Talitha Smadu, Volunteerism in Development: CUSO

Volunteerism in Development: Changing the Course of Development One Person at a Time

By Talitha Smadu

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have played an increasingly integral role in the development of the global community in the past few decades. Many NGOS focus not only on development in the general sense, but also specifically on lessening the gap between the Global South and the Global North. More and more people of all ages are offering themselves up for voluntary services around the world through NGOs. Although the numbers of volunteers are impossible to precisely identify, they are increasing annually, and the type of volunteering varies as well. In order to sustain development in any given country, the engagement of the people in that country is necessary—not only as recipients but as actors as well. The United Nations (UN) contends that “inclusion, participation, ownership, solidarity and social cohesion leading to real capacity development and social capital” (“Volunteering for development”, 2004, para. 2) of individuals are all important to maintain development in a country. While some humanitarians volunteer for long periods of time and work in labour intensive capacities, like building houses and schools, others volunteer for short, intermittent spans and work in capacities that focus on human services development, like teaching and care-taking (Sherrard, Stringham, Sow, & McBride, 2006).

Canadian University Service Overseas (CUSO), founded in 1961, is a Canadian based Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) that focuses on sending volunteers abroad to address development and poverty alleviation, and provides a good example of how important volunteerism is in development. Volunteerism in the North, in fact, is seen to be invaluable; however, the importance of volunteerism, locally and internationally, is only beginning to catch on in the South (“Volunteering for development”, 2004). However, it is people working together—volunteers from other countries with local community members—that makes the difference in long-term capacity building and development. Looking at the work of a variety of NGOs, including CUSO, it is impossible to ignore that volunteers alone make a difference, but local volunteers working in tandum with volunteers from abroad is a powerful resource that less-developed countries cannot ignore (“Volunteering for development”, 2004).

Anna Dipple, Microfinance, BRAC, and Issues of Women's Empowerment

Microfinance, BRAC, and Issues of Women’s Empowerment

By Anna Dipple

Microfinance is a relatively new phenomenon, and one that has taken the development world by storm. It has, in various instances, been touted as the cure-all for development issues in third world countries. The premise is that by giving impoverished populations access to microfinance services, such as small-scale loans, that they would not normally have access to, it will enable these populations to lift themselves out of poverty through entrepreneurship or good investment. Microfinance is especially marketed as a way to empower women and give them the resources to equalize the gender gap. Women are seen as prime loan receivers because of the high payback rates that have been recorded from women, as well as the assumed empowerment it will bring them. There are many organizations practicing many different methods of microfinance, including the common theme used by organizations such as BRAC (Bangladesh Rehabilitation Assessment Committee), where a small amount of money is lent to a group of women in the community, with relatively low interest rates. Although these organizations can often have some positive impacts on society, they are not cure-alls, and are often band-aid solutions as opposed to long-term poverty-alleviation practices. Issues such as the lack of women’s empowerment, the high risk of high debt rates in clients, as well as many others make microfinance a less-than-optimum solution for addressing development issues. Although microfinance can have a positive impact on the lives of women and the ultra-poor, it cannot be treated as a one-ticket solution for poverty alleviation and women’s empowerment in the developing world.

The idea of micro-credit is not a new one, but it is one that has recently been reestablished, and brought back into the limelight, in the 1970s by (most recognizably) the formation of the Grameen Bank. The Grameen bank was founded by Muhammad Yunus, the head of the Rural Economics program at the University of Chittagong, India, and came out of an action-research project based on developing a money lending system for the impoverished (Hulme, pg. 290). The Grameen Bank, as it is known today, originally started in Bangladesh and developed out of Yunus’s action project and into a full-blown microcredit organization that has over 2,565 branches throughout the world. Its focus is on giving out small-scale loans ($20-$40) to impoverished clients, especially women (women make up 97% of borrowers) who have unequal access to financial assistance, such as loans (grameenbank.com, 5 March 2011).

Shayla Dietrich, The Uganda Village Project

The Uganda Village Project: A Successful Western based NGO in Africa

By Shayla Dietrich

The Uganda Village Project (UVP) is an international nongovernment organization (NGO) founded in 2003 with its main base of operations in the United States. UVP carries out a number of development projects overseas in Uganda, Africa. In the most specific sense UVP is an “organization that works in rural Uganda on public health and development projects” (Annual Report, 2009). The work of UVP can be indicative of international NGO work in Africa on a grander scheme. The organization’s activities can reflect the work done by NGOs that is specifically geared towards facilitating development on the continent. It is also an expression of a participatory, community-based approach to development. With this representation in mind one can use analysis of NGOs’ work on these alternative forms of development as a basis for analysis of UVP’s work. Essentially, analysis of UVP and its activities in Uganda cannot be fully detached from development work of this nature in entirety. UVP’s work can be questioned and criticised just as the entire practice itself is.

This paper will aim to assess the claims made by the Uganda Village Project and examine the work the organization does. First, a short discussion of the particular region that UVP works and clarification on the less mainstream form of development they represent will provide a strong and much needed knowledge base. Understanding these two aspects of the issue will allow for a clearer analysis and discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of this organization and this type of international NGO work in general. It will become clear that while UVP does have limitations, the organization is attempting to address the variety of concerns related to this particular form of participatory development work. On the whole, the organization facilitates development in Africa in a rather just and successful manner. While the project is still in its formative years, at this stage it appears UVP does more good in the district than harm. This is quite the accomplishment as such a scenario is not always the case for Western based NGOs working on development in Africa.

Jessica Brown, The Role of Religion in Development: A Case Study of World Vision

The Role of Religion in Development: A Case Study of World Vision

By Jessica Brown

The relationship between religion and development is complex and dynamic, originally manifested in the form of colonial missionary work, and evolving into modern faith based development organizations (FBDO). Religion’s role as accomplice and oftentimes fundamental driver of imperial ambitions has resulted in a highly polarized public opinion on its place in development. Consequently, many FBDOs, and the churches that they spring from, have transformed their role overseas from missionary work to development work. However, despite this attempt to accommodate civil society’s transformed world views, criticism continues to be laid against these FBDOs. Non-religious donors remain skeptical of their agenda in developing countries, while religious donors criticize what they see as waning Christian content in development dialogue¹. World Vision is one of the most recognizable FBDOs working from the northern hemisphere, and has maintained the evangelical traditions of its missionary roots, which has limited the efficacy of its development projects. To be truly successful as a development organization in the 21st century, World Vision must divorce itself from its evangelical ambitions, but not necessarily from its religious motivations.