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
Interviewee Name
Interviewer Name
Interview Date
Interview Keyword
Peace Corps (U.S.) Kenya (Country of service) 2006-2007 (dates of service) Zambia (Country of service) 2007-2008 (dates of service) Peace Corps job: Education Evacuated Peace Corps Volunteer: other reasons PCR Peace Corps (U.S.)--2000-2010 Peace Corps (U.S.)—Management Peace Corps (U.S.)--Training (cultural, language, technical) Zambia, Uganda, South Africa Guyana Deaf American Sign Language, Kenyan Sign Language Zambian Sign Language PEPFAR (President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) Lusaka Webuye HIV AIDS PosterInterview 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.Restriction
Interviews may only be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.
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.
Add this interview to your cart in order to begin the process of requesting access to a copy of and/or permission to reproduce interview(s).
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.
You may come across language in UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center collections and online resources that you find harmful or offensive. SCRC collects materials from different cultures and time periods to preserve and make available the historical record. These materials document the time period when they were created and the view of their creator. As a result, some may demonstrate racist and offensive views that do not reflect the values of UK Libraries.
If you find description with problematic language that you think SCRC should review, please contact us at SCRC@uky.edu.
Persistent Link for this Record: https://kentuckyoralhistory.org/ark:/16417/xt7dd63m53n97