RadioRotary

RadioRotary interviews Kathy Sanderson, who decided at age 61 to join the Peace Corps after she became a widow “and the children left and the dog died.” After preliminary training, Ms. Sanderson was stationed on the island of Vanua Lava, among the larger of the 82 islands that make up the nation of Vanuatu in the South Pacific, a 3-hour airplane trip west of Australia. Having been a mathematics teacher in the United State, Ms. Sanderson’s assignment was to teach arithmetic and algebra to about 200 middle-school students. Vanuatu is part of the British Commonwealth, so classes were in English, although students also spoke a form of pidgin English among themselves. Although she loved her students, the actual school was not in very good shape and there were also local hazards, such as centipedes and spiders. Because electricity was on and off, she became used to rising at dawn and going to bed at sunset. A fascinating program that may make you want to sign up for the Peace Corps, whatever your age.

Learn more:

Peace Corps Opportunities: https://www.peacecorps.gov/

Vanuatu: http://thecommonwealth.org/our-member-countries/vanuatu

Life on Vanua Lava where Kathy Taught: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6fxuecfr38

CATEGORIES

Aging

Education

International Programs

Travel

Volunteers

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