I am a Ugandan living and working in Uganda.
For 30 years now, NGOs have been using all their resources to improve life in many parts of Africa. Unfortunately, the standards of living of one generations improves but for only that generation! The following generation starts exactly where the last generation started from.
In my opinion, this is caused by the approach that NGOs use. They use the humanitarian approach. They don't see (rightly) how any body should live without access to clean water, food, medical care, etc. After all it is their right! In so doing, they treat the symptoms of the problem but not the cause. Worse still they create a dependency syndrome in the masses they are trying hard to help.
I see the causes of our problems as poverty. When one is poor (based on household incomes) they are unable to pay for basic necessities, education, their esteem is low and can not therefore hold their leaders accountable, they are hopeless and can not plan for the future.
Basing on the above, I would therefore propose to any NGO planning to work in Africa to assist households to raise their incomes. Please note that the assistance should be carefully planned not to look as if it for free! It is ok, in my opinion, to attach conditions.
To illustrate my proposal, I will use two examples. One with the women (because any change in a woman's income means a direct change in the household living conditions) and orphans (because they are the most vulnerable).
Women: this can be done by providing microcredit to support income generating activities. Majority of women in Sub Saharan Africa can not access credit from banks because they have no assets to secure the loans (the men own the land, houses, etc), have no business experience, have never operated bank accounts and have no savings. But they can guarantee each other! Grouping them and giving them access to small loans (with an interest charged to allow more women to enter and support administrative costs) can give them an opportunity to start businesses. This should be supported by trainings in leadership, investment, business management and book keeping.
Orphans: There are so many households that are headed by children with 13 year olds looking after households of 5! These children have a right to education, basic needs, etc. We may buy them books, food, household items, but they will come back in a few months asking for more. This does not only promote the dependency syndrome I mentioned above but it is also impossible to sustain. We can however support them with 2 - 4 local goats (local goats because they are easy to look after and their ability to multiply is high). They can use these goats to by books and meet their other needs while learning how to work and support themselves.
I hope my opinion helps you decide how exactly your group will design interventions for Uganda.
Best regards,
Kenneth M. Barigye
For 30 years now, NGOs have been using all their resources to improve life in many parts of Africa. Unfortunately, the standards of living of one generations improves but for only that generation! The following generation starts exactly where the last generation started from.
In my opinion, this is caused by the approach that NGOs use. They use the humanitarian approach. They don't see (rightly) how any body should live without access to clean water, food, medical care, etc. After all it is their right! In so doing, they treat the symptoms of the problem but not the cause. Worse still they create a dependency syndrome in the masses they are trying hard to help.
I see the causes of our problems as poverty. When one is poor (based on household incomes) they are unable to pay for basic necessities, education, their esteem is low and can not therefore hold their leaders accountable, they are hopeless and can not plan for the future.
Basing on the above, I would therefore propose to any NGO planning to work in Africa to assist households to raise their incomes. Please note that the assistance should be carefully planned not to look as if it for free! It is ok, in my opinion, to attach conditions.
To illustrate my proposal, I will use two examples. One with the women (because any change in a woman's income means a direct change in the household living conditions) and orphans (because they are the most vulnerable).
Women: this can be done by providing microcredit to support income generating activities. Majority of women in Sub Saharan Africa can not access credit from banks because they have no assets to secure the loans (the men own the land, houses, etc), have no business experience, have never operated bank accounts and have no savings. But they can guarantee each other! Grouping them and giving them access to small loans (with an interest charged to allow more women to enter and support administrative costs) can give them an opportunity to start businesses. This should be supported by trainings in leadership, investment, business management and book keeping.
Orphans: There are so many households that are headed by children with 13 year olds looking after households of 5! These children have a right to education, basic needs, etc. We may buy them books, food, household items, but they will come back in a few months asking for more. This does not only promote the dependency syndrome I mentioned above but it is also impossible to sustain. We can however support them with 2 - 4 local goats (local goats because they are easy to look after and their ability to multiply is high). They can use these goats to by books and meet their other needs while learning how to work and support themselves.
I hope my opinion helps you decide how exactly your group will design interventions for Uganda.
Best regards,
Kenneth M. Barigye
