2008.08.18: August 18, 2008: Headlines: COS - Somalia: Country Directors - Tunisia: Denver Post: John E. Roberts served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Somalia
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2008.08.18: August 18, 2008: Headlines: COS - Somalia: Country Directors - Tunisia: Denver Post: John E. Roberts served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Somalia
John E. Roberts served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Somalia
I taught in Somalia. There were 78 of us sent to Somalia, none with any teaching background, but they put us in remote areas where the eldest sons of camel herders were sent to school.
John E. Roberts served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Somalia
Meet Peace Corps pioneer John E. Roberts
By The Denver Post
Article Last Updated: 08/18/2008 11:09:02 AM MDT
John E. Roberts was among the first Peace Corps volunteers. It launched a 33-year career with the U.S. Department of State, and brought him back for a 6-year stint as a Peace Corps director in Tunisia and Malta in the 1990s. Now retired and back in his hometown of Fort Collins, he's preparing for next weekend's Peace Corps volunteer reunion there. Claire Martin, The Denver Post
Q: You joined the Peace Corps shortly after John F. Kennedy was assassinated?
A: Yes. During my freshman year at the University of Colorado, John F. Kennedy came to talk. I was enthralled with his ideas. He was assassinated on Nov. 22, 1963. I remember it was like yesterday. I was in class, and they canceled the class. I spent the afternoon at the University Memorial Center, watching TV. During the funeral, I decided then and there that I was going to be a Peace Corps volunteer.
Q: Where was your assignment, and what did you do?
A: I taught in Somalia. There were 78 of us sent to Somalia, none with any teaching background, but they put us in remote areas where the eldest sons of camel herders were sent to school.
Q: What was the name of the village?
A: I worked in two —Odweina and Adadly. They each had about 200 people, and both were totally barren, sort of way stations for nomad camel herders.
Q: What were your students like?
A: They were ages 12 to 25, so some of the students were older than me.
Q: Have any of those students ever been back in touch with you since 1964?
A: A month ago, I got a call from one of my students who's living in Arizona — he has a buddy who also was a student in the Peace Corps school, now living in L.A. He told me, 'I've never forgotten you, and we're going to come and visit you.'
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Headlines: August, 2008; Peace Corps Somalia; Directory of Somalia RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Somalia RPCVs; Country Directors - Tunisia; Colorado
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Story Source: Denver Post
This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Somalia; Country Directors - Tunisia
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