A GLOBAL ODYSSEY: Logbook Five Canadians Coming of Age in the Third World the Story Of

A GLOBAL ODYSSEY: Logbook Five – Canadians Coming of Age in the Third World – The Story of CUSO in the 1960s

“Canada has three frontiers now. The north, that frontier we all dream of and do so little about. The changing frontier of our own identify as a nation – which is largely within us and receives the bulk of our attention. And the new worlds of Asia, Africa and South America – now not in terms of culture or discovery or settlement – but now in their breaking of colonial ties and now in their search, often desperate, for undogmatic formulas within government, technology and education that might enable them to break free of man’s ancient scourges of poverty, ignorance and disease.

The organization which is CUSO, Canadian University Services Overseas, works on this third frontier. It is in essence a medium for individual concern in action.”

—From the book on CUSO, Man Deserves Man,

by Bill McWhinney and Dave Godfrey (1968)

The Origins of CUSO

I played nodirectroleintheproposalsthatledto theofficiallaunchof CUSOin Juneof1961—andhavenoclaim tobeconsidered asoneoftheearlyfounders.But, as ayoung teacherinvolved since1958inthisnewthinking aboutCanada’sresponseto theemerging ThirdWorld,I was afly onthewall atmany of thediscussionsthateventuallyledto thefounding ofCUSO.

My earlierrolein the African Students Foundation (ASF)andCrossroads Africaledmeto meetand engagein planning sessionswith someofthekeyfounders of CUSOasthey, initially, each workedat designing theirown particularversions ofavolunteerprogram toconnectCanadianswith Third Worldcountries.Thesevarioussmallvolunteerorganizations,createdbyyoung graduatestudentsand young professionals,of whomI wasone,were thecatalyststhatledto theeventualcreationofCUSOin 1961.

1

LOGBOOK FIVE: Excerpt 30

These early catalystsincluded:

• Keith Spicer:was then a graduatestudentattheUniversity ofToronto(laterCanada’sLanguageCommissioner).Inspired bythewritings ofDonald Faris (a CanadianmissionaryturnedUN aid worker). Spicerhad soughttheassistance of ConservativeMPFredStinson inlaunchingCanadian OverseasVolunteers(COV)by sending 15 volunteersto assignmentsinAsia.
• Guy Arnold:He was then Headmaster atPickering Collegeand later a leaderin theInternationalPeaceCorpsSecretariatand aneffectiveglobalactivistagainstSouth African Apartheid. Heorganizedhisversionofour Crossroads Africa which he called CanadianVolunteerCommonwealthService (CVCS). That small organization offeredbriefcross-culturalworkcampsin JamaicaforCanadian high schooland universitystudents.
• BillMcWhinney: was anearlyvolunteer in SriLanka, initially with COV. As it becamepartofthenewCUSOhebecamean earlyCUSOvolunteer. Anatural leaderand organizer, hebecamethefirstfull timeExecutiveDirectorofCUSO in 1963. Inthoseearlydayshewasatirelesspromoterand organizer for CUSO—engagingvolunteersto sign on,travelling abroadtofind theplacements andraising thefunds required. In later lifehebecameanofficial inCIDA,rising toVice President.Hislast government postingwas asCanada’srepresentativeto theInter-AmericanDevelopmentBank.
• Duncan Edmonds:wasanold friend fromEtobicokeCollegiatedays, who wasworkingas anassistantto PaulMartin, theMinister for ExternalAffairs. Duncan later served asaCrossroader,created the Miles forMillions Fund as aninnovativefundraising breakthroughand wasoneof thecreators oftheCompany ofYoungCanadians—a later domestic versionof CUSO.

Although Crossroads Africa,withits ongoing focus onsummer assignments in Africa, didnotjoin thenewCUSO,mostof theother new volunteer programs didbecomeCUSOmembers. Indeed CUSO, inthebeginning, was anorganizationofmemberorganizations which by 1962included:

• theCanadianAssociationofMedicalStudents and Interns
• Canadian Overseas Volunteers
• National ConferenceofCanadian UniversityStudents
• NationalFederationofCanadian UniversityStudents
• StudentChristian Movementof Canada
• University ofBritish ColumbiaPresident’s Committeeon StudentServiceOverseas
• WorldUniversityServiceofCanada
• Canadian VoluntaryCommonwealthService.

MyrolewithCrossroadsled meto beinvitedto many oftheearlylarge meetingsof stakeholdersinCUSO and through someofthesesessions I gotmyfirstintroductionto University and NGO politicsthat can bequitefierce. Intheearly yearsofCUSO, amajor focusof thepolitics of universities and non-governmental organizations (NGOs)involvedjockeying todeterminewhich nationalorganization would gain controlof the newCUSOorganization.

Theacademicinnovator, who, inmy mind deservesmuch credit for creatively managing thecompeting interestsof various NGOsand university “politicians”,was FrancisLeddy, thenVicePresidentoftheUniversityof Saskatchewan. Heimpressedmegreatlywith hisabilitytonurturediversestakeholders intoalignmentaround a collaborativestructure. Leddy wasaided in theimplementationoftheinitial CUSO structurebyGeoffAndrews, Executive Director of theAssociationofUniversities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC) and by LewisPerinbam, aMalaysian immigrant, who laterbecame a World Bankemployee, aDirectorofWorld UniversityServiceofCanada and a VicePresidentof CIDA. Atthebeginning of thesixties when CUSO was launched hewas AssociateSecretary oftheCanadian Commission for UNESCO.

