The value of USAID
To the Editor:
USAID is an agency that promotes goodwill while fostering trust and friendships with everyday people in developing countries. As a Peace Corps volunteer in Lesotho, I wrote a grant to build broiler and pullet cages and a fenced, chicken-free range on a community farm. The meat raised was donated to the local school cafeteria.
In Liberia, I wrote a grant for constructing an agriculture classroom at a Catholic K-12 school. In addition, USAID paid for all of the agriculture building materials and compensated local construction labor through salaries. That grant also included a storage cabinet for farming tools, three-dozen garden tools and water buckets, student desks, a large patio and cement-framed, raised garden beds outside the classroom.
Both grants required input from local stakeholders, the less fortunate and common people. USAID funded both grants. Shutting down that agency undermines our friendly relationships with ordinary people in developing countries. Shutting down that agency eliminates a way to raise the standard of living and create opportunities for those experiencing poverty.
John Clayton, Brooklyn
