Page8 RAIN April1981 DO-GOODER DIALOGUE Last November we ran Laura Stuchinsky's "The Do-Gooder Dilemma: Inappropriate Technolo8Y Tmnsfer," Otl the problems involved in aiding devl'ioping countries with their technical support needs. Below are some responses to that article and a comment from Laura. Dear Laura, Before I get to the subject matter of this letter, let me say that several of my colleagues and I at ATI appreciate the crisp perspectives presented each month in RAIN. I personally have been a RAIN habituate since I worked with Farallones in its early days. However, I feel a need to register a response to your article on the foibles of foreign aid which appeared in Last November's issue. Essentially your article appears to reflect a lack of awareness of and/or sensitivity to the approaches and actiVIties of ATI and other organizations (VITA and !TOG) mentIoned. I do not feel that it is constructive to make a blanket association of oUI eHorts with the frequently cited negative consequences of " development assistance" -donor manipulation, consolidation of elites, and technological irrelevance. It may surprise you that ATl provides flexible program support (0 pTogressive indigenous organizations in the Third World. The relationships we have developed with rheseorganizations arc predicated on an analytical approach almost identical to IFDP's Ten Questions to Ask about a Development Project. Critical i~sues such as empowerment of the poor, democratic decentralized management, and participatory processes are frequently evoked in the context of our work. I have few qualms with the substance of your critique. I wish, however, that you (and the folks at lFDP) would take the time to more thoroughly examine the institutions you appear to dismiss out of hand. The foreign aid system you so rigbteously indict may in fact contain alternative undercurrents and individuals with integnty, who need all the support they can get. I would welcome further dialogue with you in the near future. Regards, Thomas Fricke McLean, VA Dear Laura, I really enjoyed your article in the November issue of RAIN on international development; it was stimulating. You raise issues that we raise ourselves, particularly in our training of development workers. Sincerely, Christopher Szccsey oordinator of International Programs Farallones Institute Rural Center Occidental, CA Dear RAIN: Laura Stuch1nsky's characterization of Volunteers in Technical Assistance (VITA) and other development groups in your November 1980 issue implies that we promote " appropriate technologies" without considering social justlce or the real needs of poor people, This just isn't true. Fir~t of all, VITA was not formed during the past decade, as Ms. Stuchinsky writes. It was started in 1959 by a group of scientists and engineers who wanted to share their technical expertise with poor people in developing countries. Long before "small is beautiful" or "appropriate technology" had become fashionable, they realized the possible impact that vanOlla small-s('IIle technologies could have in helping ordinary people abroad. VITA has responded to more than 35,000 technical inquiries since then. Its worldwide network of 4,000 volunteer experts, internationalstaff, and extensive library (mabIe it to provide useful information on almost any development-related subject. Our emphasis has always been to prOVide information and promote technologies that will help the poor. We have close ties with hundreds of community groups throughout the developing world, and have devised many workable solutions with them. We know well that cultural and social questions are as important as techn ical ones. At the same time, we consider it presumptuous for us to only respond to inquiries or project requests tnat come from countries that are somehow more " socially worthy" than others. Ms. Stuchinsky implies that we should help only those who are actively promoting social change or revolution. But who is to make those judgments? Her? Us? The CIA? And even if we did have a list of "acceptable countries," how are we to know whether the individual writing us is a true believer or just a bureaucrat? It is a hopeless task, and one ,vith great potential for arrogance and self-righteousness. We are proud of ou r record in responding to the real needs of people as they express them , not in telling lhem what they need or ought to be doing. It is not our place to shove our good intentions down the throats of others, nor to make development hit lists that preclude us from helping thousands of people who find themselves srruggling with governments that neither they nor we like. Best wishes with the magazine. We may not always agree with what is printed, but it is always interesting and provocative. Henry Norman Executive Director VITA Mt. Ranier, MD
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