Following a recent report in your newspaper about the work of Concern Universal, several people have asked for details of assignments and conditions accepted by our development workers.
Our volunteers must be at least 21 years of age and prepared to undertake a two-year posting in a Third World community. They will normally have at least two years' post-training experience as a teacher, craft worker, carpenter, engineer, mechanic, agriculturist, a doctor or nurse.
Our role is to co-operate in supplying the necessary technical assistance to developing communities, and to undertake those tasks which either cannot be done are avoided. Many of the work projects undertaken by the international Concern group arc among people with the lowest income, and therefore the emphasis is on the sharing of skills and the development of training facilities. These income-generating schemes, which now involve several thousand women, have already helped many of them to achieve a degree of self-reliance and independence.
David Mahon Organising Secretary, Concern Universal. Liverpool.
Prelate defence
I am a regular reader of neither of your political writers, but a heading including the name of Cardinal Conway on Mr St John-Stevas' article of April 22 is "a too tempting eyecatcher.
There are two small points I would like to make. Bishops deserve respect, and I regret a word like "tyrannical" being used about Bishop Philbin.
I also regret, for personal reasons, the use of "formidable old reactionary" to describe the late Archbishop McQuaid. I knew him. He was my headmaster at one time.
He was a far-seeing educationalist. His gentleness, kindness and dignity impressed all of us. A pupil in trouble found him just, charitable, understanding and forgiving. We all respected and admired him, and I think we loved him. He will in no way be affected by unkind journalistic phrases. J. J. O'Connor Headmaster, Si Bernard's School.
Herringthorpe Valley Road, Rotherham.