Tipos de tejido

Based on the perceptions of African communities, the interaction between African communities and NGOs can be categorised into at least three patterns – NGOs as proxies, NGOs as helpers and NGOs as partners of African communities. These different patterns of interactions indicate the level of the maturity of relations between African communities and NGOs. I will discuss and analyse the implications of each pattern for the empowerment of African communities.

a) NGOs as proxies

In the above section, I noted that the dominant emerging pattern of interactions between African community groups and governments was engaging African communities by proxy through NGOs. This was reflective of governments’ views of African communities, it was also indicative of what orders the behaviour of NGOs and their relationship with African communities. In section 7.1.3, I noted that NGOs were often called ‘community

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Components of this sub-section have been included in Hiruy, K and Eversole, R, 2014, ‘NGOs and grassroots community organisations in Australia, Third Sector Journal, (submitted

K. Hiruy | Institute for Regional Development | Actors, their Interaction and Change ₂₁₄ organisations’ and the sector was often called the ‘community sector’ in the Australian context. The term ‘community’ suggests that NGOs are considered as organisations that represent ‘communities’ in a broader sense. There was also a tendency, at least on the government side, to consider these NGOs as proxies for disadvantaged communities. Thus, funding allocated towards the activities of NGOs was presented in political rhetoric as a resource allocated to the needy – the disadvantaged communities.

However, this conjecture does not reflect the reality on the ground. It was true that the majority of the ‘community organisations’—NGOs—that worked with African communities were not-for-profit organisations, and their missions herald social justice and support for disadvantaged communities including African communities. Their activities were also about providing services to and advocacy work on behalf of disadvantaged communities including African communities. Despite this, it does not mean that they represent the African community groups. An analysis of the governance of NGOs that worked with African communities in the three states illustrate that these organisations (NGOs) do not have the representation of African communities or any other disadvantaged community group they serve for that matter.

This study shows that some of these NGOs have contributed to the ‘disempowerment’ of African community groups they work ‘with’ and ‘for,' mainly due to the competitive nature of the funding model. The nature of competitive tender for government funding has pushed some of these NGOs to work against African community groups they claim to support. African community leaders interviewed have labelled some of these NGOs as their foes rather than their supporters or partners, and expressed their feeling that these NGOs denied them the opportunity to have more control of programs and activities that supported their communities by dealing with governments on their behalf without their knowledge.

As one of the community leaders puts it:

We know that there is an underlying fear within the NGOs in the market place, who provide services. …our empowerment scares them because if we are able, we become the service deliverers ourselves and that takes away all the NGOs have. I think that is the complexity of the situation (Interview 038)

This participant described NGOs as dishonest, shrewd and benefit-seeking organisations. It is perhaps a harsh and one-sided characterisation of the work of NGOs, many of whom are well-meaning and work relentlessly on behalf of African communities. Nonetheless, it indicates the tension that exists between NGOs and the African communities they intend to support. As the participant indicated, the situation is complex; on one side NGOs have a

K. Hiruy | Institute for Regional Development | Actors, their Interaction and Change ₂₁₅ mission based on altruistic principles, and they want to facilitate the empowerment of individuals and communities they serve. On the other hand, they have to maintain a level of funding they receive every year both to maintain staff and service levels.

Hence NGOs compete with and even work against the empowerment of the very communities they work ‘with’ and ‘for’ by playing politics, and sometimes magnifying the division and cracks in African communities. Such activity had a detrimental effect on the empowerment of community groups both by creating disunity and conflict in African communities and by putting barriers to the access of resources from government and other actors.

b) NGOs as helpers

NGOs are also viewed as helpers by African communities and hence the interaction exists within a helper and helped dichotomy. This view of NGOs as helpers was also held by NGO workers interviewed. They saw their role as one of helping the African communities settle well in Australia. Thus this belief of helping others created patterns of interactions that, in some cases, created a dependency between African communities and NGOs. When many of the African humanitarian entrants first arrived in Australia, they received initial settlement services from NGOs such as MRCs and this created loyalty and a sense of indebtedness on the African communities’ side. Perhaps the fact that both the ACCT and ACCSA were organised with the help of the MRCs in those states indicate that this was the case. For example, this was implied in the reflection of how ACCSA came about, provided by one of the leaders:

When we arrived, the MRCSA helped us to settle. So when we thought of forming an organisation, we all agreed that we needed to get help from somewhere. Moreover, the first stopping point was MRCSA. They were keen to help us, and they supported us from then on. That was how we started (Interview 043).

This idea of NGOs as helpers shaped the interaction of African communities particularly at the initial stage of their organisational development. However, as pointed out earlier, once African community groups were at a stage where they were able to stand on their own feet and compete for funding the interactions changed. The reality was that in some cases, NGOs were forced to work against African community groups to continue funding, and this changed the nature of interactions among the African communities and the NGOs into an antagonistic one.

K. Hiruy | Institute for Regional Development | Actors, their Interaction and Change ₂₁₆

c) NGOs as partners

Considering NGOs as partners and building relationships based on meaningful partnership also created a different pattern of interaction between African communities and NGOs. In section 7.2.1 (2), I have discussed partnership as a mechanism through which African communities interacted with other actors. Through the descriptions of the three case studies in Chapter IV section 4.3, I have illustrated that ACCT, ACCSA and ATT all had some form of partnership with NGOs. In the discussion in Chapter VI section 6.1.2, I have identified community partnership as one of the conditions for community empowerment. In this section, I will show the link between partnership and the empowerment of African communities.

As can be gleaned from the abovementioned sections, by building partnerships with NGOs, African communities were able to create opportunities for their community to participate in decision-making and share resources with NGOs. Partnerships with NGOs also enabled African communities to strengthen their capacity and to bargain for power. For example, as noted in Chapter VI section 6.1.2, ACCSA’s partnership with several NGOs provided ACCSA with an opportunity to bargain on behalf of African communities in South Australia.

However, the outcomes of the interactions in partnerships were dependent on the relative power or influence African communities had in the partnership. The case reported in Chapter VI section 6.1.2 can be cited as an example. Although the umbrella African community organisation was in a formal partnership with the NGO, the NGO refused to include the African community organisation in the decision-making process (Steering Committee). The case shows that the NGO’s relative power and influence was greater than the African community organisation’s influence and that the partnership was not built on common goals. It also illustrates that the NGO entered into a partnership agreement only to show funding agencies that it had a partnership with these communities.