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Learning impact from NGOs

Amitabh Srivastava

Even though the image of non government organisations (NGOs) or Community Service Organisations (CSOs) in the public remains hoary it is fact that officially tthere are more than 33 lakh NGOs in India.
The present government which came to power in 2014 was initially very suspicious of them but wiser sense prevailed later. It tried to change that image of NGOs when the Niti Aayog headed by Amitabh Kant called a meeting of well-known NGOs and asked them to register themselves on the Darpan portal.
This, it said would make it easier for the government to consult them and involve them in the welfare activities for those sections that are left out of the development process.
At this meeting he said,"Having been on both sides I can say with all conviction that the government with its ten to five routine cannot reach the sections that the NGOs like Prayas for instance could reach."

Anyway, as far as this book written by Anil Kumar Verma is concerned it is unique because it talks about what impact working with several NGOs leaves on society and individuals like him.
In other words while NGOs are changing the world they are also changing the perception of those who run them or work with them.
Mr.Verma is the right person to write about this impact as he has in his life worked with several NGOs in very senior and critical positions.
Wth a PG in Rural Management and Welfare Administration in the first batch from Patna, Verma started working with several NGOs, including Deepalaya, Delhi brotherhood Society, Salaam Balak Trust, Care-India-Chayan, Christian Children Fund, Society for All Round Development (SARD), Care India, Jal Bhagirathi Foundation, RASTA, Prayas JAC Society etc.
Talking about the history of NGOs at his residence in Greater Noida on October 2 Mr.Verma surprised everyone by asserting that NGOs had existed in India as far back as 25000 years ago. However officially NGOs were recognised by the United Nations in 1968 at the UN Congress in San Francisco when a provision was made in Article 71 of the Charter of UN Framework that qualified NGOs in the field of Economic and Social Development to receive consultative status with the Economic and Social Council.
Anyway back to the book Verma explained that the actual impact of the work done by NGOs takers months and even years. In the beginning it is only an input-output impact which is mostly mathematical but when those affected by the change carry it forward to other members of family or society to change their thinking it becomes Impact.
But did his work change him from inside?
"Yes my experiences in the field taught me many lessons.For instance when I was into housing projects I found a beggar who was very abusive to everyone who passed by. I had read somewhere that if some gets a roof over his head one becomes less abusive. I convinced my bosses to give him a loan of 25,000 to give him a small house. When I visited his house four months later I found two changes.One, he had become less abusive and secondly he was preparing spinach for lunch.Earlier he used to cook anything without bothering about its nutritious content" he said.
Another example that he likes to mention is his visit for social audit to a Naxal affected area in Bihar ( now part of Jharkhand).
"A lot of people warned me that Naxals might disturb our work. But I was not afraid at all. Some Naxals did come to the place and even sat on my official jeep but they actually appreciated our work and left peacefully" he said.
But did his stint with the NGOs change him, impact him?
"In the beginning it was like any other job for me. But today after seeing so much poverty and deprivation I do feel that if I had the means I would like to start an NGO and take the responsibility of teaching at least 100 children and getting them settled in life. But that would remain an unfulfilled desire. Every dream does not become a reality" he says.

Learning impact from NGOs
Anil Kumar Verma
Published by BFC Publications
Viraj Khand
Gomti Nagar
Lucknow
Price Rs.200

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New Delhi, 19 October 2023

Learning impact from NGOs

Amitabh Srivastava