Interview with Edward Jack Bardon, August 12, 2022

Interview Summary

Edward Jack Bardon, MD’s first contact with Peace Corps was in 1962 when he was a psychiatric consultant for a Peace Corps group training at the University of Minnesota. In 2003 he and his wife Jane applied as PC volunteers. They had traveled and volunteered for short periods in various countries around the world and were looking for a long-term volunteer opportunity. They ended up as health volunteers in Turkmenistan. They requested assignment in a remote village and were placed in Talhattan Baba close to the Afghan border and later in Goekdepe, close to Iran. With persistence and cooperation, they overcame the constant government surveillance and censorship and were able to teach public health and HIV AIDS prevention. In addition they developed and published a medical dictionary in Turkmen, Russian and English, the first medical dictionary in the Turkmen language. They fondly remember the Turkmen people and their fellow volunteers.

Interview Keyword

Peace Corps (U.S.) Turkmenistan (Country of service) 2003-2005 (Date of service) Peace Corps Volunteer Job: Health Turkmenistan Uzbekistan Peace Corps (U.S.)--1960-1970 Peace Corps (U.S.)--2000-2010 Peace Corps (U.S.) – Training (cultural, language, technical) Peace Corps-related medical issues

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