ASSESSING AID

This video has been produced by a member of the Engineers Without Borders Organization as he discusses whether or not in his mind aid has failed.

He speaks of aid in democratically elected states that are not subject to civil unrest, yet he finds that even still, the solutions we attempt to implement are not always successful.

When it comes to NGOs and charity aid, it is important to promote evaluations throughout the process to ensure that the changes being made are effective and beneficial. David, the speaker from Engineers without Borders confesses that the changes that his organization made were not successful. After funding and installing several water collection and filtration systems, members of his team returned a year later and realized that majority of their water filtration systems were no longer working. Although there had been nothing wrong with the technology, the organization had failed to provide materials and a maintenance schedule to ensure that the machines would remain in working order. In his words, the hardware representing the infrastructure was fine. It was in terms of the software, the maintenance schedules, the lack of skilled workers and materials in which they failed. This is there story, but they are not the only ones who are making these same mistakes. When in Mawali investigating the broken taps, one of the workers recognized a water delivery system similar to their own that was also not in working order. According to a local resident, the other system was put in place by the US government 10 years prior and had failed for exactly the same reason that their system had.

As David goes on to explain, there are several issues with the way aid is currently distributed. There is a lack of assessments done after the implementation of a certain program or piece of infrastructure and there is a lack of foresight amongst NGOs to see what is going to happen when they leave. NGO’s function differently from both the private and public sectors. The private and public sector need to understand and tailor to the needs of their beneficiaries, and if they do not deliver what the customer needs or wants, those businesses will fail. Charities and NGOs function according to the needs and wants of the donors. The needs and wants of the beneficiaries are not always heard.

This organization has come forward and published reports on the failures they have made. They feel that it is their duty as an organization to become more accountable and transparent for the mistakes they have made. They feel that only once the mistakes that have been made are made public will we demand changes be made.

As an individual donor, people are often looking to sponsor tangible items and are not as likely to donate to cover maintenance costs. David, along with Engineers without Borders feels that it is necessary to show the public the mistakes that they have made by ignoring this vital component of aid and by doing so, hope that they will be better prepared for future situations. They hope that by learning from their mistakes, they won’t make them again.