Interview with Henry Der, June 3, 2021

Partial Transcript: Today is June 3, 2021. My name is Craig Tower and I served in the Peace Corps in Mali from 1994 to 1996. I'm interviewing Henry Der who served as a Peace Corps agriculture and community development Volunteer in Kenya from 1968 to 1970.

Segment Synopsis: Der first heard about the Peace Corps as a high school student when president Kennedy first announced it. Der started pre-service training in Bismarck, North Dakota after graduating from Stanford in June 1968. Der found inspiration from President Kennedy and the civil rights movement. Der's interest in Africa was sparked by the news of many African colonies gaining independence in the 1960s. Der grew up in Stockton and attended a high school with a racially diverse and socioeconomically disadvantaged student body. During his senior year at Stanford, Der had the opportunity to take Swahili classes.

Keywords: John F. Kennedy; Language training; Preparation; Sargent Shriver

Subjects: Afghanistan; Africa; Agriculture; Awareness; Civil rights movement; Diversity; Education; Emotions; High school; Independence; Oklahoma; Peace Corps (U.S.)--1960-1970; Peace Corps (U.S.)--Kenya; San Francisco Bay Area (Calif.); Stanford University; Stockton (Calif.); Swahili language; Undergraduate; Universities and colleges; Volunteer workers in horticulture

Partial Transcript: So, then I applied . . . to Peace Corps Kenya.

Segment Synopsis: On his Peace Corps application, Der indicated a preference for East Africa. When Der was offered a posting in Sierra Leone, Der asked to be switched to Tanzania or East Africa where Swahili is spoken. Consequently, Der was changed to an agricultural program in Kenya.

Keywords: Changes; East Africa; Invitations; Julius Nyerere; Posts

Subjects: Agriculture; Kenya; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Kenya; Sierra Leone; Swahili language; Tanzania

Partial Transcript: That group was interesting in that it was all--uh--males. And many of my groupmates were quite qualified, very qualified. They either grew up on a farm; they were engineers; or they--um--ran a ranch--um--as part of you know, their family background .

Segment Synopsis: Der's cohort was all-male and many trainees had experiences related to agriculture. Der was the only person of color in his cohort. Despite coming from diverse backgrounds, the trainees in Der's cohort got along with each other. For two weeks, trainees had a home stay with people on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation. Der feels that the pre-service training was useful. The teachers were engaging and came from East Africa. At the end of training, Der and some other Volunteers flew to New York City and stayed with the family of another Volunteer for a couple nights. From New York, Der's cohort went overseas.

Keywords: Cultural training; Diversity; Drinking; Host family; Language training; Living conditions; People of color; San Francisco Bay area (Calif.); Socializing; Technical training

Subjects: Allergy; Bismarck (N.D.); Diversity; East Africa; International travel; Kenya; Minorities; Nairobi (Kenya); Native Americans; New York (N.Y.); Poverty; Rural; San Francisco Bay Area (Calif.); Somalia; Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of North & South Dakota; Stockton (Calif.); Teachers; Training; Travel

Partial Transcript: And then from Milan we--uh--took--uh--East African Airways to--uh--Nairobi.

Segment Synopsis: When Der arrived in Kenya, his draft status for the Vietnam War was still unclear. Near the end of pre-service training, several trainees were de-selected; which was another distraction to Der. In Kenya, some people found it strange that Der was an Asian-American. Despite this, Der explains that his race was not an issue while he was living in Kenya.

Keywords: Asian Americans; Military drafts; People of color; Pre-service training

Subjects: Americans; Asian Americans; Discrimination; International travel; Milan (Italy); Nairobi (Kenya); Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Kenya; Stereotypes (Social psychology); Stress (Psychology); Swahili language; Travel; Vietnam War, 1961-1975

Partial Transcript: Tell . . . tell me about your site and how you . . . how you were matched up with your site and what your work was going to be.

Segment Synopsis: Der recalls his journey to his work site in a town called Kilifi. Der traveled by train from Nairobi to Mombasa and then took a bus to Kilifi. Der then met the district agriculture officer who was friendly but did not have much information to give to Der. The goal of Der's program was to encourage the farmers to plant cash crops such as maize or cotton between the existing coconut trees. After several months, Der's supervisor immigrated to Great Britain, which left Der with less guidance on how to continue his agricultural program. Der reported his frustration to the Peace Corps staff but was instructed to give his assignment more time. After about ten months, Der was then re-assigned by the Peace Corps.

Keywords: Bureaucracy; Colonialism; Kilifi (Kenya); Peace Corps staff; Post-colonial; San Francisco (Calif.)

