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Salient: Victoria University Students' Paper. Vol. 28, No. 2. 1965.

Rotary

Rotary

Rotary was the first to respond to VSA's appeal and is now supporting a team of four New Zealanders and one Thai on two years' voluntary service on community development at Huaykla in north-east Thailand.

This team, known as the Good Neighbour Team, has been in Thailand since February. 1964. Sufficient has been subscribed by New Zealand Rotarians to maintain this team, and also to provide for the purchase of a Land Rover.

The team reports that planned use of the settlement's water resources could transform its economy and greatly improve the health and happiness of the people. Irrigation schemes have therefore been pushed ahead and already the more progressive settlers are learning from demonstrations of intensive market gardening, using peanut husks tor compost.

The people of the settlement of Nikon Song at Huaykla have shown their gratitude to the Rotary-sponsored Good Neighbour Team for the building of their first school by naming it "New Zealand Friendship School."

Jaycees have raised sufficient motley for a national sponsorship on similar lines to the Rotary Good Neighbour Team. Also Jaycees have been busy on VSA's behalf in local communities. An instance of community sponsorship can now been seen getting under way in Hawera.

The Hawera Jaycees, supported by Rotary and Lions clubs and other local organisations as well as the "Hawera Star" are running a campaign to raise £1200—sufficient to maintain a volunteer at work for two years. It is hoped that a volunteer from the Hawera area can be found so that this can be a true community sponsorship.

This is the first occasion on which a community has campaigned for such an object in connection with VSA. But it is hoped that this is only the first of many; indeed the organisation has already had inquiries from several other communities.

A great future for the organisation can be seen in this field. It means especially that the community into which the volunteer goes to work in Asia or the Pacific can identify their volunteer with a whole community back in New Zealand. Help can be sought from local industries and organisations and from the schools.