Interview with Elizabeth Betsy Grob, December 11, 2022
Project: Peace Corps: The Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Oral History Project
Interview Summary
Betsy Grob served in Sierra Leone, 1967-1969. JFK’s call to service inspired her. Sierra Leone volunteers trained in D.C., Jamaica and Trinidad. By training’s end, their ranks had been reduced by half. Betsy was assigned to Gofor, a village that had never seen a white person. Initially children believed she was the devil; once conversation ensued, that barrier fell. Betsy became proficient in Mende and taught all subjects to classes 1 and 2 in her school in that language. A palava (fight) occurred involving a soccer match. The school principal accused Betsy of telling the opposing team that her school cheated, causing students to throw rocks at her house. She left briefly but returned and things blew over. US re-entry was difficult. Betsy said her PC experience gave her a deep understanding of other cultures. Her lessons for PC success: do it; listen; keep an open heart; learn the language.Interview Accession
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Peace Corps (U.S.) Sierra Leone (Country of service) 1967-1969 (Date of service) Peace Corps Volunteer Job: Education Sierra Leone Tanzania Ghana Kenya Ethiopia: Liberia Ivory Coast Peace Corps (U.S.)--1960-1970 Peace Corps (U.S.)—Management Peace Corps (U.S.) – Training (language) Vietnam War English (Language) Mende (language) Jewish religionInterview Rights
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Grob, Elizabeth Betsy Interview by Joyce L. Jenkins. 11 Dec. 2022. Lexington, KY: Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.
Grob, E.B. (2022, December 11). Interview by J. L. Jenkins. Peace Corps: The Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Oral History Project. Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries, Lexington.
Grob, Elizabeth Betsy, interview by Joyce L. Jenkins. December 11, 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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