Four Remaining Peace Corps Projects
Four remaining projects that Bill Moyers listed in his early memorandum started Training in the summer of ’61. Come fall, the number of new Training groups rapidly increased on the campuses of the U.S. and at the Peace Corps Training Site in Arecibo, Puerto Rico. The Peace Corps was in full swing. I’ll stop listing them now, before I run out of space.
Pakistan (East and West): Two pilot projects in agriculture, education, and community development are being undertaken–one in West, the other in East Pakistan. Peace Corps Volunteers will serve as junior instructors in Pakistan colleges; teach new farming methods and maintenance of improved farming implements; organize youth clubs; and work in hospitals.
In West Pakistan, Volunteers stationed in Lahore and Lyallpur will work on hospital staffs, on college faculties and staffs, and as members of agricultural extension teams. Volunteers to East Pakistan will be assigned to government ministries, a village development academy, and the faculty of a university. They will also help build a planned satellite city. Volunteers required: 30 Volunteers in West and 33 in East Pakistan. Training: Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado August 30–November 1, 1961. It was directed by Pauline Birkey, Coordinator of the Peace Corps’ West Pakistan Project Committee. Trainees also went to Arecibo, Puerto Rico from November 10–December 7, 1961.
East Pakistan Volunteers Trained at The Experiment In International Living, Putney, Vermont, August 21-October 14, 1961.It was directed by Reed Alvord, Administrator of the Peace Corps’ East Pakistan Project, and Director of Information, the Experiment in International Living.
Philippines: Peace Corps Volunteers in the Philippines will assist in improving the quality of English spoken in rural areas and in raising teaching standards in both English and general science. They will help Filipino teachers of rural elementary schools teach their students to speak better English and increase understanding of scientific principles. Volunteers will be assigned as educational aides on Filipino teaching staffs in four major regions. They will supplement, not replace, Filipino teachers. It is expected that by June 1962 up to 300 Peace Corps Volunteers will be serving as educational aides. The first group of 128 Volunteers arrived in the Philippines in October, 1961.
Training was at the Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania. July 25-September 15, 1961.It was directed by Dr. Paul Bixby, Assistant Dean, in Charge of Continuing Education.
St. Lucia:The agricultural and rural community development project on the island of St. Lucia is designed to serve as a pilot project for other islands in the West Indies Federation which have similar economic and social conditions. 16 Volunteers were in the first group. Training was at Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa from August 1-31, 1961. It was directed by Dr. Franklin P. Gardner, Professor of Agronomy, Iowa State University.
Tanganyika:Engineering, surveying and geological mapping–these were the tasks of the Peace Corps Volunteers in Tanganyika, a UN trust territory that gained full independence in December 1961. Volunteers were assigned to build a network of small farm-to-market roads extending to even the most remote agricultural areas, to develop a system of main territorial roads that will be passable in both the rainy and dry seasons, and to do preliminary geological mapping for exploration of mineral resources. Volunteers required: 10 civil engineers, 5 geologists (4 hard rock, 1 soft rock) and 20 surveyors were requested. Training was in three phases, covering four and one-half months in the United States, Puerto Rico and Tanganyika. The U.S. Training Center was at Texas Western College, University of Texas, El Paso, June 25-August 20, 1961. It was directed by Dr. Clyde Kelsey, Jr., Texas Western Professor of Psychology and Chair of the Inter-American Institute.
The Sierra Leone I invitees to a teaching program initially gathered in Washington, DC, for medical tests and orientation. They were then flown to Puerto Rico where they spent a month near Arecibo (Rio Abajo) undergoing a version of the now famous Outward Bound training program. Upon completion of that phase they transferred to Columbia University Teacher’s College in New York City for an additional two months of training. They immersed themselves there studying Sierra Leone’s culture, customs, history and languages. The original group numbered 50. When they departed for Sierra Leone, however, only 37 PCVs boarded the propeller-driven, four- engine Pan Am Airways Clipper. It flew from Idlewild Airport via the Azores, where the plane stopped for refueling on the 18-hour journey to the country that would be their home for two years. Interestingly, all 37 members of the group completed the two-year assignment despite assorted accidents, illnesses and other distractions that occurred. It was quite a group!
[…] John Coyne created an interesting post today on John Coyne Babbles – Four Remaining Peace Corps ProjectsHere’s a short outlineCome fall, the number of new countries and new projects rapidly increased on the campuses of the U.S. and at the Peace Corps Taining Site in Arrecibo, Puerto Rico. I’ll stop listing them now, before I run out of space. … […]