Former Fort Collins resident chronicles Peace Corps' early days in Pakistan
Former Fort Collins resident chronicles Peace Corps' early days
By KELLI LACKETT
KelliLackett@coloradoan.com
Interested?
Pauline Birky-Kreutzer will sign "Peace Corps Pioneer" from 3 to 6 p.m. Saturday at Jade Creek Books, 123 N. College Ave. The book is available at Jade Creek Books. The price is $20.
They are countries that have been in the news a lot lately: Iran and Pakistan.
Former Fort Collins resident Pauline Birky-Kreutzer has lived in both places, and she chronicles her experiences in her new book, "Peace Corps Pioneer or 'The Perils of Pauline' " (Pauline Birky-Kreutzer, $20).
Birky-Kreutzer arrived in Tehran in October 1956, after she and her husband were hired by the State Department to work with the Near East Foundation in Iran. With a degree in home economics, Birky-Kreutzer was asked to be an associate adviser for the women's program for the foundation. She trained Iranian women to work in community development, nutrition and literacy.
"Iran was almost a second home. I was there for 2 1/3 years. I learned how to live with the people of that culture." Birky-Kreutzer, 87, said. "We sent women into the villages to do literacy work or teach how to take care of children or different things that would improve their lives. They were very eager to learn."
Iranian women in the villages had little experience with Westerners and were curious about Birky-Kreutzer.
"Once in a while, I took my daughter (age 11) out with me. They couldn't believe that she didn't have a husband already. In many cases, the girls in the villages were betrothed when they were 9 years old and they weren't allowed to live with their husbands until they could bear children," Birky-Kreutzer said.
Not long after returning to Fort Collins from Iran, Birky-Kreutzer began to work for the Congressional Feasibility Study for the Peace Corps.
"I thought it was a great idea but I didn't know whether we could ever get it off the ground. I didn't know whether Congress would approve it." she said. "I had seen the plight of the village people, and I knew they had the capacity for learning."
Birky-Kreutzer later spent almost two years in Pakistan training Peace Corps volunteers.
"My staff was all Pakistani men," Birky-Kreutzer said. "I don't know how they felt about that, but they reacted well to me."
Asked whether it was gratifying to have had not just a career, but an extraordinary one in a time when many women didn't work outside of the home, Birky-Kreutzer reflects on her adventures in an almost matter-of-fact way.
"I never really thought about it," she said. "I had a job I felt I wanted to do and it was important to do."
Originally published Thursday, September 11, 2003
