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Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Shortage of good ideas or excess unlearnt lessons? What really works in international aid?

Context:
Disaster, retold.

The video begins in Java, Indonesia just after a damaging earthquake rips through the land. The team embarks on a journey to investigate if they can find innovative and effective approaches to deliver aid. In the first scenario, houses have been devastated by the disaster and many are left homeless. It is perceived that 1.5 million people are displaced because of lousy infrastructure and inferior materials used in the construction of their home. While aid pours in, there weren’t many organizations who learnt from the tsunami on Boxing Day 2004. With a need for shelter to sleep under and a place to live in over the long run, these villagers are lost because they do not have the capacity to help themselves. As CARE steps in to intervene, they have decided to use innovative civil engineering so that their presence could be eliminated from the disaster zone if it strikes again a decade later. However, it ceases not long after its implementation…

Part 2 then proceeds to feature: Domes for the world!

Originating from America, a village is filled with domes where they reside in. It is innovative and able to withstand the harsh conditions of weather and terrain. However, there are mixed emotions amongst the people. For one, recipients were chosen through lottery, and doubts surface regarding the durability of the land. Sustainable daily living is also questioned, since rearing of cattle is a way of life.

Failure to learn from the past (practice)

When there is a failure to learn lessons from the past, organizations that intervene shortchange themselves from giving appropriate aid to alleviate the situation. By having no resonance of the past, one enters the situation with totally wrong equipments. Hence, they face repeating issues such as lack of sustainable resources to deliver aid, and approach the operation with same mistakes and inefficiencies. This leads to a malfunction in operational practices. It is recommended that those who bring aid get a good grasp of the ‘territory’ they are going into. This would be to identify what work has been done, what has worked or not worked, and the reasons behind them.

Lack of preparation, lack of collaboration (poor organizational structure)

What could lead to failure of aid delivery would be when an organization’s practices fail in to collaborate with effectively with the locals. Instead of improving the situation, CARE’s voucher system was unable to control the standards of quality expected of local markets. Despite good intentions, there was a lack of successful planning and control. In my opinion, I recommend implementing a top-down approach when international development assistance attempts to provide aid. By collaborating with the political and private sector, substantial goods could be monitored on a macro level, while dedicated.established private organized could be nominated to provide the required materials. At this juncture, there is more control and structure in the handling of aid. Simultaneously, this local sector wide approach promotes harmonization, and enables community development to occur from the stakeholders themselves.

Inadequate resources (location)

Another challenge would be the lack of adequate and appropriate resources to re-build houses. This implies proper infrastructure, equipment, and manpower. To make natters worse, the local market does not distribute reliable materials that can deliver desired results. Hence, it can be concluded that the location has disrupted aid delivery. While locals can provide the great form of help with their advantage of knowing their own landscape and people well, it goes the other way when a lack of equipped materials slows effective aid process.

Neglected beneficiaries (practice)

People are also worried about ‘strings attached’ or any matters pertaining to money as they reside in the dome. Villagers are also seemingly stuck in vacuum as there is no mention if they are required to purchase the land they live on in the long run, or whether they are allowed to sell the domes they are living in. This challenge could be due to a lacking practice of aligning each others intentions into common goals that breed accountability and ownership. In the delivery of aid, the narrator mentions that the most innovative suggestions may not be well-received. On that note, I think clear communication channels and constant feedback could be used to address unforeseen concerns that crop up even after the aid goes into the process of delivery.

Absent needs analysis (practice)

From the video, potential failure can happen due to the lack of a proper needs analysis. That implies the omission of knowing the stakeholders’ needs. Even as they reside in their dome houses, their preferences to ‘live at the east instead of near the river’, and ‘receive money instead’ are still present. Upon further evaluation, this could imply that the location where they are is vulnerable to harsh conditions and difficult landscapes for living. One suggestion for this problem could be engaging the stakeholders in decision making or re-building process. As they sit in the same wagon to alleviate the matter, their inputs (effort, experience) are valuable as they have may have seen what have been ‘tried and tested’.

Poor logistics (poor organizational structure)

One failure from poor organization structure is sloppy logistics. While organization may secure a road map for effective aid, a lack in proper delegation of materials stalls aid delivery almost entirely. In an uncertain, unpredictable situation of disaster relief, one solution could be proper documentation and administration of materials acquired/required. If need be, including some measure financial information could help. In doing so, unnecessary overlapping of resources can be prevented, saving time, costs and energy in the long run.

Conclusion

Through this research, I have gathered that context is highly vital when it comes to international aid delivery. This ‘context’ would mean everything ranging from the analysis of tangible needs, communication with the locals for a better understanding, and appropriate knowledge of culture/motivation to peg the best aid solution with the problem. When one decides to take up the noble task of delivering help, being readily available, prepared, and equipped is mandatory. Or else, like how a villager thought dome homes were amusing, help with good intentions could be perceived as a farce.

Written by Glory Tan, BZSE Year 3.

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