CORSO Appeal

Press, Volume LXXXIV, Issue 25552, 21 July 1948, Page 4

CORSO Appeal

An American observer remarked recently that so fnuch needs to be done in China and the facilities for relief are so” pitifully inadequate that there is never any question of relief funds being spent on undeserving causes. They can be used only to alleviate the worst suffering; and that will leave untouched the far larger field in which misery is at a less extreme level, but nevertheless a level which would horrify the citizens of more fortunate countries. To-day the Canterbury branch of the Council of Organisations for Relief Services Overseas (CORSO) will appeal for funds to send medical supplies, school equipment, and clothing to the 22 New Zealand volunteers who are serving with the international organisations in China. These workers, stationed in various parts of the country, are supervising local relief measures and. training Chinese workers as doctors, nurses, and hospital technicians. Through CORSO they are helping to meet CJiina’s desperate present needs: but they are also helping the Chinese to help themselves in the future. China, of course, is no stranger to misery; but it is to be remembered that the worst of China’s present suffering is the direct result of the war in which her people played so heroip a part. China has a strong claim on the gratitude of all the Allied nations, on Australia and New Zealand most of all. Had not the Chinesei drawn off a large part of Japan’s military strength in the years preceding December, 1941, it is highly probable that Australia and New Zealand would not have come through the war without enemy occupation. Gratitude as well as common humanity demands that the response of the people of Canterbury to the appeal of CORSO to-day should be even more generous than usual; and the province has an enviable reputation for generosity toward worthy causes.