Assisting The Volunteers

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31319, 15 March 1967, Page 12

Assisting The Volunteers

Skill is often of more lasting benefit to undeveloped nations than gifts or loans of money. This is better recognised today than during the cold-war rivalries between the United States and Russia for the allegiance of the countries they assisted; and it is well recognised in the Colombo Plan training schemes. It is to be hoped, therefore, that the call by Sir Edmund Hillary for specialist staff with agricultural, engineering, and surveying experience for Volunteer Service Abroad schemes in north-east Thailand will be heeded.

The two irrigation projects sponsored by New Zealand organisations are comparatively small, but they are exacting and challenging and will be of real and immediate benefit to the communities concerned. Volunteer Service Abroad has few resources to tempt the skilled staff for these and other projects it undertakes. But New Zealanders have shown that altruism, a concern for less fortunate societies, and the spirit of adventure are not dead: 69 volunteers are now serving in Asian and Pacific countries, using their skills and qualifications to the best advantage. Their fares are paid and living expenses are met; but otherwise these young men and women receive no payment except pocket money. Experience has shown that they gain as much as they give from this service; and New Zealand benefits in many ways from it. These volunteers probably make a greater Impact than other forms of New Zealand aid in the Pacific and South-east Asia. Without disturbing the voluntary nature of the scheme, it should be possible, especially when the current economic stringency has eased, for the Government to assist. One major problem is obtaining volunteers with the right qualifications for specific projects. Many who have spent considerable time in vocational or professional training are reluctant to interrupt careers that are just being established. A scheme by which Government and private employers paid or subsidised salaries, perhaps under a bond, might help to overcome this problem. It would be a small price to pay, for Volunteer Service Abroad fills more than a humanitarian role. It is building good will for New Zealand in areas where one day this country will be competing with others for commercial opportunities. In the struggle for men’s minds, the example of disinterested, voluntary service must make a lasting impression.