THE ROLE OF NGOS IN PAKISTAN

THE ROLE OF NGOS IN PAKISTAN

         THE ROLE OF NGOs IN PAKISTAN Socio-economic development society is the prime duty of the state in resource-constrained ... 13:58:00

        THE ROLE OF NGOs IN PAKISTAN

Socio-economic development society is the prime duty of the state in resource-constrained countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Bhutan. This can be achieved by participation of all segments of the society. The limited capabilities of the governments have made it difficult to respond effectively to the growing needs of population at grass roots level.

Although, the Saarc's platform is a priority, the social scenario of the region has rarely changed during the last five/six years. It is difficult for both-,people and governments- to catch up with the rest of the world. Not only does the Saarc lag behind in per capita income and growth, but also in its social and Human Development (HD) indicators, particularly in respect of those relating to gender equity. 'India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and the Maldives continue to lag behind in meeting basic needs like education, health, and access to safe water, food security and elimination of gender disparity.' A comparison of the socio-economic indicators of South Asia with the developing world in the table-1 endorses the above expressed grimness by the extracts from the two Human Development reports published at an interval of six years.

The HD Report 2003 focussed on employment challenges, maintains that the donor-driven economic reforms may have spurred the growth in the seven South Asian nations that host 22 per cent of the world's population, but they have failed to reduce poverty and increase employment. This reflects the declining performance of these states. There may be numerous reasons for the grim socio-economic scene but there must also be made some very serious efforts not only to halt the declining standard of living but to improve the scenario.

The question is what other measures should be adopted besides, the good governance. A practical approach is to develop partnership with NGOs. In this regard about one million NGOs working in the South Asia can play a vital role in achieving the social objectives. The NGOs are growing quickly in numbers and areas, but their potentials Have remained unutilized because of the scepticism towards their role. These are becoming vital players in rural development and poverty alleviation through their microfinancing programmes, while playing important roles in lobbying in the field of environment and developmental policy-making.

The NGOs are of varying types such as cmmunity-based organizations, intermediaries and support/international NGOs. They have basically, the same agenda of helping people to come out with self-sustainable socio-economic programmes with the difference of levels at which they work. Similarly, in Pakistan, the Rural Support Programmes(RSPs) and other NGO contributions in the Northern Areas and in all the four provinces are visible.

Hence, these NGOs at their own levels, without state's open-arm policies are playing important roles in achieving social targets, though at micro level. Grass roots organizations and intermediary NGOs are making numerous contributions to the sustainable development. They are mobilizing local people and resources to support projects with a motive to enable people to improve quality of life. As a result, people may link all the elements of sustainable development including ecology, economics, politics and culture, and enable individuals to cope with change.

The NGOs of all levels are playing a role in uplift of society in general and poorest of the poor in particular. Especially, the intermediary NGOs have the agenda of providing help in resolving the economic and cultural differences among local people, at the grass roots. They bridge the gap between local and technical knowledge in the efforts to find long-term solutions, which are widely accepted by target groups. In this way new approaches are being applied in solving problems and disseminating knowledge to other organizations through connecting them with local organizations by way of joining networks or building links with international organizations.

The NGOs serve as international lobbyist to tackle the policies of governments, corporations and multilateral institutions. International NGOs also link up disconnected global communities, share similar problems and increase awareness of global issues, such as deforestation, loss of bio-diversity and global warning. NGOs are thus the product of the perceived and demonstrated inadequacies of the state-tied traditional model of development partnership.

The need for NGOs and the potential they have in mitigating the problem arising from this inadequacy is evident, yet the NGOs have emerged as a better alternative in tackling some of the basic issues facing human kind today. Another vital question is, although the NGOs have proved their effectiveness throughout the region in implementing donor-driven small projects as isolated development actor, whether they will be able to make significant contributions in poverty alleviation and changing social indicators at national level in collaboration with the other two sectors; state, and business? The answer to this strategic question can be found in the performance of the existing model NGOs in the region.

We can refer to the BRAC, the Grameen Bank; the State-NGO partnership model, Gono Shastha Kendra (GK), SARVODAYA, SEWA, and the AKRSP. In Pakistan hundreds of local NGOs are doing well, just to put an example, by many measures, the Aga Khan Rural Support Program (AKRSP) is a highly successful NGO-run rural development programme.

