The Big Issue – August 05, 2019

30 | BIGISSUE.COM ǻȀɯǼǼg&g]cǽǻǼȄ

globalconferencedemandedthata

massivelyincreasedproportionof

fundingshouldgodirectlytolocal

agenciesratherthanbig

aidagencies.

I sawanexampleoflocal

developmentthisyearina slum

villageina Filipinocity.Community

memberswerecollectinghousehold

wasteandclearingblocked

watercoursesanddrains,recycling

plastic,makingcompostfrom

foodwaste,growingseedlings

andcreating‘verticalgardens’,

suspendingplasticbottlesfrom

ropesoutsidetheirhouses,cutting

ƷʼnĩůŻƟĩű᠄ȀŦŦŎűłƷʼnĩůǜŎƷʼn

compost,plantingseedlingsand

growinghouseholdvegetables.

ȃĩǢᡒĢƪƷþƢƷĩĢþ ěŻᠸŻƟĩƢþƷŎǛĩ

sellingcompost,seedlingsand

otherorganicproductsthey

manufactured,creatingjobsand

income.A localaidworkerprovided

ideas,supportandfundingfrom

theiragencybutlocalcommunity

membersrantheworkandtold

meaboutallthisoverlunchinthe

ěŻůůƿűŎƷǢʼnþŦŦ᠐ȃĩǢŻǜűĩĢŎƷ᠄ þűĢ

whatthey ’ddoneinspiredthem

ƷŻ ĢŻ ůŻƢĩ᠐ȃĩǢǜĩƢĩƟƢĩƪƪŎűł

localpoliticianstoimprovethe

infrastructure. Slow, small changes

which looked like they would

ƪƷŎěţþűĢůþţĩþĢŎDzŁĩƢĩűěĩƷŻ

people’s lives.

My book concludes that the aid

industry needs to change. It needs

to draw closer to the people it’s

meant to serve, working on small,

slow and unglamorous changes that

ůþţĩþƢĩþŦĢŎDzŁĩƢĩűěĩ᠐SĢŎĢþƷþŦţ

about this at a conference and an

þěþĢĩůŎěƪþŎĢþǼƷĩƢǜþƢĢƪʼnĩǜþƪ

sure everyone listening would agree

with what I said. But, he said, the

problem is funding. It would be

nice as an aid agency worker, or as

a college professor, to work in this

way but where would the money

ěŻůĩŁƢŻů᠑ȃþƷᡒƪƷʼnĩƟƢŻĚŦĩů᠐ȃĩ

aid industry is addicted to funding

and until it can kick the habit it will

continue to deliver projects that tick

the boxes for the funders but fail to

listen to the people it’s meant to

be about.

Making Aid Agencies Work:

Reconnecting INGOs with

Ʒʼnĩ£ĩŻƟŦĩȄĩǢ®ĩƢǛĩ

by Terry Gibson is out

now (Emerald Books,

£24.99)

g=cgYʸ

BOOKS

S

ome books take a long time writing. I sat in a

Tanzanian vilage in 1993 and started to ask why

people there and in many villages, towns and

cities round the world were unheard and ignored

while billions of dollars were spent on supposedly

ŎůƟƢŻǛŎűłƷʼnĩŎƢŦŎǛĩƪ᠄þűĢƷʼnŎƪǢĩþƢSȀűþŦŦǢǜƢŻƷĩ

Making Aid Agencies Work.