Subjects: Agriculture; Bureaucracy; Coconuts; Connecticut; Cotton; Emigration and immigration; Farmers; Goa (India : State); Great Britain; Immigrants; Kenya; Minorities; Mombasa (Kenya); Nairobi (Kenya); Peace Corps (U.S); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Kenya; Plants; San Francisco (Calif.); Stockton (Calif.); Taita Hills (Kenya); Uganda; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: --Uh--we're going to re-assign you to go to--uh--Machakos, Kenya, where you will work with the 4K Clubs.

Segment Synopsis: Unbeknownst to Der, a third year Volunteer was assigned to Kilifi after Der had left. Later, Der met this Volunteer who agreed with Der that Kilifi was an unproductive work site. In Machakos, Der found the district agriculture officials were better organized and more effective. To build up the 4K program, Der made it a goal to have an annual agriculture show at each division level. Der traveled to Nairobi and was able to acquire some seeds to distribute as prizes at the shows. The shows gave the local people and government officials a feeling of pride.

Keywords: 4H Clubs; Accomplishments; Activities; Changes; Community involvement; Contributions; Encouragement; Extensions; Kilifi (Kenya); Local people; Locals; Traveling; Young people

Subjects: Agriculture; Emotions; Georgia; Kenya; Machakos (Kenya); Nairobi (Kenya); Parents; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Kenya; Sustainability; Travel; Volunteer workers in horticulture

Partial Transcript: After I came back home and completed my Peace Corps service, I was so. Well, when I left--um--it was announced by the district Ag. officer that Sansom Kavoy, who was the division Ag. officer north of Machakos that he would take over my position as the Ag. Officer for 4K Clubs for the entire district.

Segment Synopsis: After Der left Machakos, he was replaced by a Kenyan who later came to the U.S. to visit 4H Clubs. Der was able to link up a 4H Club in Petaluma, California with a 4K Club in Kenya.

Keywords: 4H Clubs; Accomplishments; Activities; Agricultural officer; Cooperation; Study abroad

Subjects: Agriculture; California; Cooperation; Emotions; International travel; Kenya; Learning; Machakos (Kenya); Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Kenya; Petaluma (Calif.); San Francisco (Calif.); Sustainability; Universities and colleges; Washington (D.C.)

Partial Transcript: What was your living experience like . . .

Segment Synopsis: Initially in Kilifi, Der lived by himself in very basic housing chosen by his supervisor. After a week, Der was moved to a much better, furnished house on the beach previously used by a colonial official. Der hired a young man who did the cooking. Der had a motorcycle, which he used to go to the market. While in country, Der was able to stay healthy. In Machakos, Der roomed with another Volunteer in an old colonial house. Der and his roommate hired a cook.

Keywords: Amenities; Kilifi (Kenya); Living alone; Mt. Kilimanjaro (Tanzania); Post-colonial; Servant

Subjects: Allergy; Cooking; England; Food; Health; Housing; Kenya; Lifestyles; Machakos (Kenya); Minnesota; Outhouses; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Kenya; Roommates; Scotland; Tanzania; Transportation; Wales

Partial Transcript: What--what about--um--some of the holidays, what were those holidays like . . .

Segment Synopsis: Der recalls the celebration of Uhuru/Independence Day while living in Kenya and when Jomo Kenyatta came to visit Machakos. Later, because of an assassination attempt against Kenyatta, the volunteers were instructed to stay at their work site as they were known to the local people in the area and therefore were safer there than in Nairobi. Der and the other Volunteers avoided becoming involved in politics due to the tense political situation in Kenya at the time.

Keywords: Conversations; Friends; Jomo Kenyatta; Safety; Socializing; Uhuru Day

Subjects: Danger; Diversity; Friendship; Holidays; Interpersonal relations; Kenya; Machakos (Kenya); Nairobi (Kenya); Netherlands; Norway; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Kenya; Safety; Universities and colleges; University of Edinburgh

Partial Transcript: What was your ability to communicate like throughout Kenya, like back to Nairobi and also what kind of communications were you able to maintain, you know, with people at home.

Segment Synopsis: Der describes his communication with the Peace Corps office as normal. While he was in Machakos, Der met the Peace Corps director at the time of Der's service, Joseph Blatchford, who was visiting Kenya. Der communicated with people located in other countries by aerograms. When he was in Machakos, Der could ride his motorcycle to Nairobi to see officials as needed. Telephone communication was rare and expensive.

Keywords: Aerograms; Joseph Blatchford; Kilifi (Kenya); Machakos (Kenya); Peace Corps directors; Site visits

Subjects: Emotions; Kenya; Liberia; Loneliness; Machakos (Kenya); Mail; Nairobi (Kenya); Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Kenya; Sierra Leone; Telephone calls; Travel; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: In . . . in Machakos, it was interesting that there was a community there of folks that . . . that the Kenyans we knew and interacted with and also with volunteers from other countries.