It reaches some 900,000 people in about 1,100 villages in the Northern Areas and Chitral District of Pakistan, near the Afghanistan border. It engages itself in strengthening of Panchayati Raj institutions and municipalities, promoting environmental and occupational health, facilitating a network of strong civil society organizations, promoting citizen leadership, monitoring policies and programmes of bilateral, multilateral and government agencies, to achieve an agenda of 'governance where people matter.' These NGOs are having impact of interventions on national level in their respective countries, albeit by donor funding.

Being foreign funded, the NGOs in South Asia are widely condemned. The donor dependence of the NGOs for local development cannot be appreciated, but, still the states in the region are responsible for this state of affairs of the NGOs. Since, the state is primarily responsible for social development it has funds and development plan, which can be shared with the other two sectors.

The NGOs can be involved at planning and implementation levels, which is still lacking for which, the governments in the region carries greater responsibility. However, it seems, the issue of donor dependence has been exaggerated in media as the research on indigenous philanthropy conducted by the Pakistan Centre of Philanthropy (PCP) in 1998 did not verify the impression of donor dependence for the sector.

The research revealed that in Pakistan individuals gave estimated Rs70 billion in cash and goods while, foreign aid for 1997-98 made up for Rs6 billion in grants. Comparing indigenous grants to foreign grants, Pakistanis gave 30 billion in money alone, more than 5 times of foreign aid. Although the figures for indigenous philanthropy in other countries of South Asia is not available but the magnitude of this will not be much different in the other countries of the region because of the faith-based social structure across the region. The road map for working of the two sectors together can be touching the following factors: 1. Choosing right projects: There is no shortage of potential projects for working together.

The key is to choose the right project; one that meets the criteria set out earlier, and has real commitment from the two sectors to make it a success. 2. Committing the best: Ideally in fact, every project needs commitments from the sectors involved. High-level local political commitment is particularly important. For example, the progress achieved by the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh owes much to the fact that it had a high-profile commitment shown by the Grameen Trust. 3. Identifying local support:

This is extremely important to the success of a project. The local NGOs have great potentials in leading on the ground by advising on local priorities, contributing contacts, and offering a link to government and the local NGOs. The collaboration with the NGOs have proved particularly fruitful for the people of rural Malir, Karachi, Pakistan when Darsano Channo Union Council, Malir, and HANDS; an intermediary NGO, built partnership to run the Jamkando Hospital. 4. Small packages: Small or medium-sized projects need to be packaged to attract investor interest. Larger projects have their own dynamism. Smaller ones have disproportionately higher transaction costs and political risks. 5. A balance between process and result: There are no short cuts to a government-NGO partnership project. The public sector administration culture, being procedure/process driven and the NGOs' voluntary culture, being missionary zeal driven, are fundamentally different.

Therefore, the culture and working style of the two sectors should be reconciled in the greater benefits of masses 6-Mutual trust: The government and NGOs have little experience of working together except they have the reference of regulators and regulated. Partnership having the basis of shared ownership, as well as responsibility makes a project successful. The state and the NGOs have immense potentialities in their respective fields in South Asia, however, due to some inbuilt weaknesses, the masses of the region are still waiting to get their expectations fulfilled by them. The NGOs have special ability to reach the poor; they facilitate local resource mobilization, and have programmes of local participation in development. Besides, service delivery at low cost and innovative solutions to intricate social problems is some of their strengths.

The NGOs are also not without weaknesses: they have limited ability to scale up successful projects to achieving national or regional impact without government's support. On the other hand, the state or public sector is extremely important legally, financially, and functionally, both in the value of the public goods and the services that it provides. It has legitimacy to supervise and monitor the public and private organizations' course of action, free to choose action plan, possesses huge structure and have national and international resources. However, the state has some weaknesses, such as, often it has ambiguity in its thought and actions, and it has administrative culture - believes in process, virtually enjoys limited penetration in masses and suffers political instability which is true in the majority of the South Asian countries.

Their collaboration for social development can be built on the both - their strengths and weaknesses they have. Their weaknesses provide a reason for them to come together in enhancing their effectiveness, while their strengths provide meaningful collaborative opportunities to the two sectors for social development. As state can provide enabling environment for the NGOs and the NGOs can implement the development agenda of governments more economically and efficiently by applying flexible and innovative methods at the grassroots levels.

The above discussions and suggested points in this article can be viewed as building blocks for working together, further there is a need to develop a shared vision to promote the formulae of being a supplementing force to each other in order to have socially secured society in South Asia.

