Too often, funding fails to reach local communities and those that implement projects fundamental for sustainable community development. This includes many of the places we work where people live at the critical intersection between tradition and modernization. These community-based organizations and NGOs are a reservoir of deep cultural knowledge and understand the complexities of their homes. We invest in our partners and strive to learn from and empower them as experts. It is crucial to avoid preconceived ideas and realize good intentions will not always improve the situation. Following the lead of our partners and investing locally is essential.
Rural Tourism and Environmental Education Society (RTEES)
The Nepal earthquake in 2015 killed more than 8,000 people and destroyed the homes and livelihoods of countless others. We have strong ties to communities in the Rasuwa district of northern Nepal. These remote areas were devastated by the earthquake, and because of their remoteness, are still getting little, if any, support from the government or large agencies.
We have been partnering with the Rural Tourism and Environmental Education Society (RTEES), a local nonprofit based in Rasuwa, to support relief and reconstruction work. Our immediate efforts focused on delivering food, clothes, and medicine, and then providing sturdy tents and waterproof sleeping pads to make it through the monsoon season.
We then partnered with RTEES to rebuild homes and community infrastructure, and are now determining the next steps for a long-lasting partnership that illustrates effective community development.
Snow Leopard Conservancy India Trust
The Snow Leopard Conservancy India Trust (SLC-IT) is dedicated to promoting innovative grassroots measures that lead local people to become better stewards of endangered snow leopards, their prey, and habitat to the benefit of local people and the environment in the trans-Himalayan regions of Ladakh. SLC-IT believes that truly sustainable conservation comes from participation by the entire community.
The founding principle is to work with communities to protect snow leopards and their natural habitat while protecting community livelihoods. SLC-IT fulfills its mission through community-based conservation and livelihood programs, education programs, and wildlife research. For more information, visit their facebook page and blog.
Zwekabin Myay
Zwekabin Myay runs an intensive adult education program for young adults in the Kayin State in Burma. Their aim is to provide students with applicable skills that will let them contribute positively and meaningfully to the development of their communities and country. Change is undoubtedly beginning to make its mark on Burma. Numerous international NGOs have opened offices in Kayin State, while work on many large scale commercial developments is also underway. The long-term impact and influence of these changes remain unclear.
Due to weak networks between the new NGOs and local people, and a perceived lack of suitably-qualified local candidates, some NGOs have been bringing “local staff” from Yangon and elsewhere. This significantly restricts the effectiveness of their work in a state with complex ethnic and linguistic distinctions. The essential starting point for meaningful positive progress and development is to have strong, qualified, able local people leading the way. Zwekabin Myay objective is to train the next generation of local leaders.
SAVE
Founded by Dr. Abhaya Kumar Jain, the Social Awareness Education (SAVE) project provides educational opportunities for low-caste children in Sarnath, India. Life in rural India can be difficult and many families live on less than one dollar per day. Education, for both girls and boys, can be a pathway out of this poverty.
Children from low-caste families in Sarnath have limited opportunities for quality education. To address this, SAVE started fourteen pre-schools and one primary school targeting these children. Pre-school classes take place in village homes or whatever meeting place can be found. They are trying to raise funds to construct a building for a second primary school. SAVE also provides sponsorship for students to attend secondary schools. This costs roughly $150 annually per student and covers their school fees and school-related expenses.
IMPECT
Inter Mountain Peoples Education and Culture in Thailand Association (IMPECT) works with a variety of Indigenous Peoples sharing similar situations and experiences, applying traditional knowledge and practices to all aspects of development work. IMPECT works as an association, providing opportunities for participation and ownership of development activities to representatives of the different indigenous groups. The four main areas of action are Cultural Revival and Alternative Education, Promotion of the Environment and Natural Resource Management, Enhancement of Indigenous Peoples’ Movements and Networks and Indigenous Peoples’ Rights
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