Are NGOs making a difference in the world?

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Are NGOs really effective? Do they actually make a difference in the world? This is a question that people ask me very often as I am working myself for an NGO. I even ask sometimes myself this question. Is my work making a difference in the world, in someone's life or is it just a waste of time and money? Sometimes it is so difficult to see the results of social work. There are still extremely poor people in the world, still the planet is in danger because of the global warming, still education and health care are main issues in most of the developing countries, violence and violation of human rights are still present in our society. It seems like the main society issues persist. We still face the same problems and maybe they are even bigger than 10 or 15 years ago. The only change seems to be the increasing numbers of NGOs all over the world trying to solve them. It looks like the more problems we have, the more NGOs come to live.

So the question of effectiveness of non-profits is a difficult one. There is no one objective answer to it. Hence, we always need to give detailed numbers of our “successes” or “failures” to our donors, partners and investors. The pressure is real. We need to show how many lives our actions have changed for the better. We need numbers. How many, for how long, for what period of time... The only problem is that very often the success of humanitarian work can not be measured by numbers. So, the question of “is NGOs work effective?” is quite wrong. The question should be “HOW NGOs work is effective and what should be done so they can achieve more?”

Often, people who donate money to non-profits have the wrong expectations about their work. They think that there is a certain issue, let's say extreme poverty, that must be fixed, solved. It is silly to think that NGOs alone can solve the problem of extreme poverty in the world. There is no fast solutions to big social issues like this one. The same with environment. It is naïve to think that because Greepeace exists and we donated money to theirs actions, global warming will be soon over. This is not how things work. NGOs can not “fix” the world problems with a magic stick. We can fix the consequences of them for a while, but not the problems themselves. If we want to go deep to the core of the issue, it takes time. A lot of time. And effort. In this article Does charity maintain people in poverty? I talk more about the difference between fixing the consequences and how this is not helpful or it is but just for a short period of time, and fixing the core issue, which takes a lot of time and effort but gives long-term results.

So, solving the world's biggest problems does not happen over night or with billions of dollars. Even if we donate all the money we have for a cause, if we don't invest in the long-term results, we will never see a significant change. The issue will persist. The investment we need to make is time, not money. But do we have enough time?

Once, I heard a colleague of mine who told us that a person he was working with was not improving fast enough. He was talking of an extremely poor person who doesn't know how to read nor write, who had been told her whole life “you are dumb and you don't know anything”. This particular person was coming regularly to one of our actions where people exchange thoughts and talk about theirs personal experiences, visions of the world, personal traumas. My colleague was thinking that the person he was talking about was not improving because she was coming on a regular basis to this place of “exchange of experiences” but was never saying anything. Never. And she was coming for 10 years now! Most people will think “This is useful! You are doing something wrong. This person is a lost cause, nothing can be done for her. You are wasting your time”. I would say that it is completely normal to think like that and maybe this is the logical and obvious thing to say about this situation. Except that this person was extremely alone, isolated from the rest of the world, never going out except twice per month to meet us. For her it is a big thing to go out of her house, alone, to take the transport for an hour and to meet us. Regularly. So, if we look at the fact that it has been 10 years and she has never said anything – yes, this is a failure. But if we look at the fact that she has been coming regularly, investing the time and the effort to do so, making this choice, going out of her comfort zone, out of her “comfortable” isolation – this is a huge success. I believe that one day she will speak. When the right time for her comes.

World's problems are much more complex than most of the people think they are. It is not just one thing that should be changed. There are many thins that must be changed. And they are all connected. We can not fix the planet's issues if first we don't start by changing our daily habits like using plastic, overeating, over-consuming, wasting the environment's resources for selfish and useless purposes. We can not solve the problem of extreme poverty if we don't make any changes in the international intergovernmental institutions like the United Nations, the World Bank, the World Trade organization where NGOs have no right to vote. Also, we don't have to forget that trying to find a way to solve a problem, like extreme poverty for example, actually, concerns people's lives. We can not just tell them “do this, do that and you will not be poor anymore”. It is so much deeper and complex as an issue. People need time to change their mindset and their perception of themselves and what is around them.