Role of NGOs in Development

20th century transferred the number of issues to its successor with regard to social sector. Perhaps among those most discussion able and dispersing one is “The Role of NGO, s in the Development” particularly with regard to third world having mushroom growth largely depending upon the contribution made by the socially developed countries, which on its turn also exalted a number of issues lying under the generous contribution made, by the developed world.But as far as our concern, the presentation contains in itself the evolutionary development of the concept both theoretically and practically emerging the various types of NGOs i.e. charitable organizations, national organizations, community organization boards and international NGOs etc. The objectives of these NGOs as relief welfare, community development, sustainable system and people’s participation are also considered in this work.

The role of NGOs which are common for almost all the Ngo, s with regard to development in different fields as in education, health, women welfare etc are mostly sponsored by international NGOs. NGOs also contribute their due share in the development sector of Pakistan and the facts about their activities funds and utilization of funds is also considered in this presentation. The NGOs are also working in rural areas of Pakistan and their programs in these areas are also under the consideration of our paper.so, all the presentation will provide the knowledge and basic facts about the role of NGOs in development both at national and international level, their types, work ability and objectives and some fact about their weaknesses.

Introduction

The term NGO seems to be deceptively simple. It may overlook the enormous variety and differential capabilities of different NGOs.In fact, NGOs offer a kaleidoscopic collection of organizations varying in origin, size, programmes, ideology, role strategy, funding, linkages evaluation, problem etc. NGOs embrace a bewildering group of organizations varying in terms of innumerable parameters. No standard definition can include all organizations working at present under the title of NGO, originally voluntarism was a doctrine which held that the will is dominant factor or it is a principle relying on one’s own free will for an action.

The definition of NGOs vary as:
According to Asian Development Bank the term non-governmental organization refers to organization
I. Not based in government.
Not created to earn profit.

United Nations defines it “NGOs are private organizations that pursue activities to relieve suffering, promote the interest of poor, protect the environment, provide basic social services or undertake community development”

BACKGROUND OF NGOS IN DEVELOPMENT

Although NGOs have recently emerged into the development limelight but they are not a recent phenomenon. They were the earliest form of human organizations. Long before the governments, people organized themselves into group for mutual protection and self help.First, there were farmer’s organizations as in Japan in 1868; such organizations played a vital role in agricultural movement. Traditional self-help associations have also a long history in Africa and Asia.

During the 18th and 17th centuries in particular there has been an explosion in the number of NGOs and an upsurge for the realistic answers to problem over a king of neglected issues related to ecological degradation, rights of people and other common property resources appropriate technologies, health, safety, gender and equity.The institutional forms to such organizations can be traced back in late 19th and early 20th centuries particularly in west world where the history of social organizations seems to have been largely influenced by “laissez fair” movement based on a more planned way.

NEW TRENDS IN NGOS ACTIVITY (people participation)

New trends emerge in NGOs activities from 1950 to 1960 when it start to work in field of development. Similarly, the concept of people’s participation does not have a long history. It reflects partly the failure of the” trickle down” model of economic development advocated after World War II .

In 1980,s NGOs become a major phenomenon in the field of development. Tvedt analyzed NGOs “as an outcome of complicated processes where factors like international ideological trends, donor policies and agenda interacts with national historical and cultural conditions in a complex way. On the whole these organizations are commanding growing attention as possible alternative to government in addressing the needs of vast of population.So,we can summarize NGOs development in three stages.
? Social and cultural in early stage.
Community services and development in intermediate stage.
More recently target oriented activist groups.

NEED FOR NGOS

There is none the less a single answer to question why NGOs are formed? How they are given meaning and how they operate? One cannot perceive NGOs as entities but we have taken into account the notion of multiple relation. The entry of NGOs in the field of development process thus represents important response to the need resulted due to the overburdened government, the hesitant private sector and underutilized people power. These are appeared to compose of overlapping social networks.

The development experience of 1970s and 1980s have raised more and more critical concerning as growing awareness about the widening gap between very few rich and the vast majority of poor in developing countries. This has also given a momentum to search for a more adequate and appropriate strategy for improving conditions. So, strategies constitute basic elements of the development of a number of NGOs throughout the world, which get people’s participation. recent, global transformations and the search to a variable new option for supporting grass-root development presently provide quite significant opportunities for a rapid development of NGOs in the decade of 1980s in following consideration:

I. Growing interest among donors and national governments in strengthening the development roles of institution outside the public sector.

II. The demonstrated capacity of some non-governmental organizations to reach the poor more effectively than public agencies.

III. A sharp decline in public development resources, necessating a search by government for more cost affective alternatives to conventional public services and development programs.

