Mushrooming NGOs/INGOs and Questions

Raj Kumar Yadav

Lecturer, St. Xavier’s College, Kathmandu

raazpeace@gmail.com

Non government organization aid is motherhood. There are number of examples in the world
where the aid has improved societies. It has transformed community from traditional mode to
modern way of life. Whether it is in the matters of disaster or development, NGO’s aid has
covered all spheres of life of the people in developing and underdeveloped countries. So, who
could deny it? Who could be against it?

Though history shows that in a Bangladeshi Village, wells designed to benefit the poorest
farmers become the property of the village’s richest landlords. In Haiti, food for work projects
intended to help the landless poor end up lining the pockets of the village elite. In Indonesia,
rural electricity that was supposed to create new jobs actually destroyed the livelihood of tens of
thousands of poor women.

True in fact but sad to say NGOs in Nepal have also dominated the human life in many ways.
Today the NGO activities could be observed in a variety of degree. We have witnessed that these
NGOs are quite smart in the development and production of social problems. Here, if one says
there are some people in this industry to be paid for emergence and in translating the
contemporary problems in new dimensions; then it would not be a matter of surprise.

In Nepal all non government organizations are monitored by the Social Welfare Council (SWC)
if they wish to get foreign fund. SWC, being established in 1978 has immense role in the
monitoring and evaluation of these organizations. Provisions have been made that none of the
organizations can work without prior permission of SWC in terms of foreign aid. In last 32 years
SWC has given a numbers of affiliations which could be categorized into the following:
Fig 1. Annual growth chart of NGOs affiliated with SWC (2009)

Here we observe that how there is rapid growth in NGOs in Nepal. One could ask what are
vested interests behind the establishment of these NGOs. Have they emerged out of public /
community interest or motivated by self gain? If this is the case of annual growth, where they
are? What they are doing? What kind of structural changes they have brought about in the
societies? These are major questions to be asked at this juncture.
Fig 2. NGOs affiliated with SWC (2009) by sector

Non government organizations seem to be working on all kinds of issues. However; we can
categories sectors in the following-child welfare, health services, handicapped and disabled
services, community and rural development services, women services, youth services, moral
development, environmental protection, educational development, HIV/AIDS and Drugs abuse
control. It sounds nice that organizations have adopted the social problems with a holistic
approach. Yet, to what extent are they to solve social problems? How many problems are solved
so that the community people could realize satisfying lives? Are NGOs able to transform the
stereotype attitude of people which is the root cause of many problems?

In addition, there are 223 INGOs which have an agreement with SWC (2009). INGOs for a
formal agreement with the SWC, have to commit to spend at least $100000 per year for their
respective development activities. This means, every year there is regulation of $22300000 in
Nepal. Further this amount does not include the other funds such as individual donors.

Despite of these many organizations, there has been inadequate change in the development
arena. The social milieu is not favorable for the community and they have been living in chaos.
Moreover, the activities are increasing disparities between needy and NGOs/INGOs personnel
wherein only few elite have been benefited. This entire analysis motivates us to raise several
questions. The concept of marginalization to mainstream has remained only a slogan in
documents, reports and proposals of such organizations. In the name of development it seems
that people have been cheated and the original beneficiaries have been denied to get justice in
systematic manner. Thus I believe with full awareness and consciousness that, this is
responsibility of all concerned bodies including the government of Nepal to answer these
queries. They are:-

• Whose project is that? Is it donor agency’s and NGOs’ or does it instigate with the people
involved?

• Do the projects of these organizations reinforce the economic and political position of a
certain group, crafting a more affluent enclave which then becomes resistant to change
that might abolish its privileges or does it generate a shift in power to the powerless?

• Do the NGOs/INGOs focus only on the needs of individuals or does it help individuals
who are now powerless to see their common interest with others who are exploited?

• Does the project merely help individuals fiddle with their exploitation by such external
forces as the national and the international market or does it promote an understanding of
that exploitation and resistance to it?

• Does the NGOs/INGOs, through the intervention of outside experts, take away local
initiative or do they generate a process of democratic decision making and a thrust
towards self reliance?

• Will success be measured by the realization of objectives set by the organizations or must
it be process oriented and progressive nature of the society?

• Should the organization create dependency among people of community or it should

generate and integrate local unity, labor and planning?

• Do the NGOs/INGOs new skills and information remain only with the leaders or should
it be transformed to the community?

• Should there be participatory approach in the identification of problems, setting

objectives, intervention or there should be bureaucratic nature of planning by these
organizations?
 • Is the evaluation a one way process by which, the donor judges the recipient’s
performance or is it a multi way dialogue in which the recipients also evaluate the funder
and together the project?

To conclude, it is clear that all the organizations must be accountable in responding to these
questions. We cannot achieve our goal for humanism and for better quality of lives (popular
statement of NGOs/INGOs), just by mushrooming the organizations in the nation. F