ABSTRACT
During the mid-1970s, private voluntary organizations (PVO) were publicly praised as examples of how international development agencies could aid the rural poor. PVO supporters in Congress credited them with managing development projects with a minimum of agency overhead and a maximum amount of beneficiary participation. The literature on US PVOs involved in international development is sparse, and little is written by those who have worked in PVOs. This is unfortunate since valuable experience remains unmined on issues of organization and project design, evolution of nationwide health programs, interface between the PVO, villages and government bureaucracies, and the degree to which the poor actually participate in programs. The chapter examines Catholic Relief Services program operations in Upper Volta and Togo to determine the degree and types of participation present. The single abundant resource of many African countries is the people. However, without sufficient food available to feed increasing populations, nutritional health becomes a critical problem.
