Community Development Through Self-Help poster (English, Manila)

A horizontal photo-spread poster, 'Supplement to Free World', Volume VI No. 4, April 1957, headed 'through self-help'. Photographs show farmers digging an irrigation ditch, Boy Scouts marching to an agricultural extension centre, women at a home-making demonstration with an ICA technician, a farmer carrying a plough and men working under a raised house. A central text presents barrio Anonas, Urdaneta, Pangasinan, as an example of a Philippine-American community-development partnership. The tell is plain-folks: ordinary villagers are shown as the agents of the programme.

Propaganda techniques used in this poster

Plain folksGlittering generalitiesTestimonial

Date

March 20, 1957

Period

Cold War

Made by

U.S. Information Agency (predecessor: State Department International Information and Educational Exchange Program), Propaganda Posters Distributed in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East series

Region

North America

Country

United States

Medium

Poster

Issuer type

State

Regime

Eisenhower Administration

Leader

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Audience

Foreign public

Purpose

Persuade or win support

Themes

Economy and finance, Home front

Event

Cold War

Source

Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are

Source

U.S. National Archives (NARA), RG 306, Propaganda Posters Distributed in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East, retrieved October 4, 2026

Rights

Public domain (U.S. government work; NARA RG 306)
U.S. Information Agency / Department of State, March 20, 1957. National Archives, Record Group 306 (NAID 6949000, 306-PPB-128).

the idea of self-help is fast becoming a living and tangible thing in many of the country's rural villages. barrio anonas, urdaneta, pangasinan, is just one such example. a project of philippine-american partnership, self-help means community development-- a healthier and happier community of men, women and children.
through self-help
Where men have the spirit and willingness to help themselves, no work is too hard to accomplish. Here farmers help each other and themselves in building an irrigation ditch.
Boy Scouts in rural areas are encouraged to learn about farming and community work. Here they march toward Agricultural Extension Center to hear lectures from visiting specialists.
Self-help does not necessarily mean that each should help only himself --it means a community of men helping one another for the good of all.
Women of the barrio happily receive "technical aid" in the way of home-making demonstration by field worker of Agricultural Extension Service and an ICA technician.
With the help of agricultural technicians who periodically visit him at his field, the farmer learns new and better methods of his trade.
SUPPLEMENT TO Free World VOLUME VI No. 4 APRIL - 1957
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