“Drop by drop, to fill the bucket” is a Cambodian proverb meaning that a little work at a time will eventually lead to bigger accomplishments. I felt this was a particularly appropriate quote for this blog which will be an overview of some development work happening in Southeast Asia. As a Master of Nonprofit Management and International Studies student, I have an interest in how NGOs can work to lead a community to success or what work may actually create more challenges for them. NGOs worldwide fill gaps left by the government and the private sector. In developing nations, NGOs are often the only reliable institution to distribute health care, education and other basic needs. However, the weight of responsibility these organizations take on creates pressure for their employees and their donors to continue to provide these amenities, few resources and no end in sight.
Understanding the pressure that international NGOs are facing, I wanted to highlight some of the work being done while also emphasizing the differences in the NGOs working in Southeast Asia. Whether it be healthcare, education, environmental impacts or clean water, these NGOs are working tirelessly to better the lives of the communities in which they work. For this blog, I want to also examine how involved local people were in the development field. There are many conversations happening within this field about the involvement of “westerner” in the development of other nations. Cultural appropriation, patriarchy, and neocolonialism are just a few concepts that are explored when thinking about how to be approach development work. It is often that one assumes money, resources, and/or education is only coming from the “west”, however, I am interested in the process of how and why locals Asians were active in developing their own communities through working with NGOs.
This blog will cover multiple NGOs working in Thailand and Cambodia. The information gathered is based on conversations with at least one employee from each NGO and information gathered from their website. Ideally, I spoke to a local employee from each of these organizations. However, barriers emerged such as translation issues, unavailability of local staff or lack thereof. Each post includes information about the organization; including challenges, successes and funding sources. I also asked the employees why they wanted to be part of the organization. I hope for this information will paint a picture of the various types of NGOs and emphasizing the amount of local staff that are dedicated to improving their country “drop by drop”.