In a creativehandling of competing interests,Leddy,Andrews,Perinbamandothersarranged forthefragileearlynational organization to becomean AssociateCommitteeoftheCanadian Universities Foundation as partof the Foundation’snewInternational Program Division.

The chair oftheCanadian UniversityFoundation,Dr. ClaudeBissell,Presidentof theUniversity ofToronto, alongwith itsExecutiveDirector,GeoffAndrews,offered CUSO theprotection oftheUniversitiesFoundation. Bydoing so theygaveCUSO a national brand and providedsomestabilityand greatflexibilityfortheneworganization tofind itsown way.

CUSO fairlyquicklybecamea mobilizing vehiclefor pulling together a diversesetof interests,individuals and initiatives all concernedwithengaging Canadians with theemergingThird World. TheCanadian Commission for UNESCOloaned Lewis Perinbam tobetheActing ExecutiveDirector.Thoseof usworking in thisnewfield weretoexperienceand appreciate our introductionto Lewis’ssensitiveand creativedrivetonurturecollaborationand innovation in thefledgling international development, NGO community.

CUSO’s Early History

Thereisnoneed formetousethis Excerpt toprovidean abridged versionof the history ofCUSOasit has beenwelldocumented in several publications and articles. This includesonebyIan Smillie,oneoftheparticipantsin ourfirstorientation atWestern Universityin1967,(seeThe Land ofLostContent).Thefirstfull bookon CUSOwasMan Deserves Man,written bytheinitial leaderofCUSO,Bill McWhinney. Hisco-author was David Godfreywho, following his CUSOexperience,wasoneofthefounders of AnansiPress.

The most recent account was published in 2012 and is entitled, Canada’s Global Villagers: CUSO in Development 1961-90.The author of this more recent book is Ruth Brouwer, Professor of History Emerita at King’s College, Western University. Ex-CUSO volunteers have praised her bookwith such comments as, “This is the book that a thousand returned volunteers intended to write,” I particularly like this book because it was not written by a volunteer but rather by a seasoned academic. I know from talking with Ruth that one of her intentions was to use her work as a catalyst and a potential model to encourage other academics to address their skills to tell the stories of many Canadian nonprofit initiatives in the Third World. She feels that they should be seen as subjects for serious research in contemporary Canadian social and political history. I particularly applaud Ruth for that effort and I look for more of these kinds of studies to appear.

CUSO’s Initial Structure and Early Operating Principles

Thespiritofthe initiallocal studentactivists in CUSO influenced the organization’s earlystructureand operating principles.For example, thedriving forcein theearly yearswasthelocal CUSO committeeson thecampuses andcolleges acrossthecountry. BySeptemberof1962 therewere44 ofthemand theyweretheearlypowerin CUSO.This spiritof decentralization is highlighted in theminutes of CUSO’s firstannualmeeting atMcMaster University. Theseminutesand other documentsweresentto meatthetimebyBillMcWhinney, although I had no official positionwith CUSO). In a recentre-reading, I wassurprised to notethefollowing in theminutes:

“CUSOis nota national organization in the usual senseand cannotbe comparedtoorganizationssuch asthe National Federation of Canadian UniversityStudentsorWorld University Servicesof Canada. Itis aservice,aninstrumentofthe Universitycommunity, tohelp Canadianswishing toserve overseasand to help overseasgovernmentswishing their services. CUSO is notand should notbe a bureaucracybutactsasamiddlemanmerely facilitatingtherelationship betweenindividuals andthe overseasgovernments.”

The operating principles embedded in the above statements speak to some idealistic values, worthy of support. But the challenge of creating a flexible, caring, innovative and non-controlling structure to support such a positive movement was to bedevil the CUSO team through much of its existence.

Thetag lineforthepurposeofCUSO became:“To Serveandto Learn”andtheearlyorganizers wereadamantthatvolunteersweretoserve onlywhere local governments asked forthem. They weretooperateunder contractualconditionsbasically thesameas local professionals. This was quitedifferentfromcontractarrangements formostothernational aid programs, which werearising,including theAmericanPeaceCorps. Theattitudeandspirit oftheCUSO“volunteers”, whileit mayappear naïvetosometoday,wasofparamountimportancetotheearly volunteers. Thesensewasthat in this newfield ofinternational development,Canada, a non-colonialpower,mightperhapsmakea uniquecontribution byoffering honestservicewithtact, discretion,sensitivityand atlocalpayconditions.

My Purpose in Reflecting on CUSO and My Participation in It

I aminterested in drawingon theCUSO storyandmy personal involvementtofurther explain totoday’s readers thethinking and motivationthatwasemerging among young Canadians in thesixties with regard to their interactions with Third World countries.

