What has VSA Done in Western Samoa

Most of the praise for the scheme has come from either the returned volunteers or people directly involved with promoting the scheme. Criticisms by the recipients of the scheme have been totally ignored or dismissed as emotional and detrimental to the aims of the Volunteer Service Abroad organisation.

While I am not claiming that the scheme has been totally useless in all parts of the Pacific, a lot of damage done and unnecessary costs have been incurred by the Samoan people. For example various projects have been abandoned or left incomplete by departing volunteers whose one or two year terms had expired. The incoming replacements did not agree with these projects and therefore did not continue them.

The Volunteer Service Abroad organisation should have realised by now that by continually trying to provide short-term solutions to long-term problems in countries like Samoa, is delaying any effort by the Samoan government to implement long-term solutions.

Wouldn't it be better for V.S.A. to collaborate with the Samoan government in assessing the need for qualified people, and then sponsor young Samoans to train in New Zealand in the professions and trades that are most needed? Such a scheme would be similar to the Colombo Plan. As there is a number of young unemployed Samoans with Form 6 education, whose only hope of employment is to immigrate to New Zealand, there would be no shortage of applicants.

However such a suggestion would be very difficult for V.S.A. to accept. Sponsoring Samoans to New Zealand for specialised training would be contrary to V.S.A.'s apparent philosophy, that "we have to go over there otherwise our assistance could not be publicly and internationally recognised". One only has to flick through some V.S.A. publications to notice the great importance placed on the increased number of volunteers leaving New Zealand year after year. And wouldn't it also be interesting to know how many of the numerous commercial firms listed as sponsors would have volunteered as such had the scheme not involved selling V.S.A. overseas?