Interview with Deborah S. "Debbie" Manget, October 22, 2020

Interview Summary

Deborah S. "Debbie" Manget served as a Peace Corps volunteer teaching home economics in St. Lucia from 1978-1979, when the program was terminated because of wide-spread strikes and violence, including the murder of a white care worker, after St. Lucia gained independence from Great Britain. She had a very positive experience and made lots friends despite the abrupt end of her service, and feeling that, as a white American in a predominately Black community, she was “living in a fish bowl.” She talks about her on-going relationship with Raymonise Nester, a neighbor, and the warm reception her family got when they visited. As a southerner, she talks about how this experience changed her and her family’s attitudes toward people of color. She also talks about school and other programs that she conducted as a librarian in her post-Peace Corps career and her on-going work with the Museum of the Peace Corps Experience.

Interview Keyword

St. Lucia (Country of service) Peace Corps Volunteer Job: Education 1978-1979 (Date of service) St. Lucia independence Attitudes about race Museum of the Peace Corps Experience Program closure Historical context

Interview LC Subject

Peace Corps (U.S.) Peace Corps (U.S.)--St. Lucia St. Lucia Acculturation Communication and culture Culture Culture shock Intercultural communication Interpersonal communication and culture Interpersonal relations Interpersonal relations and culture Language and culture Language and languages Lifestyles Manners and customs Voluntarism Volunteers

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Interview Usage

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