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| Background on our organization |
Mean-My-Reap is a community organization from the very beginning based in Kaliro District in Uganda. The Organization was created by local volunteers committed to meeting the needs of local local people and children in a fight against poverty.It is a non profit ,non partisan anti poverty organization.
It was founded in January 2008 by a group dedicated local volunteers, many of whom are still very involved with the organization today. With the dedication and commitment of the Members Governing Board, and many other local groups, we are able to assist thousands of poor families and children with birth defects and/or childhood diseases in areas where their parents cannot afford.
Mean-My-Reap has no state or national affiliation, and receives no government grants or reimbursement for services. The Organization relies solely on the generosity of the community in its fundraising efforts. Governed by a volunteer Board of Directors and staffed by 8 employees, Mean-My-Reap is making a positive impact on the social and economic needs of children and local people.
Since the Organisation's founding in 2008, it has provided assistance to hundreds of children and adults with anti poverty studies for better livelihood. All grant recipients must be reside within the Kaliro district.
We are able to provide assistance to so many special children in our community through donations |
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| A Needy Child |
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| Rural Poverty Reduction Process. |
Based on the objectives the following can be drawn from the organization.
Expansion of people's potential and capacities
A people centred approach is best in which the people living in an area are involved in every stage of the anti poverty process from planning and design to actual execution of activities. The Baganda cases demonstrate the beneficial effects of such an approach. The same can be said if the culture and tradition of the communities is also respected.
People's potential capacities can be realized through mobilization and making of the communities aware of their capabilities. With a little boost by the CBOs, this is possible as is the case with Buganda. However, where too many partners are involved and where they ara not working at the same wavelengths, the capacities of the people can be undermined and cannot lead to self-reliance and sustainability in meeting the basic needs.
Efforts of community based organizations (CBOs) One approach by CBOs towards combating rural poverty is to combine CBOs together into an umbrella organization. Such an organization has more power in terms of relationships with the government and also has more say and its voice is heard by the government. This means that if the CBOs are unified in their demands instead of each CBO trying to get the attention of the government, there can be quantitative and qualitative progress.
The probability of success is greater if the central government is involved in the organisation since the impact is nation-wide if the organisation is successful. In all cases, the effectiveness of the local government is enhanced if the central government gets involved. To get the local government involved is a strenuous exercise as was observed in the cases of Kenya.
Rural poverty reduction process not only involves provision of funds per se for building but also ensures sustainability of the projects in the long run. This can be achieved through training for purposes of employment creation and also in the use of low cost technology, mobilization of the communities in voluntary work and savings schemes, which are for purposes of eradicating poverty and for income generation.
Actors, Roles, Interactions and Relationships Interactions between the government and Community Based organizations have had positive results in all the case studies although the level of success in all of them is not the same. But it is apparent that working hand in hand with the government builds up effective and equitable relationships.
Partnerships between the local CBOs and the government become sustainable if consistency is maintained in terms of relationships with the same officers from the government. The chances of success are far better than when different people are contacted.
Partnerships between the local CBOs,local NGOsand foreign NGOs do work in some cases and not in others. In the case the NGOs may impose ideas on the community, which are not in the cultural context of the areas. Also the concept of self-reliance, which the NGO may trying to instill in the community may be thwarted out.
Links with the private sector also help in increasing the standard of living of the communities concerned. In this case the NGO may convince the private sector of the
profitability of providing transport to the squatter settlement in rural areas.
Participatory Development Respecting Human Rights If the rights of the communities are given the due consideration they deserve, then substantial progress can be achieved not only in quantitative terms, but also in terms of self-respect
The participation of women in the eradication of poverty is vital since majority of the households in the informal sector are female-headed. The proportion of single parents (mostly women) is also high in these areas. for instance, households comprising single parents most of whom are women.
Orientation of Policies and Strategies Through Lessons Learnt The government/ CBO partnerships resulted in a number of important lessons being learnt which could be applied to future NGO activities.
* Simultaneous activities and empowerment of the communities through income generating activities, makes a project more successful than if the settlement question is tackled in isolation. Tailoring and poultry keeping courses are part of the income generating activities.
* Training programmes for the communities should be more or less mandatory in all programmes since in all the case studies the benefits of the training programmes are very clear- the training dealing with either one or more of the following: physical upgrading projects, savings schemes, income generating activities, relating with different actors, etc.Training the community members in construction can create employment for these members while the training given to government officials regarding the problems besetting poor communities makes them more aware of what is involved in the projects.
* Exchange programmes within and amongst communities to find out how similar problems can be resolved using different strategies is very important for policy purposes.This can benefit all parties concerned.
* Costs can be reduced drastically if local technology is applied wherever possible and negotiation rather than confrontation with the government takes place. The case where the drop-out rate of the participants is close to 100% owing to the high interest rates set by the banks.
* Dialogue and forums on a continuous basis between the different actors leads to successful partnerships.
Recommendations
Each case study has recommendations. A summary of these recommendations is given in the annex of this report. These recommendations are compiled from the case studies and integrated into a common heading wherever appropriate.
Local government Involvement
All projects in a fight against poverty should involve local government, since the case studies show that such partnerships have had very positive results. This recommendation is generally valid since formal approval from the government is always required for any legalization of projects. This could be applicable to CBOs working in any area. Another factor is that, for government to provide services to anti poverty CBOs, a formal organisation status is mandatory.
