Vietnam: A Television History; Richard Ehrlich - Province Representative - Gia Dinh Province

Eat eat eat eat eat. Eat. Eat. Eat eat eat eat eat claim is richer girlie. I'm assistant provincial representative in shot in progress. I am 25 years old and my own town is New Haven Connecticut Jordan province completely encircles the capital city of Saigon. And has a population of approximately 1 million 400000 people. I am responsible for all U.S. sponsored programs in three districts. The purpose of the revolutionary development program

is threefold first to foster community development and basic democratic institutions in the hamlets and villages in the countryside. Secondly to give the people the tools and the knowledge they need to carry out projects on their own with some government assistance. And thirdly to assist the people in realizing the projects that they feel they need most for the development of their own Hamlets and through the cooperation of the government and the people bring about a closer identity of the Vietnamese with their country as a nation. My job is to assist the district chiefs in carrying forward these programs with material assistance of the Agency for International Development. The most difficult part of my job and the most difficult job for the Vietnamese government

officials is to overcome the suspicion that the people have of the government from times past and to instill in them hope that the program can be successful and little by little hope is fostered in the minds of the people. The government isn't fact able to carry out legitimate government services for the people in the countryside. This is the hamlet of this Hamlet has a

population proximately 1300 people of whom about one half are fisherman and the other amp are rice farmers. Presently the only approach to this and one. Is by river by boat. When we originally asked the hamlet chief what were the kinds of projects that the people in the AMA wanted most. The first project they wanted was a maternity dispensary because right now when a New Labor must be carried all the way into Saigon which is over an hour and a half by boat. And sometimes this is dangerously long. We asked the people if they were going to be willing to contribute labor and something to the cost of the project and when they agreed we didn't approach the Vietnamese Marine Corps who had a battalion posted in this area for security if their soldiers would be willing to help the people of the family. And it wasn't long before everybody

was working together and now the project is nearing completion. This is a revolutionary idea because in times past the government has always been an identity that only taxed the people and only drove from the people. And rarely if ever rendered any services in return. Now the French for the first time we're witnessing government operations that are meant to directly and materially assist the life of the people and to help them participate in the development of their animals and their villages. Although Who clock tone is located in only four and one half mile south of Saigon. Because it is not served by road it is almost completely cut off from the rest of the country. To date the people have already of their own accord and on their initiative. Build up from the much. Road three and one half miles long. And about

five yards wide. This is involved 90000 man hours of work. Once the road is completed and the bridges are completed the people will be able to commute by bicycle into Saigon in about 25 minutes.