Through first-hand experience I have observed the gaps in stated values and principles of some organizations and their actual practices. I have shared my observations and analysis with quite a few NGO leaders. While some happily accepted my views and suggestions, most, though they appreciated my perspective, expressed their inability to change their current practices.

The rationale given was not very convincing:  “We can pay higher wages only to the staff of the project that our organization is funding, but not to all. Other NGOs will not consider our request for an enhanced budget. We do not want to create gaps and acrimony among the staff of different projects supported by different donors.”

I question the ethics and the sustainability of adopting such a limited development approach. Post-project, I have seen target beneficiaries slipping back to their original status before the start of these projects. I have seen projects left incomplete or not finished according to agreed timelines because community workers chose to leave, or had to leave, in search for alternative job opportunities.

Coming back to the community-based workers in Operation Eyesight-supported projects, I am happy that they are not forced voluntary workers. They are paid salaries that are commensurate with their qualifications and skills, and are at par with local market rates. They exhibit not just their commitment to the work that they are doing for the benefit of their neighbours, but are also loyal to Operation Eyesight’s vision and goals.

Unlike what happens to the community-based workers with some other projects, my Operation Eyesight colleagues at the implementation level tend to continue with their work, although that work may be of a different nature.

With support from Operation Eyesight, they form what they call a Community Based Organization (CBO) during the implementation period of the project. These CBOs are registered with the government, enabling them to do development work and to raise funds to support this work.

It is a win-win situation for all. Thanks to our community-based workers, we are able to address the challenge of avoidable blindness in a systematic and sustainable manner. As a result, my work gains new meaning, too!

The post Community workers: the force behind change – Part 3 appeared first on Operation Eyesight.

The community workers I met willingly accepted offers made by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) with the hope that salaries and improved conditions would soon follow. NGOs, knowingly or out of ignorance, exploited the willingness of these community members to protect and project their image of being voluntary organizations while also keeping the so-called delivery/administrative costs on the lower side.

The low cost of service delivery has always received approval and appreciation from NGOs and donors alike. Little consideration and attention was paid to the fact that a form of unintentional exploitation was occurring. For these community members, volunteering was not an “end” but a means to move to a better paying position.

I have spoken to several of these voluntary workers at the grassroots level. If they had been fortunate enough to be born in families similar to yours or mine, they would have received quality education and be in well-paid jobs or running their own enterprises.

Interestingly, none that I have spoken to has ever mentioned NGO work at the implementation level as a career option for their children. And among the children, when asked about their career aspirations, (with their eyes fixed on the vehicle I use to visit the villages) very few indicated that they wanted to be someone like me.

Should there then be no volunteerism among these workers at the grassroots level? Of course there should be and there is plenty. As community workers implement program activities and witness the difference their actions are making, they enjoy a sense of commitment and pride. But while they continue to do their forced voluntary work with a sense of purpose, pride and responsibility, there is still a need to demand higher or more equitable wages.

Some of these workers with whom I have developed a personal rapport have stated both proudly and with a sense of bitterness that the target beneficiaries of their supports and services were much better off than themselves. The target beneficiaries slogged much less than the community-based workers but received larger benefits, especially if the NGOs were serious about achieving their stated goals.

Return next week for Part 3, when Kashinath describes the ethical issues associated with engaging community workers, and a better way to blend their needs with the needs of the hiring organization.

The post Community workers: the force behind change – Part 2 appeared first on Operation Eyesight.

Kashinath Bhoosnurmath can tell you. He joined Operation Eyesight in 2009 as senior director for Operation Eyesight in India, bringing many years of practical experience in community and international development. Both Kashinath and Dr. Bo Wiafe, our regional director in Africa, are strong advocates for, and practical implementers of, community-based services that will endure long after Operation Eyesight has moved to other regions. Both have a well-informed perspective on what sustainability and capacity building mean to this organization. In Part 1 of this three-part series, Kashinath zeros in on the issues facing the most humble, but perhaps the most important link in Operation Eyesight’s work in India – the community worker.

Often I have wondered about the impact of the work that I am engaged in doing. I ask myself, “Does it really matter to have a well-formulated strategic plan and a good implementation plan? Do such plans make any difference in the lives of the poor?”

I have come to realize they do, provided they are delivered properly or implemented effectively. Direct implementation is not something I do – it is the community-based workers who implement the planned activities. If they are good at their work, they do make a difference in the lives of target groups.

When I joined this organization about two years ago, I was pleasantly surprised to find that in all the Operation Eyesight-supported community eye health projects there are community workers who are not only recruited from among the target communities but are also paid salaries for the work they do.

However, several organizations that I have known over the last two decades have had community workers who are only paid very small honorariums for their voluntary work. Every time I interacted with them during my field visits, these voluntary workers invariably advocated for a move from honorariums to salaries. So I always came back from the field with some unanswered questions: “Why do they refer to their honorariums as salaries and are they really volunteering to work? What is volunteerism and is it really an option for these individuals?”

With more grey hairs showing up on my head, I have found some satisfactory answers. There was a time, not so long ago, when non-governmental organizations (NGOs) were referred to as voluntary organizations. In many of these voluntary organizations, one could find well-compensated leaders and management staff along with very meagrely paid voluntary workers at the implementation level. I felt it was as if the degree of volunteerism was highest at the lowest level and tapered significantly as one went up the hierarchy in these organizations.

And who were these “voluntary” workers anyway? They were often from the same target communities or from the neighbouring towns and villages – people searching for opportunities to improve their own lot.

Return next week for Part 2, when Kashinath describes one of the major issues facing the “poor who help the poor.”

The post Community workers: the force behind change – Part 1 appeared first on Operation Eyesight.