Quando cheguei as 9:02 min da manha ele chamou-me e enquanto fumava um cigarro perguntou-me:
I would like you to tell me what is your current perspective about bangladesh development sector?
Tudo isto porque no inicio fui extremamente duro no que lhe disse, especialmente pela minha experiencia na ONG em que estive antes. Sera que mudei a minha piniao?
Bangladesh development sector is a big sector. BRAC is the biggest NGO in the world with operations in Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Afghanistan or Indonesia and the European Commission gives 25% of its help to Asia to Bangladesh.
Big, medium, small NGOs seem like a must in any Bangladeshi village, that reminds me the post offices in Portugal. It is almost a “development flag” to have an NGO in a village.
My first approach to this was very critical, with a frustrating “billboard NGO” as first experience. All the idealistic perspective that there are people trying to help other people just vanished. Instead, exists a big industry that lives from the billions that “developed” countries inject in the country believing they are doing the “good”. But not being responsible about its impacts.
Than you have a whole middle class (and not so middle) that lives from this industry. This is not necessarily bad but lets look at it deeply.
In a simple way, a company that works in a “normal” industry receives money from their clients according to the product or service they deliver. So, in a competitive market with multiple players they have the incentive to understand and sophisticate their own approach and the client is, in the end, are better off.
With the NGOs the money doesn’t come from the same place where they deliver the product. So, what happens is that most of the NGOs have leaflets in English, with a copy paste from Millennium Development Goals and their “clients” don’t count for the NGO sophistication.
The real problems are just not problems... the millennium development goals create constraints to this country development. Also they create false problems that all the NGOs just multiply workshops about that not so important issue concerning the real problems of that village.
Look at this graphic. In a country like Bangladesh with so many problems, HIV for many different reasons is one of the least problem, and is insignificant compared with people that many times don’t have nothing to eat. Amazingly, in many NGOs I visited they have a program about HIV. And what they do is a workshop with some people about the ways of contamination etc. Strange...
(check it in wkipedia)
If there is a need for “development” than it should be something created in the communities, in the families, in the individuals. They have the power to say what they need.
Don’t create the poverty stigma on people!!!
There is, instead, a need to give the tools to make people dream and help people to achieve those dreams. It seems simple but it is not.
On the other hand it is easy to continue to apply development measures designed in NY or Geneva and legitimate the growth of the millions of NGOs that exist in the world. I think this designers should live in Dhaka or in a developing city.
Monon said, this is like a child: when it falls on the floor, if the mother is around he will cry until his mother comes and picks him up, but if there is no mother around the child just stands up cries a bit and continues.
What I believe is that there is a need to understand how all the NGO industry is working and understand what can be done to create platforms that really help them in their own needs. The "unleash" word.
I don’t want to put all the NGOs in the same basket but this is my general feeling about most of the professional NGOs. Anyways there are good projects, ideas, and even people that continue to give their lives to causes.
Development sector is a complicated thing by definition. And there is a big and intelligent work to do . It needs to be close to the peoples needs but for that it needs to understand who are these people, who are the poor people. Maybe the way is to drop this concept and try to start empowering people that have primary needs that cannot be fulfilled. Assuring that you are not creating a dependency system. This will take time but can be done.
Hope I have heaps of comments!!!
Obrigado andre pelo incentivo ao blog!!!
8 comentários:
Pedro,
I generally agree with your text.
Development, NGOs, International Aid Organizations, are all part of a giant network absolutely dependent on such programs in order to survive.
Imagine the ammount of people that work in this industry. They too have a need to survive.
NGOs and Development associated agencies are not, with some few exceptions, altruistic. They are, in most cases, extremely careful and even shy in the way they do business.
I totally agree with what you say about the Millenium Development Goals. They've become a flag for all development efforts, irrespectively of specific local characteristics.
I've had the opportunity of studying all this "aid for development" phenomena some months ago, specificaly in what regards the middle east.
It is amazing to see the way NGOs and International Organizations, like the World Bank and the IMF, have influenced the lives of people in those areas.
I've read more about Egypt. It is unbelievable what these agencies did with their help programmes. They managed to change they're eating habits, the way they did business, land property, etc.
If you're interested in some reading on the topic I would suggest you to read two very good books on egypt.
The first is "Rule Of Experts" by Tim Mitchell - very good book on the impact of World Bank and IMF policies in Egypt throughout the years.
The second is "Markets of Dispossession" by Julia Elyachar - it is about the influence of the consensus on private ownership as the best development tool and the influence of NGOs in Cairo. Very interesting also.
Congratulations on the post.
Hey "canetas",
Thank you for your coment. It was really great.
I will follow your book sugestions.
