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What is an NGO?

 

Non Governmental Organization

 

  • Not officially registered as part of the government 
  • Doesn’t work for profit 
  • Works within the legal framework, either locally, nationally and internationally  

 

If the definition of NGO’s is expanded to that of a Civil Society Organization, NGO’s can be considered part of the sphere of social interaction between the household and the State characterized by:

1.    Community cooperation

2.    Structures of voluntary association

3.    Networks of public communication

 

Why do we have NGO’s?

To solve problems and address issues not being covered/ inadequately covered by governments

 

What is the mandate of an NGO?

The mandate of an NGO may be based on;

·    Needs of the people it is working with

·    Personal Interests of its members

·    Interests of its funding agents (and related conditionality). These agents can be:

·    National Government

·    Foreign Government

·    National Agency

·    International Agency

·    Corporate Organization

·    Private Donations

·    Self-funded from previous projects

·   According to its mandate, the relation ship of an NGO with the State may be

·    Complementary

·    Supplementary

·    Antagonistic

 

Positive & Negative Aspects of N GOs

 

S.No.

Positive

Negative

 

1.

Empower/ Enable/ Raise Consciousness among communities

Empower/ Enable a community at the expense of another community.

 

2.

Represent people or give under-represented people a voice

Claim to represent communities but actually advance their own agenda

Dis-empower people by speaking for them and therefore denying them the dignity of speaking for themselves

 

3.

Work towards improving lives by addressing community is sues

Force communities to work with solutions based on external values

 

4.

Foster international solidarity through sharing economic resources, exchange of ideas, transfer of skills & knowledge

Create dependency on external resources

 

5.

Encourage social harmony & tolerance through sharing common goals and concerns

Polarize communities and create conflict over allocations of funds & resources

 

6.

Provide initial resources to start development

Create false expectations at the start due to non- sustainable work

 

7.

Not elected by dominant majority so can independently carry out work especially for neglected groups

Not accountable to the community which can lead to corruption, exploitation and lack of commitment

 

8.

Effectively work with communities & organizations to meet goals/ targets in accordance with expectations

Produce short-term results as all goals/ targets are time-bound according to the “Project” mode of operati on

 

9.

Contribute to beneficial and lasting improv ements in the lives of disadvantaged individuals

Superficial understanding of problems leads to limited effectiveness of projects i.e. improvement in fewer people’s lives

Inadequate/ Lack of planning resulting in disproportion ate benefits among a community

Operational boundaries between the State and NGO’s may be blurred especially when an NGO starts taking over the “traditiona l” functions of the government in a region, especially with regards to issues like:

·    Poverty alleviation

·    Infrastructure development (e.g. water & sanitation)

·    Housing

·    Public health

·    Literacy & education

·    Environment management & conservation

·    Disaster rehabilitation

·    In some cases, law & order.

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