Oral history
Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Collection
RPCV-ACC-2019-105
Mary Ward served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Ecuador from 1984 to 1986. Being blind herself, she worked with other blind people in a special education program. She was initially assigned to work as an administrator in Quito, where she worked with blind teenagers. However, due to some difficulties at her first site, she was soon reassigned to Cuenca, where she worked with both a local school and with a club of blind adults called Home for the Blind. Ward states that the Peace Corps changed her view of the world, showing her how to appreciate the good in both her own culture and that of her host country, while acknowledging the shortcomings of both. Through her experience, she has learned to worry less and has gained a greater appreciation of personal relationships. Interviewed and recorded by Christeen Pusch, June 22, 2019. 2 digital audio files (web streaming files combined into 1 file).