In English only
Volume 6
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Este artigo examina os problemas que os acadêmicos e os editores na Africa estão enfrentando, em um contexto de desenvolvimento rápido na área de informações tecnologicas e de aprofundamento das dificuldades economias entre os países de terceiro mundo. Muitos destes problemas, e muitas das respostas a estes problemas, oferecidas nos livros e pelos editores, são resquísios de uma relação colonial. O aspecto mais significante neste sentido é a profunda dependência nas formúlas do ocidente (para que sejam reconhecidos por este) para a aquisição do conhecimento e de sistemas. Este artigo questiona as expressões `informação rica' e `informação pobre', o autor enfatiza as necessidades dos africanos no desenvolvimento de meios para gerar, valorizar e disseminar as suas próprias formas de conhecimento.
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The need for a comprehensive information service based at the rural level in Bangladesh is discussed, noting the demands of NGO activists who require reading materials, particularly in their own language, for updating their knowledge, developing skills, analysing social issues, and motivating communities. The establishment of the Community Development Library (CDL) in 1980 whose role is to cater to the information needs of development agencies and social workers, through an institution which would provide development workers with resource materials and up-to-date information on a variety of issues is discussed. The organization of the CDL is described, and additional services are noted: press clippings; current-awareness services; a reading circle; action research and publication; audio-visual programme; and development resource promotion. The CDL also maintains 30 regional, district, and local Rural Information Resource Centres (RIRCS). The impact and some restraints of the RIRCS are noted. Abstract supplied by kind permission of CABI.
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The author reports on the Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo (the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo), working actively in Argentina to discover the whereabouts of the desaparacidos, the children who were abducted by the military regime of the 1970s to early `80s. Their achievements include tracing over 50 children, successfully lobbying for the creation of a genetic databank on the families of the disappeared, and campaigning for action from the government.
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The author researched women's experiences of domestic violence and abuse in Calcutta, India. She reports on their strategies for coping with and resisting this violence, noting that the majority of the women developed resistance strategies, and that in many cases these worked. A pragmatic approach is taken, since, the author argues, it is unhelpful to assume that the best course of action for these women would be to leave their partners. The women who were most successful in resisting violence were those who were least isolated; who had access to other family members, or other women through a variety of organisations.
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An unnecessary polarisation has arisen between `relief' and `development' work and agencies are looking to bridge the gap, moving towards an integrated response to disasters which promotes sustainable development. Effective rehabilitation may provide a way forward, and the author discusses this concept, arguing that development agencies will need to foster relevant capacities in recipients as well as shift their planning, programming, implementation and evaluation approaches, in order to enable rehabilitation to work as a strategy in its own right, rather than as a stop-gap between continuing relief and development work.
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Kishore Saint, one of Development in Practice's founding Editorial Advisers, shares his thoughts on the way forward for the journal as he prepares to stand down from his position.
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A Comissão Européia (EC) e outros países da Organização para Cooperação e Desenvolvimento Econômico (OCDE) gostariam de estabelecer um tratado para investimento externo (ou acordo multilateral para investimento) com a Organização Mundial do Comércio (OMC). Isso permitiria que companhias estrangeiras pudessem estabelecer sendo consideradas 100% iguais em todos os setores (exeto no setor de segurança) em todos os países membros da OMC; e recebessem um `tratamento nacional' em comparação as companhias nacionais. Políticas nacionais para favorecer ou facilitar as companhias nacionais poderiam ser consideradas, pelo tratado, como discriminatórias, portanto seriam consideradas inlegais de acordo com as regras do OMC. As penalidades para as infrações ou não cumprimento das regras do tratado da OMC são extensivos. Este artigo explora as implicações graves de tal tratado para os países em desenvolvimento e sugere alternativas que sejam acessíveis a estes países.