Byspotlighting profiles ofa fewCUSO individuals withwhomI interacted, Iwill alsoexplorehowtheir commitmenttotheearlyinternationalvolunteermovementhelped lead many of them to illustrious careerswhich influenced theevolutionof Canada’s officialpolicies andparticipation in theThird World,aswell asthecountry’s relationshipswith visibleminoritiesin Canada.

Finally, I wanttoreflecton howmypersonalinvolvementin CUSO’s programs impactedmy thinking aboutdevelopment,cross-cultural education, andmanagementofprogramsand projects. Thisexperiencehelped influence many ofthelaterstrategies inmypersonal Odyssey.

SomeContextforUnderstandingtheDriversBehindCUSO: The Legacyofthe Depression and World WarII

AsIreflectonmanyeffortsofmembersofmygenerationtoengagethemselves the 1950’s and 60’sinthecreationofnewinstitutions,Iassumethattheircouragetocreatenewinitiativesandorganizationswasinfluencedbytheirdirect awarenessofthemajoreconomicand politicalchangesintheworldintheperiodfromthethirtiestothe sixties.Manyinmygenerationhad asense that we were livingthrough aperiodof majortransformationsandthatourgenerationwasexpectedtotake an activeinterestinthesechanges.

Universitygraduates in the late1950s and early 1960s, like myselfwere, for themostpart,Depression babies (born in the 1930s). We had been anxiousobserversofWorldWar II—oftentied directlytothewarbyinvolvementofparents andrelatives. Formany ofmygeneration therewas a senseofawarenessthat so much ofwhat familiesdepended on forsecurity was fragile.This awarenessled sometobecautious intheir approach tolife. Atthesametime, aquitedifferentforce emergedin others. It arose froma recognitionofthenear domination oftheworld by violentfascists;thehorrorof theatomicbombs;and therecognition that thoseof usinNorth Americawereespeciallyblessed. Wehad singularlyavoidedthedirectdestructionof thewarand Canadians and Americansstood almostalonein theworld asthetwo nationsthat mostbenefitted fromthe war and experienced post-war economic growth.

Formany young graduatesthis instilled in usa strongsensethatour generationneeded tosupportefforts both torebuildother war-ravaged nations andtobuild collaborativelocalinstitutionalarrangements. Wefelt aneed tobevocal inour supportof national and international institutionstohelp ensurethatWWII didtrulybecome“thewartoend all global wars.”

Therewereno majorcampaigns or public educationalefforts toinstillin us this senseof responsibilityforthewellbeing ofothersthroughouttheworld. Rather,it was a quietforce that gained momentumand influenced thepersonal and, in somecases, theprofessional decisionsofmanyofmygeneration.

PromotingSupportforAfrica:CUSO,ASF,Crossroads,HamiltonGoodwillAfrica

During theearlysixties I and many otherindividualsthrewour supportbehinda numberof neworganizationsconcernedwith Africa, asopposedtobeing focusedonlyononeorganization. Therewas a quietsenseof collaboration andmutual support.

Wetookpersonalresponsibilityfor welcoming thearriving African students andproviding personalmentoring both academicand personal,organizing birthdayparties, Christmascelebrations,and summer jobs—untilwehelped anothergroup createaneworganization,FriendlyRelations withOverseas Students (FROS),which laterevolved into theCanadian Bureau for International Education(CBIF).

Wehelpedeachotherwith fundraising effortsthrough banquets and concerts and in Londonweorganizedcollaborativefundraising for CUSO, ASF and Crossroads Africa, under thebanner oftheThree-in-OneCampaign.

Togetherwe alsoorganized Books for Africa—storing thousandsof themin BeckCollegiateforshipmentuntil a neworganization tookon thatrole(OverseasBookCentre, later CODE).

Wealsointroduced Canadiansto someimportantleadersby engaging those leadersinour fundraising dinners andgiving thema public platformfor theirmessagetothe world. Thesespeakers included:

TheSixtiesastheDevelopmentDecade

Optimismaboutwhat could bedonetohelp developing countrieswasthehallmarkofthesixties, which theUnited Nations had labelled as“TheDevelopmentDecade.”

Therewas, however, a naïvesenseamongmanyWesterners thatinputsof economic assistance,supported by someexpertpersonnel andsometechnology,would beall thenewlyindependentcountrieswould need—nowthattheywerefreed fromtheshacklesof colonialism. The general sense, or at least the hope, was that these changes could come fairly quickly

MostCUSOvolunteers no doubtshared someofthisnaivety.Mostalso hada strong desire tohelp makeadifferencepersonally. Somecritics derided their altruismand referred to themas anew“children’scrusade.” Butagenerationofyoung peoplewentintotheCUSOexperience with anabundanceof idealism andoptimism at atimewhen these attributes were greatly needed in a world where so many forces of change were merging to trigger a fundamentally different, highly competitive, fast-changing, global economy.

LET THE JOURNEY CONTINUE!

Contact:

Visit:

Note: An extensive collection of archival resources from Don Simpson’s global odyssey has been organized professionally by the Clara Thomas Archives and Special Collection at York University, Toronto. They are available for public use. (See “Don Simpson Fonds”)

1