Week 3 rolled around and after weeks of languishing in front of a computer researching layouts for information flyers I was tasked with preparing a closing out report for a project the organization had been implementing in the North western region of Sri Lanka in an area names Mannar. The project was to provide 180 homes for those families that had been displaced during the ethnic conflict which tore the island state apart. the project was to be a holistic approach to reconstruction. By this I mean that the initial project proposal contained not just infrastructure provisions but also the provisions for more socially motivated initiatives such as seminars on peacebuilding and also a community centre for the community which was made of two different ethnic groups to come together in harmony and interact away from the strife that existed in their day to day existence.

When I began working on the initial draft I began to realise that I could not find any information or documents on the seminars that were meant to have been carried out or the community centre. As I had not been allowed to visit the field I could not speak to the beneficiaries I was left to infer my own meanings from the absence until I came across a evaluation report from mid-way through the project which stated that it was decided that the money allocated for the two outcomes would be better utilised if put towards the homes fund. In an area that had been ravaged by war and where still due to the governments lack of thought there still existed deep seated unease I could not understand how seminars on peace building for the community and having a neutral space for all inhabitants to interact could possibly not be of the utmost importance.

Since more plausible answers were not forthcoming from the team I was left to draw my own conclusions. For most NGOs showcasing tangible results is of the utmost importance. This leads to more funds coming in which keeps the NGO afloat. Many choose to disregard the real burning issues within the community or the most prominent needs for mere band aids or more convenient outcomes. The choice to do away with the peacebuilding work shops as well as the community centre would fall within this category. The said outcomes are of the social variety. Measurement and quantifying their success would be close to impossible and this is no good when showcasing their achievements therefore building more homes which fall in to a more hardware and measurable category takes precedence.

“Social results and impact normally lie outside NGOs’ control, and may take years to emerge. Many other stronger factors influence them. So results cannot be attributed to a specific organisation’s work.” Mango 2016

The donor for the said project who not being a local organisation depends on the word of the NGO and when they are told that the environment is not conducive and is to volatile for the said workshops they would be inclined to believe them and when as a alternative more houses ( needed or not) can be built utilising the extra funds they are appeased.

Bibliography

2016, M. (2016) Mango: What is wrong with results based management. Available at: https://www.mango.org.uk/guide/whyrbmnotwork (Accessed: 15 May 2016).