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Reforma agrária e reforma no sistema de propriedade da terra desapareu totalamente da agenda internacional para o desenvolvimento, desdos anos 80. Entretanto, muitas organizações comunitárias do povo e ONGs dos países de terceiro mundo estão tentando restaurar estes temas como uma prioridade ao desenvolvimento e como um imperativo político. O processo de reforma agrária que está sendo atualmente implementado em uma estrutura de democrácia política nas Filipinas pode servir de exemplo. Apesar deste processo ter problemas, ele representa uma oportunidade de uma mudança significativa para os pequenos proprietários e pequenos agricultores. Em 1989, PhilDhrra (nome de uma rede de ONGs nas Filipinas) iniciou um mecanismo tripartidário e um programa com as organizações de comunidades do povo, com ONGs e com o governo para que o processo de reforma agrária fosse facilitado, processo que atualmente, está tendo resultados bastante encorajadores em várias províncias.
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Este artigo é composto por duas partes, que tratam das experiências de vida e de trabalhar das ONGs que se concentram no trabalho contra a pobreza em guerras civis, guerras estas que tem suas razões baseadas na desigualdade da distribuição de poder e do acesso aos recursos. Este artigo foi baseado em um trabalho de 12 anos na América Central, ele reflete as exigências e as dificuldades que os trabalhadores da área de ajuda internacional tem que enfrentar em uma situação de conflitos civis; de maneira que os relacionamentos com ONGs e organizações locais ficam afetadas. O fortalecimento e a participação são analisados dentro de uma perspectiva dos que rejeitam o seu papel nas guerras civis - de serem vítimas. Na segunda parte deste artigo (que será publicado no volume 7, número 1) o autor examina os impactos destas guerras que são imediatos e de longo prazo e a violência política tanto para os sobreviventes como para os trabalhadores locais e internacionais que estão preocupados em abordar as causas e consequencias destes conflitos.
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The author discusses her involvement, as a member of the Indian Women's Movement (IWM), in campaigning for increased protection under Indian law for women, and children, from sexual assault of any kind. The law at present has large gaps in it, and is formulated with the joint aims of protecting `virginal' women and protecting men at risk from the false allegations of low caste, impoverished, sexually-aware women. The evolution of the current law is presented, with examples of injustices, suggested areas for future lobbying, and pleas to ensure that victims are not revictimised by lobbyists themselves. This article also appears in the Development in Practice Reader Development and Rights.
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The author examines the effect of forced evictions and homelessness on children, in the long and short-term, psychologically and physically. Housing, land, and legal rights fail to protect children, she argues, and poor people need greater access to legal advice on how evictions can be resisted. There is rarely coherent policy about the status of street children, resulting in their further marginalisation and criminalisation. Slums and squatter camps are symptomatic of urban development and acknowledging this is the first step towards providing the infrastructure necessary to prevent damaging millions of children and their families in sub-Saharan Africa.
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The insecurity of land tenure in Uganda has been a critical issue in the economic development of the country. The development of an equitable land distribution policy is discussed. Information is presented on: the historical background of land tenure systems (noting the difference in land tenure systems: Mailo, freehold, leasehold, the Busulu (ground rent) and Envujo (commodity rents) law, and the 1975 Land Decree); the work of the Technical Committee; and issues raised by the proposed reform (land as a technical question, over-riding economic considerations, avoidance of social issues, the sale of land, compensation, the plight of rural pastoralists, a ceiling on land acquisition, a uniform land tenure system, and the timing of implementation). It is concluded that the proposed land reform in Uganda does not promise to balance technical, economic, social, and political criteria. Abstract supplied by kind permission of CABI.
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The authors describe the extent of the trade in mainly rural Nepalese women, sold into prostitution and bonded labour in Asia and the Middle East, often by their families, because of poverty. The organisation Women Acting Together for Change (WATCH) works for and with these women, aiming to empower victims and to change the way women are perceived in Nepalese society and law. This article is freely available as a chapter in Development with Women.
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The development of an unionized work force in the north-east of Brazil is described. The area has seen considerable growth in the export markets for grapes and mangoes which provides significant employment; other areas of employment are in labour-intensive crops, for example tomatoes and onions. The paper discusses: some new union strategies, improvements for wage labourers, and some of the limited victories that have been achieved with the work of the NGO, Oxfam. It is argued that there are limits to this kind of development model given the low value of the wages earned by the workers. The conclusion proposes considerable networking amongst unions and NGOs with the aim of providing information that may allow them to define and implement new directions for development. Abstract supplied by kind permission of CABI. This article is freely available as a chapter in Development and Social Action.