IV. Ability to carry out programme on national scale and influence national policies and agencies.Today, the NGOs address every conceivable issue and they operate virtually in every part of the globe. Though international NGOs activity has grown steadily, most NGOs operate within a country and frequently they function properly. According to one estimate some 25000 NGOs now qualify as international NGOs up from less than 400 a century ago.

ROLES OF NGO ACCORDING TO THE EXPECTATION OF PEOPLE

NGOs play a critical role in all areas of development. People and policy makers are agree on one thing that NGOs play a very important role in development. Role of NGOs vary over the years as the policy of government changes. NGOs are almost dependent on polices of government.Socio economic development is a shared responsibility of both i.e. government and NGOs. Role of NGOs are complementary but vary according to polices of government.If we closely pursue the voluminous literature on NGOs many roles can be found according to the expectations of people.

The major development roles ascribed to NGOs are to act as:
• Planner and implementer of development programmers,• Mobiliser of local resources and initiative,• Catalyst, enabler and innovator,• Builder of self reliant sustainable society, • Mediator of people and government,• Supporter and partner of government programme in activating delivery system implementing rural development programmes, etc., • Agents of information,• Factor of improvement of the poor, and• Facilitator of development education, training, professionalisation, etc.
Basically NGOs role is to prepare people for change. They empower the people to overcome psychological problem and opposition of oppress. Its role cannot be denied.

OBJECTIVES OF NGOS IN DEVELOPMENTNGO

It is one of the alternatives available among various development organizations and one of the inputs among technical, financial and other resources, major merits of NGOs are emerging from their limited scale of operation; the sporadic efforts of NGOs can be consolidated and made more effective. Still the primary role of NGO is at the local level as mobilizes of people and their resources for an indigenous self-sustainable development. And at this level it can be a pioneer, mediator power broker, catalyst and has many other roles.

NGOs and their long lomerations also are very in playing their role as advocates in policy issues beyond local level-national or even international level. Proper assessment of expected an actual roles of NGOs enable us to make them an effective alternative in the development process. However, small and sporadic NGOs are, they are valued in a pluralist society as an alternative approach to conventional system of attaining human well being and as such NGOs have a pivotal role to play in any society especially where institutions are alienated and development is dehumanized.

An Ngo is nowadays not expected to deliver directly some benefits to people, but to motivate people, mobilize resources, initiate leadership, and participate in development programmes for self reliance. An NGO is only an enabler and as and when a society is made self reliant, role of NGO is shifted to another place where NGO service is required. But NGO works in relief and delivery of public goods as direct suppliers and majority of the development NGOs are also involved directly in productive activities.

The roles of NGOs an enabler or catalyst for self reliant society and as supplier or implementer is relevant where bureaucracy is indifferent or inefficient, programs lack flexibility and cost effectiveness poor are ignorant, elite are ambitious, successes and services are pre conditions for motivation etc.Objectives:A) Relief and welfareb) Community developmentc) Sustainable systemd) Peoples movement.

TYPES OF NGOS

Types of NGOs can be understand by their level of orientation and level of cooperation .

1.Types of NGOs by the level of orientation.It has further types as under,

I. Charitable orientation.It often involves a paternalistic effort with little participation by ’’beneficiaries’’. It includes the ngo,s which directed the people towards meeting the needs of poor and help them by gaining them food, clothing,medicine,provision of housing etc.such ngo,s may also undertake relief activities during natural or man made herds.

II. Service orientation.It includes with ngo,s with activities such as the provision of health, family planning or education services. in which the program is designed by the ngo,s and people are expected to participate in its implementation and in receiving the services.

III. Participatory orientation.It is characterized by self-help projects where local people are involved particularly for example in the implementation of a project in any village by contributing,cash,tools,land,materials and labor etc. this type is basically cooperation based and on limited scale.

IV. Empowering orientation.The aim of these NGOs are to help poor people an d develop a clear understanding of the social, political and economic factors which are effecting their lives, and aware them how can they solve their problem by using their resources and purpose to mobilize the people or self mobilization. In any case there is maximum involvement of the people with NGOs acting as a facilitators.

2. Types of NGOs by the level of operation.It has further types which are as following.

I .Community based organization(CBOs)When people start feelings that what are their needs and how can they fulfill them. These NGO,s arise out of people’s own initiatives. These can includes sports clubs women organizations neighborhood organizations, religious and educational organizations. Some supported by NGO,s ,national and international NGO,s and other independent outside help. Some are devoted to raising the consciousness of urban poor or helping them to understand their rights in gaining access to needed services while others are involved in providing such services.