Do you know sites that talk about this issues or innovative experiences around the world?
Hey Pedro,
Wow... you traveled around a lot in the last weeks (if I look at your pictures). Was it for your work or did you get a holiday?
It is sad to hear you being so sceptical about the development money but I have to admit that I feel the same about this. If you would like to get a 'happier' idea about ngo's in Bangladesh check the CPD :)
Hope you are doing fine.
All the best,
Junia
Hey Pedro,
Wow you traveled around a lot in the last weeks (if I look at your pictures). Was it for your work or did you get a holiday?
It is sad to hear you being so sceptical about the development money but I have to admit that I feel the same about this. If you would like to get a 'happier' idea about ngo's check the CPD :)
Hope you are doing fine.
All the best,
Junia
Good post Pedro!
A Good insight of your general feeling of part of you experience there, the perspective and honest opinion of somebody that interacted with such realities.
I must honestly say that i cant have such a lighter state of mind after such data, if there is like you said: "you have a whole middle class (and not so middle) that lives from this industry " that fact alone should set your "mind set " your position to try to fight it, i dont mean you to go political, i am just saying for you not to be astactic about it. You dont even need me to say these words, you know in your interior that if things are like they are, if this cluster exists, this sistem within the sistem that takes advantadge of pre-existing problems to survive. Because like Canetas said these people in this industry of NGO´s also need to survive, but ill ask, should they survive TO THE EXPENCE OF PEOPLE THAT NEEDED EVEN BEFORE THEN? AND EVEN THEIR GRAND GRAND PARENTS. I know that these people that feed from this industry also need to live, but like in nature there is a time that MAN needs to know when to STOP , step back, and let things grow naturally.
It is like making a good drawing somtimes it is allready good and your contribute to make it good was allready given so the only thing left to do is to stop, but we continue on drawing in it just for personal individualistic fun nad in the end...what before had potencial to be good now is just a small example of what could have been.
CHANGE as to come from within, AND if the Millennium Development Goals logo is being used ALL OVER THE WORLD to justify all this "parasite" industry, well, something as to happen.
To finish ill just tell you a real story (an example on how change actually happened from within and how): In Rio de Janeiro, there is a "favela" (illegal squatter)called Vigário Geral, 30.000 people live there and in its 20 years of existence not only it has been a closed within itself microcosms, but it has also been self destructive. Well not that "self" destructive, because as well all know the main beneficiaries of the "Favelas" and these groups of millions of people that live in the suburbs of the main cities of Brasil are the Police it self.
Corrupt Police as been for generations (im talking about more than 20 years now, favelas started apearing around the 60´s) the source of of the many evils of these communities.
All the guns and the drugs that enter the favelas come from that corrupt side of the force that should be protection people in the first place, IT IS ANOTHER SYSTEM FEEDING FROM ANOTHER ONE, another parasite industry, but in a local scale.
BUT - an this is where it got interesting
In that specific favela Vigario Geral after the biggest ever slaughter happened in the 90´s when Police killed 21 people RANDOMLY (innocent people)to avenge the killing of 4 cops later that week, a cultural movement arose.
As the only and last resort to fight the ever growing violence in the streets, a cultural movement began, called AfroReggea (nao they are much more organised within they community - www.afroreggae.org.br)
But the beauty in all this is that they survived with time, starting just with a fanzine, then a band with politically active lyrics, to a big cultural heritage, they became their own cultural agents and with it the WHOLE COMMUNITY WAS HELPED, even tough for every kid that entered the vast number of workshop that they organized and for every kid that they successfully took out of the streets and out of the drug trafficking there where always more aligning up to follow the darker path.
But the beauty of all this is that with a LOT OF STRUGGLE they inverted such scenario, and today Vigario Geral is more wealthy, with less killings, with the first Bus route in 20 years that connects it with the main city, etc, i mean i really have to use the "etc" because what they did had such an impact that lasts forever, it is endless!
And when they began to be a more prosperous group the city all asked them to do the same in other favelas, but they kindly declined BECAUSE they felt that htat would be un-natural, what they agreed on was to pass on all their life experience, their knowledge to other groups in the other favelas, so that THEY GROW NATURALLY , their way to developed. THEIR WAY!
something like this should happen in a global scale, but you cant prevent MAns greed specially when some of them have power.
BUT IT IS POSSIBLE TO BRAKE THAT POWER and what i´ve learned with Vigario Geral´s example is that the only way to do it is not by fighting back, fighting fire with fire, but to go the opposite way, the constructive way, fighting fire with water, no matter own painfully it is.
great post pedro!
Hey Pedro,
Thanks for the truly insightful post. It picks up on real events and real consequences, that can only be perceived through presence!
