Source: Destiny magazine, Aug 2009
Filling the Cracks
In 1994 there were an estimated 55 000 NGOs in SA. Today 56 552 are officially registered, although broader estimates put that figure as high as 100 000. Many of these organisations, born out of the HIV/Aids crisis and social ills such as poverty and violence against women, are headed or run by women. Four of them tell us how they’ve succeeded in the non-profit world.
In simple terms, NGOs exist to fill the gap between what communities need and what government can’t or won’t provide. As civic organisations, they fulfil a vital role in ensuring democratic accountability, although in SA questions still exist around the unmonitored establishment and accountability of NGOs themselves.
Structurally, NGOs can take various forms (CCs, companies, trusts, etc), but they all share two core elements: they aren’t run by government (although they can receive funding from it) and they don’t show a profit.
Funding is an ongoing focus and, in response to increasing economic pressures, there’s a growing trend for NGOs which might previously have operated in competition with each other to “engage themselves in networking with others to avoid duplication of their services”, says Nomakula Mrubata, Rural Development Manager of Foodbank SA.
Along with this, NGOs are driven to “become more self-reliant and generate their own funds”, as Yvonne Eskell-Klagsbrun, of Project Literacy, explains. Home Loan Guarantee Company’s GM: New Markets, Ethel Matenge Sebesho, echoes this sentiment, adding that NGOs now recognise the need to operate according to strict business principles.
To this end, both women recommend approaching life in an NGO as one would to starting up a business or entering the corporate world: by planning, doing market research and hiring the best people for the job.
NOMAKULA MRUBATA,
RURAL DEVELOPMENT MANAGER: FOODBANK SA
Mrubata seems to see hope everywhere – even in SA’s rural communities, where 60% of poverty in SA is manifest and where there’s little or no infrastructure to address starvation. She’s part of the greater Foodbank SA team, which recently opened its doors in Cape Town with the purpose of “soliciting and distributing excess and donated food [from retailers and restaurants] to social service organisations whose focus is the poor and needy”. Based at the organisation’s offices, Mrubata focuses on “identifying and working with rural communities in implementing food relief programmes in these areas”. She’s well equipped for the job, after 12 years as a social worker, during which time she ran a nutrition centre for malnourished babies, counselled couples, teenagers and families, and was nominated (and shortlisted for) for several top awards. But while she’s qualified in clinical and therapeutic group work, it’s community development that means the most to her. “I strongly believe that if you can engage people in their own development, it’s much easier for them to achieve their goals. It makes them see their own worth and feel a sense of ownership in the development of their communities, so they get a sense of accountability.” Although there are ongoing challenges – including funding – and terrible realities to face, such as seeing helpless children sick and suffering, Mrubata tackles every day with the optimistic view that “as one person, I can’t change the world, but I can change the world of one person”.
For further information on Foodbank SA, tel: 021 685 0484, email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or visit: www.foodbank.org.za.
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