Another huge issue around NGOs work is what I call “the dependency phenomenon”. I also talk more about it in Does charity maintain people in poverty? This is the extreme donation of money, food, clothing that serves to recover on the early stages of a crisis but it does not cure the problem itself. If it is overdone, it becomes toxic. People become dependent of what we give them for free and they stop making any efforts. This is also a reason of the dying economy in extremely poor countries. The more clothing we donate to these countries, the more local businesses are dying. We should stop thinking that giving money, food and other stuff for free will heal the world. It will not. It will make people become dependent and incapable of doing whatever they need to do to have their life back together.

Another thing which is very important in order to make a difference in the world, is that NGOs need to connect with each other on a local, regional and even international level. Working together hand by hand, cooperating, partnership is what can be the most rewarding for the NGOs and the world. If we take a non-profit working in the area of health care, another one fighting for human rights and a third one working towards achieving a better environment, if we combine their work, they can do together amazing things for the world or for a local community. Their work is indirectly connected. Where we have pollution and bad environment, we also have health care problems and then, violation of human rights. It is all connected!

In order to make the NGOs work more effective, we also need to think about the government and the businesses' support. Without them, the NGOs work is not possible. Unfortunately, this could be a huge challenge. Often, big cooperations will offer money to support or even fund a non-profit's project but of course they will come with some terms and expectations. They will definitely want something back. We don't have to forget that cooperations are here to make money, not to save the world. Actually, this is maybe their least concern. However, we still need their support. The government, the businesses and the NGOs are the tree major actors in the modern political arena. They need to work together in order to make changes that will actually lead to long-term benefits for the world. They also need to have pure, genuine and selfless goals and drives. Very difficult...

A huge problem is that even though NGOs are a part of international institutions like the United Nations, they have a voice but not a vote. They can only give their opinion, influence but not actually decide. Of course, non-profits are seen like “rebels” and maybe it would be “too risky” to give them the right to vote... I believe that if NGOs can actually vote in international intergovernmental institutions, this would be a positive change for the society. They will not be only advisers but also decision-makers.

However, if we go back to the original question of NGOs effectiveness and how their work makes a real difference in the world, they actually have a pretty big impact on the society and the world. They spread worldwide people's opinion, encourage societies to make positive changes. They point out what is wrong and what must be changed if we want to live in a better world. They are the drive that makes people wake up and realize what is going on. NGOs will often open our eyes for problems that we have never thought existed. They will give the right to every person no matter their gender, skin color or religion to tell what they find it is important. They will fight for justice and equal rights. Their big achievement is that they made human rights a basic principal of development in developing and developed countries. Another big social improvement due to NGOs is that they always keep the spotlight on the need to make reforms in international institutions, especially when it comes to environment, human rights, world poverty, sexual abuse etc.

And all this is capable to change how people see the world. This is a huge impact and the first step to a better society and to a better world. As I said before, it takes time. And yes, NGOs exist for ever and extreme poverty, violence and racism as well, but what NGOs have achieved until now is huge. They have a huge impact on the society and how the world is changing. However, what we can all do today in order to change the world, is to start by changing ourselves. Try to be the best version of ourselves every single day. Make conscious choices and always ask ourselves “why”. Always learning. Always be intellectually curious. Built healthy habits. Read books, travel, learn a new language, meet new people, walk. Avoid the junk in our life. Stop the pollution in our own life and then, try to stop it in the world around us. You will see, it is much easier this way. Do not think that changing the world is only the NGOs job. It is everybody's job. The world we live in is everybody's responsibility, your life is your own one. Be responsible. Take action. Today. Now. Love, Elena

You can also read :
Does charity maintain people in poverty?
Are NGOs a huge business? Things to look for when choosing an NGO.
How does volunteering make you become a better person?
How did volunteering change my life?