Maybe you recall Dr. Lotta Hitschmanova’s appeals for assistance that were broadcast over TV stations across the country.

Here is just a small sample of the dozens of TV PSAs (public service announcements) that Lotta was featured in over the years.

• Korea: vocational training for disadvantaged children. From its beginnings in post World War II Europe, Dr. Lotta made the USC a champion for the rights of disadvantaged children around the world.
• Bangladesh: food for the hungry. Likewise, Lotta took on the fight against hunger with great passion. She ensured that children in need and other vulnerable groups were provided with their essential nutritional requirements, without which they would not be able to survive and thrive.
• India and Lesotho: irrigated farming. Lotta and the USC did not stop at emergency food programs. Over time, they supported agricultural development and training programs, in order that farmers could grow their own food and feed their families themselves.
• Korea: rural development. USC further refined its rural development programs, based on the local needs and skills of the communities it was working with. Here, community livelihoods were achieved by growing medicinal plants and harvesting seeweed.
• Bruce Cockburn talks about Lotta and African farmers. As part of USC Canada’s 60th anniversary celebrations in 2005, USC’s spokesperson Bruce Cockburn made a special PSA for TV. He mentions how his family had supported Lotta because they believed that every individual could make a difference, and he notes how USC is still making a difference – by working with farmers to preserve the land and grow food for the whole community.