volunteers write more in depth about their daily activities and daily thoughts. Diaries are used to preserve memories, and some volunteers even start keeping diaries in the language of their host country as seen below.
David Day served in Kenya and India in Agriculture from 1965-1967.
David Day served in Kenya and India in Agriculture from 1965-1967.
A way that volunteers formally share their experiences is through memoirs. Alan Crew compiled his memoir as a gift to his son upon his graduation from college. In it he details his life in Nigeria and includes pictures of where he worked.
Alan Crew served in Nigeria in Education from 1965-1966.
Along with writing, volunteers also take many photos during their service to show their friends and families where they work and live. While most volunteers take regular digital photos, many early volunteers also used slides.
Patricia Kay served in Kenya in Education from 1966-1968.
Patricia Kay served in Kenya in Education from 1966-1968.
Volunteers also send home postcards when they travel or want to share more photos of their host country.
Tina Singleton served in Benin in Health Education from 1992-1996.
Along with these records, some volunteers also take videos of their service experience. The video below was taken by Brian Adler who served in Suriname with his wife Cindy from 2002-2004. In this clip he gives a tour of where he and Cindy lived, and the video goes on to show a village party, soccer game, and conversations with the villagers.
For volunteers who either could not write home or found this method easier, they recorded audio tapes. This audio clip is from Richard Holmquist to his fiance Ann. In the full recording, he discusses his work as a professor at UMBC, how he met Ann, and what he did in Nigeria from 1966-1968. In this clip he discusses a need in Nigeria for lifeguards. (play button is on the far left).
Along with these personal records, Peace Corps Volunteers also donate some of their official Peace Corps paperwork. These include certificates of training and service completion, letters of service acceptance, and volunteer ID cards like Debby Prigal’s below.
Debby Prigal served in Ghana in Education from 1981-1983.
The Peace Corps Community Archives holds many other different types of records such as architectural drawings, posters, newspapers, training materials, correspondence from the Peace Corps and various governments, and much more. But the handful of records highlighted here are the main forms of learning about what a Peace Corps Volunteer experienced while abroad.