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Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-MR-2009-060-004
Barbara-Jean Payne Janes served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Pakistan from 1961 to 1963 as a teacher. Janes had a degree in chemistry and was part of the very first group sent to West Pakistan. She trained at Colorado State, at the Peace Corps training camp in Puerto Rico, and in-country in Peshawar. Janes was first assigned to teach science at a girl's school in Faisalabad, but after three months she transferred to the Women's College in Peshawar where she taught chemistry and biology. Since 2002, Janes has been involved in a Pakistani-based project to strengthen girls' education and has made several return visits to Pakistan in conjunction with this work. Interviewed and recorded by Robert Klein, June 14, 2009. 2 tapes (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-099
Benny Cespedes served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Pakistan from 1961 to 1963 as an engineering instructor. He was part of Pakistan I, which was only the ninth group to be trained and the seventh group to go abroad in Peace Corps history. His main assignment was to teach engineering in the Lahore Polytechnic Institute. He also worked on building two schools for girls and setting up the Dewey decimal system in the library. Cespedes believed that he did not make any tangible changes, but rather his impact came from interactions with the locals, answering their questions, teaching Pakistanis about the morality of American women, and openly answering questions on how blacks were treated in the United States. He continued his service after Pakistan with Habitat Global Village and Friends of Pakistan USA. Note: Benny's wife, Carol Cespedes, was also present for the interview to assist him. Interviewed and recorded by Jeff Liu, June 22, 2019. 2 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-015
Thomas Michael McMahon served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) from 1961 to 1963 in education and irrigation projects. He was part of the first group of volunteers in mainland Asia. McMahon trained at the Experiment in International Living site in Putney, Vermont, with 31 recruits and studied the Bengali language and the social life and history of East Pakistan. He faced a medical problem and possible de-selection after training and was greatly relieved to enter the country with his group in November 1961. After homestay in Dacca and training in Comilla, he was assigned to teach electricity and physics in a technical school in Rajshahi where he helped to rewire emergency lights and became known as an electrical troubleshooter. In the second year, McMahon served as engineer advisor on the Ganges-Kobadak irrigation project and later became a volunteer leader. After the Peace Corps, he worked as a nuclear engineer and served 8 years as the mayor of Reading, Pennsylvania. McMahon continues with international projects and has two daughters who also became Peace Corps Volunteers. Interviewed and recorded by Patricia Wand, August 25, 2018. 2 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-013
Robert C. Terry, Jr. worked as a Peace Corps contractor from 1961 to 1963 to establish the program in East Pakistan, which was the first in mainland Asia. As a representative of the Experiment in International Living, Terry attended the March 1961 student conference at American University to plan the Peace Corps and then, as a contract staff member, began recruiting volunteers. In August 1961, he welcomed 33 Peace Corps recruits to their training on the Experiment campus in Putney, Vermont. As Peace Corps Provincial Director in East Pakistan, Terry set up, oversaw, evaluated, and revised the placement assignments of volunteers working on a wide variety of projects. Due to his participation in the early days of Peace Corps formation, Terry knew the key players and shares historically significant stories. After his time with the Peace Corps, he built a career in development, including the founding and promoting of service and learning organizations. Interviewed and recorded by Patricia Wand, August 23, 2018. 3 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).
Textual folder
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-090-011
Textual folder
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-090-010
Textual folder
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-090-009
Textual folder
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-090-007
Textual folder
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-058-004
Textual folder
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-058-005
Textual folder
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-058-001
Textual folder
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-057-009
Textual folder
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-057-007
Textual folder
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-009-003
Textual folder
R. Sargent Shriver Personal Papers
RSSPP-028-010
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. White House Staff Files of Harris Wofford
JFKWHSFHW-006-015
Photograph
R. Sargent Shriver Personal Papers
RSSPP-028-010-p0004
Photograph of Sargent Shriver, Director of the Peace Corps in Rawalpindi, Pakistan as part of an eight nation tour. Caption on verso of photo reads: "Mr. Sargent Shriver, Director, US Peace Corps, arrived in Rawalpindi on Friday, May 5, 1961, for one-day visit to Pakistan's interim capital. During his stay in Rawalpindi, he met with President Mohammad Ayub Khan, cabinet ministers, and governmental secretaries, and discussed with them the possible use of American youth volunteers in development work in Pakistan. Mr. Sargent Shriver, Director, U.S. Peace Corps, called on Lieut. Gen. W.A. Burki, Minister for Health, Labor, and Social Welfare, at the latter's office. On the extreme left is Lieut. Gen. Burki. Facing him is Mr. Shriver. Second from right is Mr. James S. Killen, Director of U.S. aid programs in Pakistan. On the extreme right is Mr. Edwin Bayley, a member of Mr. Shriver's party."
Photograph
R. Sargent Shriver Personal Papers
RSSPP-028-010-p0002
Photograph of Sargent Shriver, Director of the Peace Corps in Rawalpindi, Pakistan as part of an eight nation tour. Caption on verso of photo reads: "Mr. Sargent Shriver, Director, US Peace Corps, arrived in Rawalpindi on Friday, May 5, 1961, for one-day visit to Pakistan's interim capital. During his stay in Rawalpindi, he met with President Mohammad Ayub Khan, cabinet ministers, and governmental secretaries, and discussed with them the possible use of American youth volunteers in development work in Pakistan. Picture shows (left to right): Mr. David MacEachron, a member of Mr. Shriver's party; Mr. Justice Shahbauddin, chairman Pakistan Constitution Commission; Mr. Shriver; President Mohammad Ayub Khan; Mr. William M. Rountree, U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan; Lieut. Gen. W.A. Burki, Pakistan Minister of Health, Labor, and Social Welfare; Mr. James S. Killen, Director of U.S. Operation Mission in Pakistan; Mr. Harris Wofford, a member of Mr. Shriver's party; Mr. Akhter Hussain, Minister of Education and Kashmir Affairs of Pakistan; Mr. M. Shoaib, Finance Minister of Pakistan; and Mr. M. Ayub, Finance Secretary, government of Pakistan."
Collection
USPCPC
Photographs, 1961-1968 and undated. Black-and-white images of United States Peace Corps administrators and staff, both at headquarters and in the field, as well as images of volunteers working at their duty stations abroad. Photographers include Rowland Scherman, Paul Conklin and Abbie Rowe.