CORSO APPEAL

Press, Volume LXXXVIII, Issue 26671, 4 March 1952, Page 3

CORSO APPEAL

NATIONAL BROADCAST BY MR C. S. FALCONER

“CORSO’s work makes for a friendlier world,” said Mr C. S. Falconer, deputy-chairman of the Dominion Council of CORSO, in a national broadcast last evening, opening CORSO’s 1952 campaign for funds. Mr Falconer recalled that Mrs Raksha Saran, vice-president of the All-India Women’# Conference, Who was recently in New Zealand, had described CORSO as “a big link between nations; a powerful means of maintaining peace.” Many letters of thanks received by CORSO from recipients of aid showed that this was true. Sometimes they were not well worded, for some of the letters were written by Indians, Greeks or Germans whose knowledge of English was limited. Sometimes they were not in English at all. But the words always meant the same—a simple, but heartfelt “thank you” from the under-privi-leged peoples of the world to one of the most fortunate of peoples. CORSO was earning the gratitude of peoples all over the world, and was thereby helping to build ties of friendship between this country and other lands.

From last year’s funds CORSO had sent large consignments of milk powder for distribution to refugee women and children in India and Pakistan, and had sent other relief supplies not only to Asia, but also to Europe. In addition it had given support to various rehabilitation projects such as the Salonika Rural Training School, and the Allahabad Agricultural Institute. At the Salonika school, Greek girls from poor families were taught crafts and skills that would better equip them to earn a livelihood in their villages with the existing resources. At the Allahabad Institute, CORSO supported a New Zealand agricultural specialist, Mr Joseph Short, formerly of New Plymouth, who was doing an outstanding job in introducing new techniques to Indian peasant farmers. There were many other projects in the fields of both relief and rehabilitation that CORSO was’assisting. How much aid was given in 1952 wbuld depend on the result of the appeal for funds now launched.