Bottom-up approach
A bottom-up approach should be used wherever possible. The communities concerned should be motivated and mobilized in all aspects of the projects. If the people themselves are directly involved in the projects, then any conflicts arising can be solved by the people themselves. The approach should be applied by CBOs,NGOs, the government and even the private sector wherever possible.
However, mobilization of communities into voluntary work is not feasible in all cases since it is dependent on: the composition of the communities e.g. - where one area is composed of civil servants and businessmen who do not have time to get personally involved; level of education e.g. - which needs a push by the CBOs; desire to get involved e.g. - where the community expects money to be given out instead of working on a voluntary basis; and therefore mobilization of community is difficult.
Women's involvement
Involvement of women in all the projects (since they are in reality the heads of households), is imperative if projects are to flourish well. This is a very important fact for governments, CBOs and the private sector including religious institutions. It has been found that it is mostly women who are the bread earners in such informal sectors as they are the main labour in the fields/gardens. This is the situation not only in Kaliro, but also all over Uganda. For implementation of projects to be successful, both men and women should be involved especially in decision-making.
Gender sensitivity
Creating gender awareness for both men and women is important. This task should be undertaken by CBOs for NGOs officials, the private sector and the public at large. This is crucial given the fact that conservative ideas prevail in most communities with regard to the role of women and their capabilities in decision-making and implementation of projects.
Equal partners
All partners in the projects should be considered as 'equal'. Some partners, especially local CBOs, should not be made to feel that they are 'junior' partners. The study was emphatic on this recommendation as it was felt that NGOs do not give the local CBOs the credit they deserve and acknowledge their expertise. In general, this recommendation does not apply to all cases, but the partners who come into a project should take into account this (act in order to have a smooth working relationship.
Scrutinizing agreements
CBOs should scrutinize proposals for partnerships carefully before getting involved. This point could be applied in all cases as a local CBO may get into a partnership without really knowing what is involved and may end up getting burnt in the process.
Assessment of projects
Assessment and monitoring of the partnership is vital for a project to thrive. An internal and external evaluation undertaken regularly is the only way of handing out where the project has readied and what should be done next. Monitoring by an external agent would also ensure that the project is being implemented in the best way possible.
Self-evolution
Self-evaluation must be carried out by the cbOs. Self-evaluation by all the partners concerned can lead to better relationships and necessary adjustments to the project. This is a very important recommendation for all partnerships. The project does such an evaluation and are continuous assessments on a quarterly basis. CBOs have evidently been successful in resolving problems and coming out stronger than before.
Partners’ forums
Forums involving all the partners are essential for a smooth working relationship and a successful partnership. Government involvement is also essential. This would also be a way of resolving conflicts amongst the various actors. A place successfully manages to get hold of all the partners in forums, which enhances the partnership of the communities, the NGOs with the government. This can be a conventional assertion.
From practice to policy
The NGOs should not wait for policy to be made and implemented before attempting to influence it. It is better for NGOs to help CBOs show what they can achieve in practice and then promote these achievements to influence governments, rather than waiting for a model to be developed or imposed upon by the government or foreign NGOs. The local NGO should come up with viable propositions, which have proved to be attainable.
Legal recognition
Legal recognition by the government of CBOs which have existed for over ten years would reduce the work of the NGOs considerably, especially in the provision of infrastructure and services to the communities concerned. The NGOs and other actors should aggressively take this stand vis-a-vis the government, both at the local level and at the national level. This action is universally required.
More autonomy to local authorities
More autonomy should be given to local authorities by the central government for any projects under their jurisdiction. It has been found in almost all the case studies that the local authority does not have unrestricted power in their areas of control. The central government should give specific powers to the local government if the issue of poverty is to be settled. Bureaucracy in formal agreements should also be reduced by the central government lo ensure that take off of the project is fast and does not lose momentum. This situation is prevalent in all countries.
Enabling building standards
Stringent laws regarding building standards should be reviewed by the government in the light of a people centered approach. Most developing countries still follow old standards laid down before independence, which are not compatible with recent trends, as in Tanzania and Zambia, where affordability is more important than living in a house of a certain standard. The situation should be rectified as soon as possible if more people are to be housed in reasonably decent houses.
Accepting low cost of operation
The same applies to giving approval by the government of the projects, which use low costs of operation. Although the costs incurred may not be sustainable in the very long run, for the long run the local materials are adequate. The NGOs and the communities concerned should lobby the government for approval and if possible make it a policy issue.
Lobby governments to allocate land
The NGOs and CBOs should actively lobby the government in the allocation of land for the rural poor. Upgrading of settlements should also be an issue taken up by the NGOs and the communities. It usually happens that the government is very quick in taking action when it comes to evictions but is very slow when it comes to finding alternative solutions. The NGOs should try to find other options and also lobby till government to look into the available choices first before it takes any drastic action. When it comes to allocating land, it should allocate land, which is conveniently located. Squatters are usually given land, which is far from the central business district (CBD) which does not solve the original problem.
Exchange visits by communities and government officials
Exchange visits to settlements of the rural poor by communities, NGOs and government officials, especially outside the countries, are an eye opener for all concerned and must be encouraged. This was the case in South Africa where a visit to India showed how the urban poor in India make do with the resources at hand. I however, this recommendation may not be possible in all cases since the organization and funds required are considerably prohibitive.
Enabling anti poverty policies
The governments need to have enabling strategies and a favorable climate in place, which would lead to a harmonious relationship and speed up resolution in the problem of informal sectors. It is the community who should highlight the problem whenever and wherever possible in all communuties. |
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