Interview with Joy Ann Straley, July 30, 2023
Project: Peace Corps: The Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Oral History Project
Interview Summary
Joy Straley served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ghana from 2015 through 2017 in the Agriculture program. Joy describes her path to Peace Corps service as being a trail of breadcrumbs – a series of experiences that led to that end. Joy grew up in a multi-cultural community in San Diego. Her father was in the Navy and her mother is from the Philippines. Joy’s Peace Corps training began in Accra and moved to several other sites, including Tema, Koforidua, Addo Nkwanto, Kukurantumi, Tamale, and Kumasi. Training included Twi language, and agriculture. Her assignment was to complete a fish farm in Kabile, but ended up focusing on cashew growers. She worked with a local community leader and partnered with Red River Foods. Secondary projects included Camp Glow, bee keeper training, and community health. During her final three months she began construction of a library. In her second year she helped train an incoming group. Joy’s husband and teenaged daughter remained at home in the U.S. during her service. Her husband, Gus, joins the interview to share his thoughts on her serving, and his experience visiting Joy in Ghana.Interview Accession
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Interview Keyword
Peace Corps (U.S.) Ghana (country of service) 2015-2017 (date of service) diversity in Peace Corps many faces of Peace Corps #manyfacesofpeacecorps Asian Americans Pacific Islanders Filipino-American Peace Corps Volunteer Job: Agriculture Peace Corps (U.S.)--2010-2020 Peace Corps (U.S.) – Training (cultural, language, technical) Twi (language) Accra Tema Koforidua Addo Nkwanto Kukurantumi Tamale Kumasi (training sites) Kabile (assignment) fish farms cashew growers Red River Foods Camp Glow beekeeping married volunteerInterview Rights
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Straley, Joy Ann Interview by Julius Sztuk. 30 Jul. 2023. Lexington, KY: Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.
Straley, J.A. (2023, July 30). Interview by J. Sztuk. Peace Corps: The Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Oral History Project. Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries, Lexington.
Straley, Joy Ann, interview by Julius Sztuk. July 30, 2023, 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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