From my ignorant perspective, I found your friends' analogy of the crying child a true one...in fact, it seems very much like the Latin America dependency on IMF funds throughout the 80's - what was set as a development aid to get the countries' infraestructures and economies flying solo, turned into a dependency mechanism. Basically because from then on, what fed the IMF was the expectation of returns (i.e, interest). It was like putting hunger and gluttony together.
By the same token, NGOs are set up and measured against certain objectives, and at some point, they become excessively focused on accomplishing the objective and stop questioning if that same objective/measure is the right one. At this stage, the villages become part of the "food chain" rather than the end consumer of this process.
I fully and totally agree with need of revising the structure but realistically, there will always be strong obstacles - a bit like when governments try to "clean" their structure of unproductive, ill-conceived institutions that do not contribute for the healthy growth of society; it is a necessary measure that will only benefit the people, but those who have a word to say are the empowered people and will not cut their own throats. And the people, like the small villages in Bangladesh, are too disperse, dependent and uninformed to know how to react.
As for the HIV workshops, I do not disagree with their existence. I believe they are a necessary tool of prevention (i.e, precisely before the numbers of contamination are high),especially in contries with serious development issues. What should be happening instead is diversification/especialization of NGOs. Some of them should focus on economic development and building capital infrastructures, others in creating educational grounds for future informed decisionmakers and others on health issues. Just like a government should not neglect education and health when there is an economic crisis. It's more, it's more than likely that part of the answer to the problem is on the other two areas.
In total, there are no miracles - I can only think of small steps, taken by little pieces of the machine like yourself, bringing to the spotlight what other people, ignorant by distance, cannot see. And sharing and reapplying best practices amonst world NGO's.
This said, keep up the great journalistic reports...though it doesn't seem like it, I do read it, just wasn't commenting ;-P
Cheers
Hey Pedro,
Thanks for the truly insightful post. It picks up on real events and real consequences, that can only be perceived through presence!
From my ignorant perspective, I found your friends' analogy of the crying child a true one...in fact, it seems very much like the Latin America dependency on IMF funds throughout the 80's - what was set as a development aid to get the countries' infraestructures and economies flying solo, turned into a dependency mechanism. Basically because from then on, what fed the IMF was the expectation of returns (i.e, interest). It was like putting hunger and gluttony together.
By the same token, NGOs are set up and measured against certain objectives, and at some point, they become excessively focused on accomplishing the objective and stop questioning if that same objective/measure is the right one. At this stage, the villages become part of the "food chain" rather than the end consumer of this process.
I fully and totally agree with need of revising the structure but realistically, there will always be strong obstacles - a bit like when governments try to "clean" their structure of unproductive, ill-conceived institutions that do not contribute for the healthy growth of society; it is a necessary measure that will only benefit the people, but those who have a word to say are the empowered people and will not cut their own throats. And the people, like the small villages in Bangladesh, are too disperse, dependent and uninformed to know how to react.
As for the HIV workshops, I do not disagree with their existence. I believe they are a necessary tool of prevention (i.e, precisely before the numbers of contamination are high),especially in contries with serious development issues. What should be happening instead is diversification/especialization of NGOs. Some of them should focus on economic development and building capital infrastructures, others in creating educational grounds for future informed decisionmakers and others on health issues. Just like a government should not neglect education and health when there is an economic crisis. It's more, it's more than likely that part of the answer to the problem is on the other two areas.
In total, there are no miracles - I can only think of small steps, taken by little pieces of the machine like yourself, bringing to the spotlight what other people, ignorant by distance, cannot see. And sharing and reapplying best practices amonst world NGO's.
This said, keep up the great journalistic reports...though it doesn't seem like it, I do read it, just wasn't commenting (that goes for Andre as well) ;-P
L.
Pedro,
Sorry ser a única a escrever em Português. Mas não resisto em faze-lo!!!
Soube pelo Leo, que estavas neste projecto e foi também através dele que vim parar ao teu blog.
Acredito que estas são as verdadeiras experiências gratificantes, enriquecedoras e que fazem qualquer um crescer, tenho a certeza que vais voltar maior. De todos da Nova és o único (tanto quanto sei) que foi parar a um pais com tantas dificuldades como o Bangladesh, conhecido por motivos menos bons, como exploração do trabalho infantil e grande parte da população que vive abaixo do limiar da pobreza. É preciso ter coragem!!! Parabéns.
Desejo-te as maiores felicidades, espero mesmo que tudo corra pelo melhor.
Um grande beijinho
Filipa Oliveira (FEUNL)
PS: Se não estiveres bem a ver quem sou o Leo depois explica-te. ;)
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