II. Citywide organizations.These NGO,s are organized for some major or personal purpose. For example cambers of commerce and industry,coaliation of business, educational group. Some exist for other purposes and become involved in helping the poor as one of many activities, while others are created for the specific purpose of helping the poor.

III.National NGOs.It includes organizations such as the Red cross,YMWCAs,YWCAs,professional organizations etc.Some of these have state branches and assist local NGOs .

IV.International NGOs.These range from secular agencies such as REDDA BARNA and save the children organisation,CARE,UNDP,UNICEF. Their activities vary from mainly funding local NGOs institutions and projects and implementing the projects themselves.

NGOs EMERGENCE IN PAKISTAN

In Sub-continent NGOs culture took shape in the form of Ghandi Ashram Banaras in 1927.this venture created to provide jobs for natives in the days of British Raj.Diyal Sigh trust is an example of the time but these efforts could not become a social norm due to a highly centralized bureaucratic governance. As it is not a new phenomenon for Sub-continent. it emerged during the colonial period when religious, linguistic and ethic communities felt their cultural, religious and social identity threatened.

Renouncing politics they concentrated on religious, cultural and social assertion.To control these associations, the colonial authorities introduced the system of registration under the act of co-operative socities.each society was required to give constitution and by laws and maintain financial accounts.

The major purpose of theses organizations was to open educational, institutions, help the poor and destitute and improve the condition of women. Such welfare, charitable and educational organizations produced a breed of social workers who devote their lives to social work.

They were sincere and concerned with the welfare of their community. These community based organizations also created a since of competition among each other which resulted in positive development. The great contribution of old NGOs was that they preserved cultural, social and religious values and in resistance to colonial states started movements which lead to positive struggle in the field of development.Unfortunately, in Pakistan these NGOs cannot work properly due to political weakness’ till 1958.so, under these circumstances in 70s new type of NGOs emerge which were quite different from old ones. The only thing common in old ones and new NGOs is that both came into being into response of state weaknesses. But in the absence of well-defined policy for NGOs, there is no moral considerations practiced by the people who have monopolized this vital sector. On one hand they serve as an employment exchange for kith and kin of the privileged and on other hand they are a symbol of prestige for the selected few that know the art of preparing proposals and report written in the bureaucratic lexicon.

NGOS IN PAKISTAN

NGOs claim that there only task is to create social awareness but when people fell that NGOs are not helping them concretely, they lose interest and merely social awareness is of no use to them. Some of the clever participants turn this opportunity to their own favors by manipulating different NGOs to get funds in the name of social work. They know that projects are foreign funded and there is no commitment and sincerity behind it.Most NGOs have more or less become family business making big profit .if you are a good pretender you can generate huge funds. As it is discussed above that Ngos receive funds from broad but nobody knows where and how these funds are utilized. So, people don’t trust NGOs foe help as they consider them as fraud.

NGO’s WORKING PRESENTLY IN PAKISTAN

In Pakistan NGOs are functioning in different sectors like health, education, women welfare, child welfare. Drug abuse, women development etc. many international NGOs are working at national level in Pakistan.

HANDSHEALTH AND NUTRITION DEVELOPMENT SOEITY established in 1979 works on health, provision of proper nutrition, formal education.BAHBUDEstablished in 1967 is concerned with health, education.HELPEstablished in 1989 is the health, education and literacy project.PWAIs the patient welfare association and was established in 1979.

PNCP AND NCD PAKISTAN NORCATICS CONTROL BORD AND NORCOTICS CONTROL DIVISION is two main agencies working to control drug abuse. They aimed at policing crop substitution and law enforcement. Besides these there are so many NGOs working in different areas. Basically their aim is to work for the welfare of people.

NGOS IN RURAL DEVELOPMENT The areas of service which may be entrusted to the NGOs to achieve sustainable development in rural areas are
• Agriculture and related land development • Irrigation system• Agricultural extension education• Employment generation ¬_ skill development through training• Health and family welfare_ family planning propaganda, motivation, research and training, rural health centers, dispensaries etc.

References

Singh Kumar Ravi, Role of NGOs in Developing Countries, 2003,Deep and Deep publishers New Dehli, India.Edward Michael and flower “Introduction: Changing challenges for NGDOs management” The earthscan readerson NGOs Management, 2002,edited by Michael Edward and Alan Flow

Made by,

Me