Interview with Robin Lynn Kuri, December 12, 2023

Interview Summary

Robin Lynn Kuri served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Madagascar, Africa, from 1999-2001 working in the field of Environmental Education. While she was studying as a Senior at Syracuse University, she met with a Peace Corps recruiter on campus and discussed placement opportunities then. However, she, as an Environmental Engineering major, had already been hired by a company who wanted her to work immediately after graduation. She filled out the application for the Peace Corps but waited for an invitation for over a year while she worked for an engineering firm based in Edison, NJ. Robin enjoyed her experience in an entry-level position working with hazardous waste sites but was not totally committed to working there. She was married at the time, and both she and her husband were accepted as Peace Corps Volunteers for an environmental education program in Madagascar. Her parents were supportive of her decision to serve. Robin and her husband spent three days in Washington, DC with 26 other volunteers at a staging location in February of 1999. Her group then flew to Zurich, Switzerland and, after 24 hours, left for Johannesburg, South Africa. Robin and her husband were then sent to the town of Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar, and had more training in the town of Mantasoa, about three hours away in a beautiful area in the mountains and by a lake. At first, they stayed in dormitories while experiencing total language immersion in the Malagsy tongue as well as in French. They stayed for three days with a host family in Mantasoa during training. After three months of training, she moved to her own house in her assigned area of Andranofasika in a very forested locale which became theirs as a Peace Corps volunteer had previously built it and resided there. The house was built of mud and bricks on a cement slab and contained one living room, one bedroom, one kitchen, and one shower room. The house also had thatched roofing and a latrine but no electricity or running water. She often met some of her local counterparts, went to the local market on Wednesdays, and Robin then began to learn about being a local guide in parks nearby. Since there was no actual Peace Corps job set up for her, Robin enjoyed guide work and used a bicycle to get from place to place. Unfortunately, her bike was stolen in her third month of service, but friendly residents led a search party, and it was recovered along with other items that had been stolen. Robin became involved with both the Christian and the Muslim way of life, and she even witnessed an exorcism wherein a cow was slaughtered to appease evil spirits. She began work with the local youth and helped them with knowledge and protection of local wildlife such as turtles and the ever-present lemurs. Robin was instrumental in securing environmental education grants, and she set up three latrines for the village, participated in wildlife research teams, and planted a tree nursery with students. Robin also taught English to the youth and guides in the area and helped build a brick and cement basketball court. Robin helped create ecotourism infrastructure so that the locals could create businesses and host tourists. Her parents came to visit her for three days in her village, and then she showed them all around the countryside and the seashore. After her first year of service, Robin became ill and missed a follow-up training exercise as she was taken by her husband to a hospital in South Africa and treated for viral meningitis. She was hospitalized for almost five weeks. She experienced an emotional leaving after her service was completed and spent a month traveling before returning home. While her husband enrolled at Rutgers University, Robin took a position with the Somerset County (NJ) Engineering Department. She then relocated to Toms River (NJ) and began work as an Ocean County engineer environmental permit applications and evaluating site plans and subdivisions for the county. Robin loved her involvement with the Peace Corps and felt she met or exceeded the three goals of Corps service, especially through her teaching. She kept some of her overseas connections through Facebook, and she has been a member of the Returned Peace Corps Volunteers in New Jersey for the last four or five years.

Interview Keyword

Peace Corps (US) Country of Service: Madagascar Dates of Service: 1999-2001 Peace Corps Volunteer Job: Environmental Education Peace Corps (US): 1990-2000, 2000-2001 Languages: Malagsy, French Language Training: Mantasoa, Andranofasika Cultural Training: Antananarivo, Mantasoa, Andranofasika Peace Corps-related Medical Issue: viral meningitis

Interview Rights

All rights to the interviews, including but not restricted to legal title, copyrights and literary property rights, have been transferred to the University of Kentucky Libraries.

Interview Usage

Interviews may only be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.