The urgent need for Malawian CSOs to #ShiftThePower
First responders and the contributions made by other Malawians had been “erased” from the narratives on humanitarian response to cyclone Freddy.
Donors
Philanthropy: What’s trust got to do with it?
One of the things I struggled with early on when I started to understand the #ShiftThePower movement was the concept of “trust”. The idea was strange to me; during discussions around the concept, I asked if it was genuinely possible to trust that an organization could do the work independently without being held to so many checks and due diligence processes.
Whose counterpart? The trick of power
External resources are only a modest contribution to the gigantic efforts and contribution that the communities make daily. They are the “starting point.” Without it, there is no possible development project.
How to lift community-led organizations in dry aid: Experiences from Kenya
From a distance the development sector looks well. Get interested. Establish a local community organization and try your luck in the “do good” sector. Write proposals. Get regrets, rejections and finally get picked. Meet all the due diligence requirements. Sign the contract. Get a few dollars. Start implementing. Write reports. Monitor. Audit. Evaluate. Write reports. Repeat.
Are funders ready for mutual accountability?
Local organizations receiving funding are, by default, expected to transparently share intimate details about themselves (When were you founded? Who is on your board? Who are your donors? What do your policies look like?… For fear of seeming difficult to work with, local organizations will not risk asking equally pertinent questions about the potential partners that they intend to collaborate with.