“Embittered People Danger To Society”

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28543, 24 March 1958, Page 12

“Embittered People Danger To Society”

The unfortunate persons in any community—the crippled, delinquent, or homeless—could easily become embittered through the community’s lack of feeling, and embittered people were dangerous, said Mr D. Q. Mulock Houwer, in Christchurch yesterday. “Embittered people are dangerous because they undermine the security of society,” he said. As secretary-general for the International Union for Child Welfare, Mr Mulock Houwer has seen the effects of this embitterment in many communities, including Greece, Korea, France, and the Lebanon.

His organisation, from its headquarters in Geneva, helped to co-ordinate the activities of voluntary welfare organisations for children in 50 countries, said Mr Mulock Houwer, who is a Dutchman. From their small staff of 20, and with the short-term assistance of experts in many fields, the union drew up welfare programmes at the request of member-bodies and, sometimes, at the request of Governments. Co-operation with U.N. “We co-operate with United Nations’ agencies, but, as we represent voluntary organisations, we can often operate where the U.N.-sponsored bodies cannot,” he said. One of their staff, or a small team, will study the problem—be it juvenile delinquency, malnutrition, the after effects of war or earthquake—and draw up a programme. ~ This might call for the digging of new wells, the building of roads, the establishment of a medical clinic or kindergarten or the opening of a creche. Whatever plan of action was recommended was placed before the body which fought the report.

I.U.C.W. would train staff on the spot to manage the programme and would then quietly withdraw when it was firmly established, he said.

“We feel it much better to train staff in their own countries than to send th6m to the United States, Australia, or the Netherlands for training. Our programme must be adjusted to the circumstances of the community “Over the years we have made our mistakes, and we find that often the staff we have trained overseas come back to their own people stuffed full with big ideas and no opportunity to carry them out—they become more critical than constructive.

Mutual Advantage “We ourselves learn more from training them in their own countries than in teaching them in ours, and it is to their advantage, too, to learn to cope with the problems they alone face,” he said.

New Zealand, through the Save the Children Fund and its sponsorship of destitute children was, per capita, one of the best-con-tributing members of thfe union, said Mr Mulock Houwer. While in Christchurch he met Miss M. G. Havelaar, Dominion president of the Save the Children Fund. In Wellington tomorrow he will discuss welfare problems with the Minister in charge of the Child Welfare Department (Miss M. B. Howard). He expects to leave New Zealand early in April.