Interview with Lenore Sheridan, April 28, 2021

Interview Summary

Lenore Sheridan served in the Peace Corps in Afghanistan from 1967 to 1969 as a health volunteer. Some college friends questioned taking any role with the government because of opposition to the Vietnam War. Her cohort of 44 female volunteers trained in Brattleboro Vermont, with a two-week local immersion in rural towns with no money, no contacts and no lodging to force them to improvise to survive. Her entire cohort was part of an international project to eradicate smallpox, led by WHO. They went with male Afghan or international vaccinators on inoculation sorties to the provinces, in between staying 1-2 weeks in Herat or Kabul. While physical conditions were difficult and the support they received from the government was inadequate, she only had one memorable incident of friction as a Western woman in Afghanistan. On her return, her biggest culture shock was from the women’s liberation movement given conservative nature of women’s roles in Afghanistan. Her cohort has maintained close ties and meet when they can, or hold monthly Zoom calls due to pandemic travel restrictions.

Interview Keyword

Peace Corps Afghanistan anti-war movement School for International Living Vermont Expo 67 FBI Farsi Pashto Afghanistan Ministry of Health World Health Organization (WHO) Herat Province Faisabad Paktia Province Ghazni Province Farah Kochi ethnic group Hazara ethnic group Spiro Agnew Hindu Kush mountains Kabul Islam Ramadan cultural conservatism religious prejudice New Year's Eve smallpox eradication vaccination vaccine hesitancy cholera RPCV group RPCV reunion

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