Top givers

The Global Journal  assesses hundreds of NGOs and then ranks them in terms of impact, innovation and sustainability. The top five with their headquarters and goals: 

BRAC, Bangladesh, micro-finance and programs for agriculture and food security; education, climate change reduction, health and poverty reduction; started as a limited relief operation in 1972 and turned into the largest development organization in the world. 

The Wikimedia Foundation, United States, free and open access internet source for mutlilingual and educational articles, images and reference materials. Founded in 2003 to promote free internet content and reference materials.

Acumen Fund, United States, loan, venture capital and investment programs to reduce global poverty; raises charitable donations to invest in companies, leaders and ideas to change how the world tackles poverty; incorporated in 2001 with seed capital from foundations and philanthropists.

Danish Refugee Council, Denmark, aims to protect refugees and offer durable solutions for ending conflicts; Founded in 1956, the group assists with housing, food security, job creation and more.

Partners in Health, United States, strives to reduce poverty that exacerbates infectious diseases. Founded in 1987 to deliver care in Haiti, the NGO has expanded its mission to establish long-term relationships in impoverished areas and maintains that health is a human right.  

Allure of Deceit is a mystery novel about a woman who runs a new and massive NGO that operates in developing nations, and how she uses that foundation to solve the murder of her wealthy son just days after his wedding.

Photograph of community health volunteer in Dhaka who goes door to door providing guidance for pregnant women and offers referrals on medical care - courtesy of UK Department for International Development and Wikimedia Commons. 

Divided partners

Fear of Beauty and this blog describe the role of the provincial reconstruction teams - groups of civilian and military specialists - in Afghanistan as they provide technical advice and support in agriculture, education, health care, construction and many other areas. Of course, some teams have produced great achievements and others have been less successful. Philosophies differ, as demonstrated by the quarrels between Cameron and Mita in Fear of Beauty. So much depends how the teams worked with local governments.

Alexandra Gheciu details and analyzes NGO concerns about the PRTs in an article "Divided Partners: The Challenges of NATO-NGO Cooperation in Peacebuilding Operations" for Global Governance:

"From NATO's point of view, the contemporary blurring of boundaries between civilian and military actions in peacebuilding operations can be seen as an opportunity to bring into the sphere of humanitarian activity some of the advantages of the military culture of efficiency. But from the perspective of many NGOs, the existing blurring of boundaries is a deeply problematic development that should be contained and, as much as possible, reversed. What is needed, according to this logic, is a clear separation between the military and humanitarian norms and activities, and an affirmation of the leading role of humanitarian organizations in the definition of the rules of the game in activities that involve assistance to civilians in war-torn countries."

Gheciu concludes that a lack of coordination will only lead to more disagreements, wasted resources and "growing disenchantment both in the territories undergoing postconflict reconstruction and in the international community - with international peacebuilding operations."

Strong opinions are the norm. People quarrel, institutions quarrel - and with luck, communities progress.

Libraries

Libraries let children explore and dream. Yet such places are rare in the developing world, and war in countries like Afghanistan essentially ruined such institutions. The number of libraries in Afghanistan has grown in recent years, and yet these still remain inaccessible for most rural children in a country where half the population is under age 18.

Atifa R. Rawan, an Afghan native and librarian at the University of Arizona, has been recognized for her efforts to rebuild and protect the nation's academic libraries, reported La Monica Everett-Haynes of UA News. She has worked with Afghanistan specialists like Nancy Hatch Dupree and the Afghanistan Centre at Kabul University to preserve materials. The program has since expanded to provide training and other support, and The motto of the Louis and Nancy Hatch Dupree Foundation is "Rebuilding Afghanistan, One Book at a Time."

Other more informal libraries are opening in schools around the country, reports the US Agency for International Development:

Many communities and public schools in Afghanistan do not have a library. Students are limited to grade level books provided by the Ministry of Education.

To improve access to quality education services in Afghanistan, a USAID project has disseminated educational materials to rural communities to improve literacy and promote a culture of reading in Afghanistan. Through the project, about 200 libraries have been established and more than 100,000 books distributed around the country. Each library is initially provided with 500 books that are approved by the Ministry of Education and available in both Dari and Pashto.

A blog on Rebuilding the Libraries of Afghanistan also reports progress: Before the civil war in the 1990s, Kabul had six libraries and six provincial libraries, most destroyed and damaged. Since 2001, the country has opened new libraries: "There are now 10 branch libraries in Kabul (including Afghanistan's only prison library at Pul-e-Charkhi Prison) and a further 50 provincial library branches.  Kabul Public library also has a mobile library van which services 12 outlying districts of Kabul."

Funding, corruption and challenges from those who resent education remain issues. The Rebuilding blog continues: "As in many developing countries, the priority for most Afghan librarians at this point in time is simply to be able to organise and manage books and documents efficiently and serve their clientele with a minimum of materials and technology."

Libraries combat the dangers of illiteracy. USAID projects supported libraries and literacy skills for rural youth, and USAID notes that "Through a cross-sectoral strategy emphasizing literacy and the interconnected elements of civic engagement and economic empowerment, young people were granted opportunities to gain functional literacy skills, voice, and increased livelihood opportunities."

William Frej, a former mission director, recalls a rural village in Bamyan Province, amid the Hindu-Kush mountains, as reported by Robert Sauers for USAID Frontlines. The village had a USAID program: "I was struck at this completely isolated village, and there were both boys and girls in a classroom that had a trained teacher - learning math, learning reading skills, learning English," he said, adding that USAID and its implementing partner on the project were the only development groups who had ever visited that particular village."

By empowering individuals, libraries and literacy provide economic strength as well as local and national security.

Photo courtesy of USAID.