Welcome to the first edition of fundsforNGOs NGO of the Month feature for the year 2015. As you have been working hard to make this world a better place to live, we feel proud to feature your organization to inspire other organizations make greater impact.
This month, we are featuring Concern Worldwide from USA – the organization improving lives of people living in extreme poverty. Naomi Walston from Concern Worldwide answers our queries.
What inspired the establishment of your NGO?
Concern Worldwide was founded in 1968 to bring emergency humanitarian relief to civilians affected by the Biafran civil war. That year, a group of people in Ireland responded to a call for help from Father Aengus Finucane and his brother, Jack, who were working on the front lines in Biafra. They decided to fset up an organization, “Africa Concern”. When the hostilities in Biafra ended in January 1970, the board of Africa Concern met to plan future policy. Any doubts about there being an on-going role for the organization were dispelled when the world was alerted to the staggering needs in East Pakistan at the end of 1970. On the heels of a devastating cyclone came civil war, which resulted in the creation of the independent state of Bangladesh. A massive refugee problem was created in India, and in 1971 ‘Africa Concern’ changed its name to ‘Concern Worldwide’ to reflect its new global scope, and sent a medical team to work with the refugees.
What is special about your organization?
Our team of nearly 3,000 highly skilled and committed workers represents an exceptional depth of experience, talent, commitment and diversity.
Our on-the-ground presence in 26 countries gives us a base in places most likely to be affected by humanitarian crises.
Our track record, particularly in emergency response, child survival, and nutrition, is recognized internationally as being of exceptionally high quality.
Our ability to facilitate the various stakeholders to ensure greatest impact on the ground. This facilitation is a key component in how we operate as an organization.
We have a diverse support base of funds–from private and government sources–which allows us the independence to respond to a crisis when we are needed most.
How does your NGO change lives?
This question is best answered with an example:
Sencia lives in the town of Saut d’Eau in central Haiti. Between 2007 and 2009, Sencia participated in Concern Worldwide‘s Chemen Lavi Miyo program, which translates to “Path to a Better Life.” The program sought to do exactly that—give Haiti’s poorest people a path to a better life through income-generating activities as well as access to health, education, and credit services based on their needs. It uses a “graduation model,” which recognizes that poverty is multi-layered and cannot be overcome through one loan alone. The rationale behind the model is simple: some households are too poor to access credit, so Concern helps to jump-start their finances by providing them with income opportunities and encouraging them to save. After they graduate from Path to a Better Life, the participants are encouraged to get a small loan (usually $25) from our local partner, Fonkonze, a Haitian micro-finance institution, which they can use to expand the business they established while in the program. If they successfully repay the loan, they can access another one at a higher amount and continue to grow their business and family income.
Sencia is still growing her business that was established through Path to a Better Life. She took the livestock that she received through Path to a Better Life and expanded on it, selling chickens in a market stall and buying a young calf, a status symbol in Haiti. Sencia, not her husband, is the one who makes the decisions at home, from what to put on the table to what assets to sell and buy. The new income also allowed her to put a concrete floor in her home, put healthy meals on the table, and buy a table and chairs for her family to eat their meals on. Sencia is the goal and while the model is not a silver bullet to eradicating poverty or Haiti’s deep-rooted problems, I am encouraged that it can change a life.
Sahara Hassan (13), a student at Jabuti school in Mogadishu, which is supported by Concern Worldwide. This is her first year of formal education.
Photo Credit: Kieran McConville/Concern Worldwide US
Why is your organization important to the community you work in?
In countries susceptible to disaster, Concern works to prevent and limit the impact of future crises. We’re doing this by enabling communities to minimise the impact of recurrent disasters, and by establishing early warning systems to alert them when these disasters are imminent.
This allows us to focus not only on saving lives, but also on protecting people’s livelihoods. We don’t just deal with the short-term needs of communities affected by disaster, but we stay there and tackle the long-term needs too.
Monica Malundu, 36, a small model farmer in Concern’s RAIN programme sit with her 3 year old daughter Deli in thier home in Zambia.
Photo Credit: Gareth Bentley/Concern Worldwide
What is your NGOs vision for the world?
Concern’s work is informed by a vision for change. We envision a world in which no-one lives in poverty, fear or oppression; in which all have access to a decent standard of living and the opportunities and choices essential to a long, healthy and creative life; and in which everyone is treated with dignity and respect.
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