Segment Synopsis: Der names some of the people in his social circle in Machakos. Several years after the end of his service, Der flew to Europe and went on a tour with some of the friends he met in Machakos. Der's friends from Machakos also visited him in the U.S. Der is still in contact with some of these friends today.

Keywords: Cohorts; Cultural exchange; Politics; Richard M. Nixon; Support circles

Subjects: Aarhus (Denmark); Alaska; Copenhagen (Denmark); Denmark; Edinburgh (Scotland); Europe; High school; International travel; Interpersonal relations; Jotunheimen (Norway); Machakos (Kenya); Norway; Oslo (Norway); Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Kenya; Research; San Francisco (Calif.); San Francisco Bay Area (Calif.); Social media; The Netherlands; Travel; Volunteer workers in community health services; Volunteer workers in education; Yosemite National Park (Calif.)

Partial Transcript: And so when you were--um--leading up to the time when you left, you left Kenya, left Machakos, what--uh--were, were you . . . what were your preparations like? What were your feelings like about leaving? And did Peace Corps, you know, what kind of support did they provide at that time?

Segment Synopsis: Shortly before they left Kenya, Der's cohort was brought together at Malindi. One close of Service procedure was language testing. One reason Der decided not to extend his Peace Corps service was the unresolved matter of his draft status. Der returned home to the Bay Area via Ethiopia, Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong, and Japan. After the Peace Corps, Der went to San Francisco to be close to his mother who lived in the city. At the time, Der did not have any friends that lived in San Francisco.

Keywords: Berkeley (Calif.); Close of Service; Cohorts; Differences; Exams; Extensions; Family; Fluency; High schools; Leaving; Military drafts; Plans; Re-entry; Readjustment; Return; Siblings; Stockton (Calif.)

Subjects: Africa; Berkeley (Calif.); Culture shock; Ethiopia; Europe; Hong Kong (China); International travel; Japan; Kenya; Machakos (Kenya); Malaysia; Malindi (Kenya); Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Kenya; Roommates; Rural; San Francisco (Calif.); Siblings; Thailand; Universities and colleges; Vietnam War, 1961-1975; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: --Uh--these days, when people think of Kenya, your typical American, they think of safaris, do you have any experience with that when you were there . . .

Segment Synopsis: Several times while in East Africa, Der went to a game park with other Volunteers, despite not having a big interest in the wildlife.

Keywords: East Africa; Game park; Idi Amin; Interests; Safari

Subjects: Danger; Finance; Great Rift Valley; Hunting; Kampala (Uganda); Kenya; Machakos (Kenya); Nairobi (Kenya); Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Kenya; Recreation; Safety; Tourism; Tourists; Uganda; Volunteers

Partial Transcript: How did . . . how did your Peace Corps experience, or maybe it did or it didn't . . . didn't it, impact what you did after, you know, in the next you know, few years after you returned to San Francisco and wherever you went after that ?

Segment Synopsis: Der considers how his Peace Corps experience influenced him to work to improve the social conditions in the immigrant-heavy community of Chinatown in San Francisco. Consequently, Der taught English to adult immigrants for two years. Then, Der spent twenty-three years working for a Chinese affirmative action organization. Der remarks upon the fact that around a third of the volunteers in his cohort went on to have a career in international development.

Keywords: Community involvement; Community service; International development; Jobs; Problems; Returned Peace Corps Volunteers; San Francisco (Calif.); Teaching English as a second language

Subjects: Career; Change; Discrimination; Emigration and immigration; Health; Immigrants; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Kenya; Poverty; Racism; San Francisco (Calif.); San Francisco Bay Area (Calif.); Teaching

Partial Transcript: And you mentioned you two--um--have kept in touch with some of the other international folks--uh--over the years. --Uh--are you still in touch with anyone, any of the Kenyans who were . . . who you got to know and because you know there's a lot that's happened in Kenya as well . . .

Segment Synopsis: Der explains why he has been unable to maintain contact with some of the people he met in Kenya. Der has kept some ties to Kenya by donating money to the Kenya Education Fund whose director, Bradley Broder, is a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer.

Keywords: Advice; Attitudes; Contributions; Difficult; Funding; Lack of communication; Returned Peace Corps Volunteers

Subjects: Books; Challenges; Charities; Indiana; Kenya; Mail; Non-governmental organizations; Nonprofit organizations; Peace Corps (U.S.); Peace Corps (U.S.)--Kenya; Regret; Students; Travel