Minnesota USAID contractor: Program’s future is unclear
USAID humanitarian aid destined for Venezuela is displayed for the media at a warehouse next to the Tienditas International Bridge on the outskirts of Cucuta, Colombia.
Fernando Vergara | AP 2019
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The future of the U.S. Agency for International Development is unclear after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused the agency of “insubordination” and acting against American interests.
USAID has been around since the 1960s and provides foreign assistance, including food aid, to more than 100 countries.
Minnesotan Laura Wangsness-Willemsen has worked as a subcontractor with USAID for eight years. She is a professor of education at Concordia University in St. Paul.
Wangsness-Willemsen spoke with MPR News host Tom Crann about her work and its uncertain future.
Press play above to listen to the full conversation.
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Audio transcript
TOM CRANN: The future of the US Agency for International Development is unclear today, after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused the agency of, quote, insubordination and acting against American interests. Minnesotan Laura Wangsness-Willemsen has worked as a subcontractor with USAID for eight years. She is a professor of education at Concordia University here in St. Paul, and she joins us now with more. Welcome. It's good to talk to you.
LAURA WANGSNESS-WILLEMSEN: Thanks for having me, Tom.
TOM CRANN: Tell me about the work that you do that was or is or was until recently funded by USAID.
LAURA WANGSNESS-WILLEMSEN: Sure. So, as you said, I work at Concordia University, but my expertise is actually in girls' education internationally. So as a subcontractor for USAID, every now and again, I am called in to go to specifically to Tanzania, where I have lived and worked and studied and taught intermittently for 30 years to help evaluate a project or perhaps to support it. The program I'm currently working on is a partnership where USAID works with teachers and parents and community organizations, and the Tanzanian government and education officials to strengthen literacy in thousands of elementary schools.
TOM CRANN: All right, the situation we find ourselves in now or that you find yourself in, what have you been told about your work? Is this a temporary pause or is this more permanent to you?
LAURA WANGSNESS-WILLEMSEN: So we're just not sure. We heard last Monday-- we got the order to stop work. And we know that the program is being evaluated for whether it makes America safer, whether it makes America stronger, and whether it makes America more prosperous. And, from my perspective, as somebody who knows this program and knows other USAID programs, the answer is unequivocally yes. Yes, it does.
TOM CRANN: And, say, remind us again, yes to what? You had a couple of categories there. It does what, this work?
LAURA WANGSNESS-WILLEMSEN: Sure. Sure. Does it make America stronger, safer, or more prosperous?
TOM CRANN: And you'd say it does all of those?
LAURA WANGSNESS-WILLEMSEN: Yeah, I do. I do.
TOM CRANN: And so how do you answer the arguments that this sort of spending maybe is extravagant or better used here domestically. What do you say to that?
LAURA WANGSNESS-WILLEMSEN: Sure. And I hear folks' concern about domestic issues. We certainly have them. I share concerns about them too. But I understand that it's not an either/or. When foreign aid constitutes less than 1% of our of our budget, we get a comparative huge, outsized return on that investment. Not only is the work good, but it bolsters our national security, our partnerships, our businesses, and our international standing.
TOM CRANN: And so USAID has been around since the 1960s. It provides foreign assistance, food aid, and other things to more than 100 countries. So what kind of fallout do you anticipate if programs like yours and others are cut?
LAURA WANGSNESS-WILLEMSEN: Sure. The US aid work stoppage left really urgent work-- whether that's in health or agriculture or education or business development-- it leaves all this work, these partnerships. It leaves this work undone. And I'll just give an example. In Tanzania, when you walk around, you might come across a sign saying, "This project is funded by USAID, a gift from the American people." And, in fact, that's how people view that.
And so our sudden withdrawal is as if we're saying we're leaving this friendship, we're abandoning partnerships. And when we do that, I think it's antithetical to the deepest nonpartisan values that we've been proclaiming for many, many years. So I'm concerned that it damages our standing in the world and, ultimately, is not in our best interest as a country.
TOM CRANN: Well, Laura Wangsness-Willemsen, working as a subcontractor with USAID for eight years, a professor of education at Concordia University here in St. Paul, thanks very much for your perspective. I appreciate it.
LAURA WANGSNESS-WILLEMSEN: Thanks so much for having me. Take care.
LAURA WANGSNESS-WILLEMSEN: Thanks for having me, Tom.
TOM CRANN: Tell me about the work that you do that was or is or was until recently funded by USAID.
LAURA WANGSNESS-WILLEMSEN: Sure. So, as you said, I work at Concordia University, but my expertise is actually in girls' education internationally. So as a subcontractor for USAID, every now and again, I am called in to go to specifically to Tanzania, where I have lived and worked and studied and taught intermittently for 30 years to help evaluate a project or perhaps to support it. The program I'm currently working on is a partnership where USAID works with teachers and parents and community organizations, and the Tanzanian government and education officials to strengthen literacy in thousands of elementary schools.
TOM CRANN: All right, the situation we find ourselves in now or that you find yourself in, what have you been told about your work? Is this a temporary pause or is this more permanent to you?
LAURA WANGSNESS-WILLEMSEN: So we're just not sure. We heard last Monday-- we got the order to stop work. And we know that the program is being evaluated for whether it makes America safer, whether it makes America stronger, and whether it makes America more prosperous. And, from my perspective, as somebody who knows this program and knows other USAID programs, the answer is unequivocally yes. Yes, it does.
TOM CRANN: And, say, remind us again, yes to what? You had a couple of categories there. It does what, this work?
LAURA WANGSNESS-WILLEMSEN: Sure. Sure. Does it make America stronger, safer, or more prosperous?
TOM CRANN: And you'd say it does all of those?
LAURA WANGSNESS-WILLEMSEN: Yeah, I do. I do.
TOM CRANN: And so how do you answer the arguments that this sort of spending maybe is extravagant or better used here domestically. What do you say to that?
LAURA WANGSNESS-WILLEMSEN: Sure. And I hear folks' concern about domestic issues. We certainly have them. I share concerns about them too. But I understand that it's not an either/or. When foreign aid constitutes less than 1% of our of our budget, we get a comparative huge, outsized return on that investment. Not only is the work good, but it bolsters our national security, our partnerships, our businesses, and our international standing.
TOM CRANN: And so USAID has been around since the 1960s. It provides foreign assistance, food aid, and other things to more than 100 countries. So what kind of fallout do you anticipate if programs like yours and others are cut?
LAURA WANGSNESS-WILLEMSEN: Sure. The US aid work stoppage left really urgent work-- whether that's in health or agriculture or education or business development-- it leaves all this work, these partnerships. It leaves this work undone. And I'll just give an example. In Tanzania, when you walk around, you might come across a sign saying, "This project is funded by USAID, a gift from the American people." And, in fact, that's how people view that.
And so our sudden withdrawal is as if we're saying we're leaving this friendship, we're abandoning partnerships. And when we do that, I think it's antithetical to the deepest nonpartisan values that we've been proclaiming for many, many years. So I'm concerned that it damages our standing in the world and, ultimately, is not in our best interest as a country.
TOM CRANN: Well, Laura Wangsness-Willemsen, working as a subcontractor with USAID for eight years, a professor of education at Concordia University here in St. Paul, thanks very much for your perspective. I appreciate it.
LAURA WANGSNESS-WILLEMSEN: Thanks so much for having me. Take care.
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