I was glad to have been asked these questions. I am generally saddened that in far too many cases, Africans have borne the brunt of far too many development ‘experiments’ that have left them worse off than before. Some people say that something is better than nothing, but after seeing this in action, I think nothing is often better than something
1. What is your opinion of NGOs in the US working in the DRC (or for that matter, CAR)?
This is a very complex question. After working in the CAR, studying Central Africa from a Human Security perspective and working and traveling in East Africa, there are many good things that NGOs are involved in and many negative impacts from NGOs working in Africa. CAR and DRC are so underdeveloped it is very tempting for NGOs to step in and take over local development, particularly where we see little local development happening. I think the more NGOs step in to ‘fire up’ development in Central Africa the more we actually depress local efforts at development.
I think one of the common mistakes is choosing to work in a community and choosing what we will do in that community before being invited into the community and before consulting with the community (and I mean people representing all groups within the community-the elderly, men, women, children, different religious groups, etc.). If the community is not an integral part of identifying their needs and the possible solutions to meet those needs, including identifying how they can contribute to those solutions, then the ownership value is dangerously low. By this I mean that people are more likely to see this as a foreign project and not a local one, since the initiative and ideas and funding come from the foreigner. In the short term it is much easier to do what we think is best, in the long run it is much better for the health of a community to discover this for themselves. As we all know, problem solving and capacity building are NOT skills that Central African children learn in school and neither are they encouraged to be independent thinkers in the church or society. In order for good development to take place this must be reversed.
I think one of the things that we, as NGO workers and people with a heart to serve, must remember is that what we have to offer a community (and indeed what a community might actually need) may not be what the community wants or puts priority on. If we engage a community in identifying their needs and potential solutions are we willing to move on to another community if their perceived need is not something we are prepared or equipped to help them with?
2. Do you think it is actually possible for a foreigner to work effectively in Congo through an NGO? or does the white skin already limit one's ability to get past the "money" trap that most NGOs find themselves in relation to Congolese communities?
I have seen several good examples of foreigners working with local NGOs, particularly NGOs that were established by locals in the community, in other words, not the original idea of a foreigner (such as ours in CAR). A great organization to see this working well is MCC (Mennonite Central Committee). Their foreigners work alongside local NGOs and help build the capacity of the NGO (i.e. how to write reports, do project evaluations, use computers, apply for funding, be seen as legit in the greater NGO world, accounting, etc.). A great place to start in a community is working with local NGOs to build up their ability to function and not working directly on a project of the NGO ourselves. It is often a sacrifice on behalf of the foreigner, especially for those of us who love being on the ground and doing something, as we build up the skills of others to do what we would really like to be doing ourselves. I think it is possible to not fall into the money trap, over time, but I think it is very difficult to get out of the trap once you are already in it unless you take a substantial break from doing what you are doing. I also think that we gain credibility if we can spend more time associating and socializing outside of work with local people, lowering our standard of living and making an effort to be a little less foreigner. I say this generally speaking as I have no idea how you or others live in Congo.
3. What are the factors that would predict the most success in working in partnership WITH Congolese rather than being the outsider / foreigner (even if I speak Lingala) initiator with money creating dependency rather than self-sufficiency? Is it even possible to experience true PARTNERSHIP when the NGO has the money which already makes the relationship unbalanced? How does one create true partnership among equals in these kinds of situations?
As I said above, part of the idea of partnership is that each side brings something to the table. In building a school for example, while tole costs money, mud and sand for the bricks and labour can come from the community or be arranged by the NGO. When the foreigner foots the bill for the entire project, paying for the labour, sand, etc, this is not a partnership. We have to be prepared to say no and leave it at that, until the other side comes around...it is not easy, but it can work. I almost think secular NGOs have an easier time of it because they lack the guilt that Central Africans can put on foreigners for leaving “God’s people” out in the cold. It is harder to lay a guilt trip on an atheist (I think).
As I said above, when a US NGO comes into a community and works with a local partner to identify problems and potential solutions and THEN puts a plan together for how to implement the solution, a better partnership can be created. It isn’t until the solution is proposed that we go ‘looking’ for outside sources of funding. Even if the money is already in hand (in the US NGO’s coffers), it is a good exercise for the local NGO to go through the steps of applying for this funding through writing up a project proposal, complete with budgets, monitoring and evaluation criteria, etc. It is through this process that we build the capacity of the NGO and increase their sustainability to apply for funding on their own when we are no longer around to help. This process takes time and can be frustrating for everyone, but I think it is worth it and can help the US side understand the limitations of the group they are working with; where they need more training and possibly, that they are not serious about partnering. In Uganda and Kenya, many people form NGOs in order to make money for themselves and not out of doing something for the greater good of their community.
4. Do you think money should ever be part of the equation upfront or when establishing a relationship with a local Congolese community, is it better to be clear that money is not an incentive for problem-solving together about how to meet needs and maximize local assets?
I think money is secondary and not a good incentive for working together. The idea is that together you will problem solve to meet local needs, and part of that is looking for sources of money that could be from local initiatives or from outside.
5. If you were going to start working in a community in Congo through education and having already established a presence at the school by supporting teachers' salaries and bringing supplies annually for the school, but really having any idea about the broader community of parents whose children attend the school, where would you even start?
That is a tough question because you have already started in the community on the pretence that you are there to provide material goods and money. What is the school doing for you or for themselves to earn income to eventually sustain their own school? Do the children pay any fees at all or do the parents provide farm goods in exchange for supplies or tuition? Do you see the community as “too poor” to contribute? Do you bring in American supplies or do you buy the supplies in Kinshasa so as to not produce a dependence on US goods that are perceived as superior to those available locally?
Two excellent books that may give you guidance on this are “When Charity Destroys Dignity” by Glenn Schwartz and “When Helping Hurts” by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert. The latter has become required reading by our mission, New Mission Systems International (www.nmsi.org).
If it was me, I would try to distance myself from being those foreigner’s who support the school and try and be different foreigner’s who want to work with the community. Are you responsible for the oversight of those funds and supplies or do you have someone else that could do this to help reinvent yourselves?
6. We are thinking about adapting a 4-H model at this local community / school outside of Kinshasa and plan to focus on training teachers and volunteer mentors (e.g. mothers and fathers of children who attend the school) rather than providing 4-H training directly to the children. What do you think about the adaptation of western models to DRC settings? What factors are important to make that adaptation successful?
1. The people have to want it!
2. If they design the program themselves, or at least, are integral to the design of the program, it will be much more successful than anyone of us designing it.
3. Meet with interested teachers, parents, community members, some older children and eager farmers and present a skeleton of the kind of program you are thinking about. Do it in a focus group-type setting, laying ground rules for the meeting so that everyone knows that no idea is stupid or crazy, that everyone gets a say and that the goal, over several meetings, is to come up with a program that they want. Involving the beneficiaries in the planning process is a vital step in partnering and acceptance with the community. It will seem un-natural at first as meetings in Central Africa rarely have such a diverse and open atmosphere. However, foreigners often ask Africans to do things that seem crazy and counter-cultural so you can use this to your benefit. After an hour or two people start to feel comfortable. I used this process during my Master’s research in Gamboula and had a very successful outcome planning for the future of a program.
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