East Pakistan – Peace Corps Worldwide

Peace Corps Billikens!

Sep 16 2024

RPCVs From St. Louis University “Billikens” by John Coyne Two of the very first Peace Corps Volunteers in 1961 went to my college, St. Louis University: Robrrt Burns graduated in ’59 and went to Pakistan in ’61. Peter McDonough, who graduate in ’61, also went to Pakistan in the fall of ’61. They were among very first 50 PCVs to serve. In the fall of 1961, the Peace Corps had 12,644 applications, and 913 went to training. Nearly one in five (18%) did not finish training. An additional one in ten (10%) would not complete two years of service. This is the lowest worldwide attrition rate ever recorded. (26%). Three-quarters of those who reported for training completed two years of service. The average Volunteer age was 24.5 years. Bob Burns (East Pakistan 1961—63) Bob Burns of St. Louis U. was first assigned to Tanzania I in July 1961. . . .

David G. Miller, MD (1931-2023) early PC physician

Feb 17 2023

Dr. David G. Miller, 92, died in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, February 5, 2023. Dave was both physician and pioneer. For the U.S. public health Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), he was an early officer in its Epidemic Intelligence Service, staffed by specialists known as “disease detectives. As the Peace Corps started in 1961, he became its first physician fielded in South Asia, based in Dacca, East Pakistan (now Dhaka, Bangladesh). For the first Peace Corps team in mainland Asia, “Pakistan 1”, he played a key role in the first experiment in placing Volunteers with host families to hasten learning Bengali language and culture. He arranged medical care for Volunteers posted around the province. His work later saved the lives of two who were injured by severe illness and a traffic accident. Thus, all 30 “Pakistan 1” Volunteers served their full two years. Dave also travelled to India, . . .

Talking with Carl Murry (Pakistan) about THE G-K PROJECT

Apr 01 2021

Carl talks about his new book • Carl, where and when did you serve in the Peace Corps? I served in East Pakistan, which is now Bangladesh, from 1962 to 1964. I also served as Associate Peace Corps Director for agriculture, education and appropriate technology in Swaziland from 1978 to 1981, and served as a trainer for CAST, CREST, and pre service training in the 1980s. What was your Peace Corps project assignment? Training agriculture extension agents in the Ganges-Kobadak Irrigation project. The assignment evolved into developing farmer Clubs to support new and improved agriculture practices in their areas, starting a technical library, publishing a monthly newsletter, Recognizing “Master” farmers and being the team leader. What kind of work did you do? Initially we set up irrigation committees to distribute water from the tertiary canals to small, highly fragmented fields. This required a high level of cooperation. Each committee discussed . . .