rǢǜŻƢţƷʼnĩűǜþƪȀŦůůþţŎűł᠐űĩűŦŎłʼnƷĩűĩĢþŎĢ

þłĩűěǢþłƢĩĩĢǜĩěŻƿŦĢůþţĩþȀŦůþĚŻƿƷƷʼnĩŻƢĢŎűþƢǢ

lives of people in a poor country, a counterpoint to the

ĚŦĩþţŎůþłĩƪŻŁƟŻǜĩƢŦĩƪƪűĩƪƪþűĢƪƿDzŁĩƢŎűłƿƪĩĢƷŻ

extract donations from the public. We went to watch,

listen and record what we saw, living in the village for

a week at a time. A farmer told us about his family ’s

ǜĩĩţĢþǢŦŎŁĩ᠄ǜŻƢţŎűłƷʼnĩȀĩŦĢƪŁƢŻůĢþǜűƷŻĢƿƪţ᠐

Weekends, however, were for leisure, talking, cooking,

enjoying each other’s company. One of the poorest in the

village was a woman bringing up eight children on her

own. Her small plot of land wouldn’t support them and

she worked for other farmers to raise money. But she

also made earthenware pots. When we asked why she

was making them she said it was something she did for

ƟŦĩþƪƿƢĩ᠄þʼnŻĚĚǢ᠐NĩƢŦŎŁĩǜþƪƟƢĩƪƪƿƢĩĢþűĢĢŎDzȀěƿŦƷĚƿƷ

ƪʼnĩŁŻƿűĢƷŎůĩƷŻěƢþǼƷʼnĩƢƟŻƷƪ᠐

SěþůĩþǜþǢƢĩþŦŎƪŎűłƷʼnĩƪĩƟĩŻƟŦĩǜĩƢĩűᡒƷĢĩȀűĩĢĚǢ

poverty, but were living rich lives with their own hopes

and plans. But as I continued to travel and record in

many countries, clocking up about a million airmiles, I

became increasingly convinced that aid – ‘international

development’ – didn’t listen to the people whose lives

it was meant to improve. What I saw instead were aid

þłĩűěŎĩƪƪǜĩĩƟŎűłŎűǜŎƷʼnƟƢĩᠸƟþěţþłĩĢƟƢŻŠĩěƷƪƷŻ

improve things like sanitation, water supplies, agriculture

þűĢʼnĩþŦƷʼn᠄ƷŎěţŎűłŻDzŁƷʼnĩŎƢƷþƢłĩƷƪþűĢŦĩþǛŎűłþłþŎű᠐

People working for these agencies were in it for all the

ƢŎłʼnƷƢĩþƪŻűƪĚƿƷǜʼnĩűSƷƿƢűĩĢƷʼnĩěþůĩƢþŻDzŁþűĢǜĩ

chatted informally they told me how the organisations

ƷʼnĩǢǜŻƢţĩĢŁŻƢ᠄þűĢƷʼnĩǜʼnŻŦĩþŎĢƪǢƪƷĩů᠄ŻǼƷĩű

prevented them doing the things they knew would be

best. It stopped them getting alongside people, building

relationships, listening, forging partnerships and working

ƷŻłĩƷʼnĩƢŁŻƢěʼnþűłĩ᠐ȃþƷƷþţĩƪƷŎůĩ᠄ŎůþłŎűþƷŎŻű᠄ĩűĩƢłǢ

þűĢǴŦĩǡŎĚŎŦŎƷǢ᠐SƷᡒƪĩűƷŎƢĩŦǢþƷŻĢĢƪǜŎƷʼnƟƢĩᠸƟþěţþłĩĢ᠄ĚŎł

budget, fast turnaround projects.

I started working with a global network of small local

aid agencies. I learnt a huge amount from them and also

from study and research at Manchester University. I

gradually concluded that the ideas I’d started to form in

¼þűǬþűŎþǜĩƢĩěŻƢƢĩěƷ᠐ȃŎƪʼnƿłĩþŎĢŎűĢƿƪƷƢǢŎƪþƟƢŎƪŻűĩƢ

to its history and rapid growth, making it more and more

ĢĩƟĩűĢĩűƷŻűŁƿűĢŎűł᠐SƷŦŎƪƷĩűƪƷŻŎƷƪĢŻűŻƢƪ᠄ŻǼƷĩű

governments and institutions, rather than its customers.

SƷƪƟƢŻŠĩěƷƪþƢĩĢĩƷĩƢůŎűĩĢĚǢĢŻűŻƢƟƢŎŻƢŎƷŎĩƪ᠐ȃĩǢ

ǜþűƷŁþƪƷƢĩƪƿŦƷƪ᠐ŎĢþłĩűěŎĩƪěþűĩǛĩűȀűĢƷʼnĩůƪĩŦǛĩƪ

ĚĩěŻůŎűłƷŻŻŦƪŻŁŁŻƢĩŎłűƟŻŦŎěǢþűĢƪĩěƿƢŎƷǢ᠐ȃĩ

ƟþǢůþƪƷĩƢƪěþŦŦƷʼnĩƪʼnŻƷƪ᠐SƷěŻƿŦĢĚĩĢŎDzŁĩƢĩűƷ᠐ȃĩƢĩᡒƪþ

growing clamour for change. Even within the UN a 2015

Illustration: Joeseph Joyce

Helpfordevelopingnationshasbeenreduced

to generic to-do lists, says Terry Gibson.

But the organisations would achieve much

more if they listened to those they’re assisting

AUTHOR FEATURE

Aid isn’t working

• and this is why