Many of those I meet think that NGOs are limited to charity work and philanthropy. Yet throughout my work with NGOs, I’ve realized that they cover almost every aspect of “industries” or “field of work” that many of the Private Sector cover, as well as those of Public Sector and UN agencies.
Here’s a quick overview of the list of “industries” or “fields of work” that NGOs cover:
- Advocacy & Awareness
- Agriculture
- Business & Economic Policy
- Child Education
- Youth Empowerment
- Citizenship
- Communication
- Conflict Resolution
- Peace Building
- ICT
- Culture & Society
- Democracy & Civic Rights
- Rural Development
- Disability & Handicap
- Displaced Population & Refugees
- Education
- Environment
- Family Care
- Women’s Rights
- Governance
- Health
- Human Rights
- Charity/Philanthropy
- Labor
- Law & Legal Affairs
- Migrant Workers
- Relief
- Reconstruction
- Rehabilitation
- Research & Studies
- Science
- Social Media
- Technology
- Transparency
- Training & Capacity Building
Thus, the next time you hear of someone working in NGO, I kindly ask you not to label them as “Charity Worker” as many NGOs are not limited to charity work.
Afif's 
Reblogged this on georgesabat and commented:
Yes, sure, but if one delves deeper into this subject, one would be surprised at what one would find. First, from personal experience I have discovered that many NGOs are reluctant to join hands with others in order to work on a national scale. Second, many NGOs are fixated on the financial outcome of any project, that is “how much money they can make out of it, even if it means cheating on the product?”.Then, there is the pressures exerted by the Authorities and the special interests to prevent them from “seeing and saying” too much. Would you believe that one NGO, in particular, had to sign a MOU with a Minister undertaking not to publish anything without his authorization? I knew so few of them who did not succumb to these pressures. When you add to these obstacles the limited experience and organizing minds of the principals and their staff, what are you left with? Not much, at the end, unfortunately. Of course this somber description does not, fortunately apply to all NGOs. There are some admirable examples in Lebanon, but mostly in the “charity” field.
I know of no one that deals with governance with “no strings attached”. If you know of such an NGO, kindly inform me.
I don’t know if my comments were published, so allow me to post them once more:Yes, sure, but if one delves deeper into this subject, one would be surprised at what one would find. First, from personal experience I have discovered that many NGOs are reluctant to join hands with others in order to work on a national scale. Second, many NGOs are fixated on the financial outcome of any project, that is “how much money they can make out of it, even if it means cheating on the product?”.Then, there is the pressures exerted by the Authorities and the special interests to prevent them from “seeing and saying” too much. Would you believe that one NGO, in particular, had to sign a MOU with a Minister undertaking not to publish anything without his authorization? I knew so few of them who did not succumb to these pressures. When you add to these obstacles the limited experience and organizing minds of the principals and their staff, what are you left with? Not much, at the end, unfortunately. Of course this somber description does not, fortunately apply to all NGOs. There are some admirable examples in Lebanon, but mostly in the “charity” field.
I know of no one that deals with governance with “no strings attached”. If you know of such an NGO, kindly inform me.
Dear Afif, I trust that my previous comments did not upset you in any way. It was just a cry of the heart, after ten years of sad experience in that domain.I greatly appreciate your initiative and the thoroughness of your research. In this connection, may I ask a small service. As I mentioned, after ten years of persistent studies and publications, our NGO: CPI The Lebanese Center for Public Information, has decided to elaborate, within a period not exceed six months, a Lebanese National Development Plan (L.N.D.P.) for the period 2015-2018. Our NGO has the support and the active participation of a number of Lebanese and foreign experts located in the USA, Saudi Arabia, and Europe, in addition to some members of the Public Administration in Lebanon. We are in the course of recruiting University undergraduates to assist us in our research and information collection process. Out of eighteen sector plans that form part of the project, twelve are either completed or are in the course of being elaborated, leaving us with five plans that need to be entirely researched and written up. They are the following: The Social Security Plan No. 4, the Commerce Plan No.8, The Telecoms Plan No.9, The Roads Plan No. 12, The Public Transport Plan No.13,and the Diaspora relationship Plan No. 18. If you know of any NGO or individuals (particularly undergraduates) interested in taking part in this noble project, kindly inform me.You can email me, if you wish, at georgesabat@yahoo.com