Group XXVII description

Nigeria Group XXVII
Group description:	Teacher
Service years:	1966-68
Number of volunteers :	67
Trained at :	Roxbury MA

67 trainees, mostly secondary school teachers, trained Oct-Dec 1966, Roxbury (Boston) --Phansen 18:57, 10 November 2007 (EST)

Training

The training program began on Saturday, October 8, 1966. Some trainees upon arrival at the training headquarters were told that their names were not on "the list," but not to worry because that was true of others as well.

The training program included both Nigeria trainees (67) and Ghana trainees (19). Unlike most previous training programs it was not housed on a university campus. Trainees lived with families in Roxbury, an African-American section of Boston, and were provided their breakfasts by their host families -- other meals were eaten at local restaurants. Peace Corps rented an old house as the training program headquarters and small apartments for language training and other classes. Plenary meetings took place in the neighborhood AME church.

Roger Landrum, a member of Nigeria II, was the program's director. Trainers included Robin Nilsson (fka Robin Nelson, Nigeria IX) and Frank Starkweather (Nigeria XI). The Educational Development Center, a non-profit corporation, was responsible for the teacher training portion of the program. Part way through the training program, most trainees were placed as student teachers in public and private secondary schools in the Boston area.

The Nigeria trainees consisted of three subgroups, 1) Hausa learners destined for the North, 2) Pidgin English learners destined for the Midwest, and 3) eight Yoruba learners who were assigned to the University of Ife (renamed Obafemi Awolowo University in 1987) in the West.

Near the end of the training program the leadership suggested that we move from Roxbury to Franconia College, a relatively new avant garde liberal arts college in Franconia, New Hampshire. This resulted in a fair amount of disagreement since quite a number of trainees had become involved in community activities from which they did not wish to walk away on such short notice. Nonetheless, by majority vote the decision was made to leave Roxbury.

The training program ended on December 16, 1966, and trainees returned to their homes for the holidays. Of the 67 individuals who started the training program, nine were "de-selected," dropped out, or completed training but chose not to become Peace Corps Volunteers.

--Phansen 16:50, 11 November 2007 (EST)

Arrival In Country

Nigeria XXVII flew from New York to Lagos on January 5, 1967, with a layover in Amsterdam and a stop in Accra(?). Free alcoholic beverages were provided on the New York to Amsterdam flight, and as a memento of the trip passengers were given small pocket knives inscribed with "KLM" -- knives which are currently illegal on commercial flights.

The flight arrived in Lagos at night on a darkened runway at a time of high anxiety in Nigeria. Talks at Aburi (in Ghana) to reduce tensions between the federal government (lead by General Yakubu Gowon) and the Eastern region (lead by Lieutenant Colonel Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu) had only recently been completed (resulting in the Aburi Accord) and the return flight of the federal government's delegation was expected shortly. The presence of numerous armed soldiers on the runway was somewhat unnerving for the rookie Nigeria XXVII PCVs.

Nigeria XXVII members were bussed to the Mainland Hotel where they stayed until being transported to their in-country sites.

--Phansen 16:29, 11 November 2007 (EST)

End of Service

The onset of the Biafran War resulted in many Nigeria 27 PCVs being evacuated from their sites and either transferred to other countries, or allowed to terminate and return home. Nine volunteers transferred to Kenya, seven to Ethiopia, three to both Senegal and Tanzania, two to Sierra Leone, and one to Tunisia. Three volunteers chose termination and one evacuee is unaccounted for. These data were obtained from two old mimeographed documents (one titled "Baggage Status as of June 1, 1968" provides the number of pieces of luggage and their weight for each evacuee). Most of the evacuees served in Nigeria for about eight months.

Although available Peace Corps records are not without errors, it appears as though 28 Nigeria XXVII PCVs served in-country for more than one year. Of these, 17 served approximately two years, and six served significantly more than two years.

--Phansen 22:28, 11 November 2007 (EST)