Interview with Frank Lester, July 29, 2022

Project: Peace Corps: The Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Oral History Project

Interview Summary

Frank Lester was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Kenya with an Education program from 2006 to 2007, when political unrest forced volunteers to evacuate. He continued his service in Zambia with Peace Corps Response for an additional 14 months. Frank had been working as a counselor when an invitation for volunteers to work with Deaf communities in Kenya prompted him to apply. His cohort trained in-country with the usual mix of culture, job skills, and language, but his group, which would work with the Deaf, also learned Kenyan sign language. Frank was the only volunteer in a small town, Webuye, in the northwestern part of Kenya. He taught and lived at a middle school for the Deaf. He also worked with HIV/AIDS education in his town, and helped to create a poster with basic signs to help health workers communicate with the Deaf community. In Zambia, Frank taught Deaf students at a high school in Lusaka, continued outreach work with HIV/AIDS education, and helped create a second poster using Zambian sign language. Following his return to the U.S., Frank’s Peace Corps service motivated him to change careers to become a teacher.

Interview Accession

2022oh1530_pcrv0619

Interviewee Name

Frank Lester

Interviewer Name

David W. Schodt

Interview Date

2022-07-29

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Lester, Frank Interview by David W. Schodt. 29 Jul. 2022. Lexington, KY: Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.

Lester, F. (2022, July 29). Interview by D. W. Schodt. Peace Corps: The Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Oral History Project. Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries, Lexington.

Lester, Frank, interview by David W. Schodt. July 29, 2022, Peace Corps: The Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Oral History Project, Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.





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