Mrs. Castle's Blueprint
SIR,—Quoodle's high praise for the contribution made to the development of friendship with the developing countries by school-leaver volunteers is fully justified. His implied denigration of those same young men and women three or four years later, after training in university, agricultural college or hospital, suggests he identifies himself with criticisms as narrow as they are out of date.
The advantages gained by volunteers are unques- tioned. Their contribution is to fill the present gap in skilled manpower experienced by developing countries and so we must try to satisfy the needs, as felt by those countries. These are for teachers in universities, technical and training colleges, and schools, for agriculturalists, for doctors and medical auxiliaries, for trained social workers and assistants in homes for the disabled.
With over a thousand volunteers in the field this autumn, involving the assessment of as many pro- jects, it is absolutely necessary to have representa- tives overseas, as visits by VSO staff are insufficient in themselves. Nearly two years ago the British Council offered to allow its representatives in these countries to act, independently of their primary functions, as VSO's overseas arm. Warm tributes have been paid by recent volunteers to the way in which they have been supported by our overseas arm without any fuss.
Quoodle's statement that 'the countries prepared to admit volunteers have dwindled' is best answered by the facts:
00 CT ‘01 3 t2
CYN Cr, ON ON CPS C7N
4 18 25 42 54 59 57 (62)
36 152 335 (605)
18 61 86 176 284 349 395 (462) (a) Number of countries. (b) Graduate and professionally qualified volunteers. (c) School-leavers, ex-apprentices, police cadets, farm institute volunteers.
D. H. WHITING Director Voluntary Service Overseas, 3 Hanover Street, WI [Quoodlc implied no denigration of university graduates. What he does denigrate is the syktem of overseas aid which seeks to rely entirely on 'specialists' channelled through arms of the British government. VSO was originally independent of this and therefore gained entry to countries who regard anything connected with the British government with the gravest suspicion. The number of countries actually admitting volunteers was bound to go up in time. This is not the same as countries 'prepared to admit.' When Somali/British relations were broken off, under the new system Britain withdrew her volunteers. This is surely very sad. It would not have happened under the old.—Editor. Spectator.]
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