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In English only
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As ONGs do Afeganistão tem sido as principais provedoras de ajuda humanitária durante o conflito de Afghan. Elas permaneceram operando durante este período através da conversação com os vários partidos que estavam participando do conflito, o contingente de sua sobrevivência se deu pela sua abilidade de estabelecer relacionamentos com parceiros `ad hoc' para a formação de alianças e cooperação. Este artigo explora a natureza das negociações (chamada pelos autores como `a dança') entre as ONGs, os partidos participantes no conflito e com os que apoiam as ONGs. Este artigo pergunta se o fato das ONGs `dançarem com o principe', ou seja negociarem com estas entidades, representa uma acomodação a uma situação de violência ou é um compromisso necessário que contribuirá para a resolução do conflito. Este conclui estabelecendo lições essenciais para os doadores que apoiam ONGs indigenas a operarem em situações políticas de emergência complexas.
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An analysis is presented of research carried out in 1995, focusing on programmes funded by an NGO, Oxfam, as the basis of a case study of the Ugandan health sector. The involvement of NGOs in service provision for the state in Uganda is discussed together with the changing trends in aid distribution and what they mean for NGOs, the state and for their relationship with each other. Sections consider whose responsibility it is to provide a viable health service, and the importance of NGO support for the health service in Uganda. Abstract supplied by kind permission of CABI. This article is freely available as a chapter in Development NGOs and Civil Society.
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In 1994, the UN Volunteers programme (UNV) and UN Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) collaborated on a research project, Volunteer Contributions to Social Integration at the Grassroots: the Urban or `Pavement Dimension'. The author describes how the researchers hope to contribute to understanding of how global forces erode community structures, including the way governments increasingly privatise public services, and highlights the challenges and potential rewards for communities which voluntarily pull together to change their circumstances.
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40 participants from 24 countries took part in this workshop, organised by the International NGO Training and Research Centre (INTRAC) in Oxford, UK. Much of the workshop was spent trying to reach agreement on what civil society means, and the degree to which it can be conceptually separated from the State, and reinforced by NGOs. Another concern was that Northern and Southern NGOs' understandings of civil society were often different; the Northern interpretation was accused of being donor-driven and neo-imperialist, and there were general concerns that less powerful groups could be assimilated by stronger organisations attempting to impose `togetherness' and `co-operation'.
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O projeto de `Kebkabiya' foi o primeiro projeto operacional de desenvolvimento da Oxfam, criado durante os anos 80, que deu início a transferência da administração destes tipos de projetos a comunidade. Portanto, este projeto pode servir como modelo a outros projetos operacionais no futuro. Este artigo análisa o processo de transferência no que afeta o controle operacional para o fornecimento de serviços e o aspecto financeiro do projeto. O autor argumenta que uma transferência, para ser bem sucedida e sustentável, necessita ser tratada como um conjunto complexo de atividades que requerem uma estrutura a longo prazo como qualquer outro processo de desenvolvimento.
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Há, cada vez mais, muito interesse no desenvolvimento organizacional e institucional, ou na `capacity-building', entretanto o entendimento de como estes assuntos funcionam na prática é muito reduzido. Este artigo provém um caso estudado, em um programa a longo termo, em desenvolvimento institucional, que reenforçou a capacidade da comunidade dos refugiados do Tibete no planejamento de desenvolvimento. O primeiro aspecto concentrou-se nos aspectos essenciais, ou seja na adaptação do programa pelos profissionais de desenvolvimento. Os autores, também, esclareceram alguns dos pontos que estavam pouco claros nas áreas de desenvolvimento organizacional e institucional.
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Novas tecnologias de comunicações podem ser como `uma faca de dois gumes', com um lado positivo, mas, também, com um lado negativo. Estas podem estimular o desenvolvimento, como a promoção da saúde, da educação, da agricultura, do lazer, dos negócios e do turismo; assim como estimular o comércio internacional e a cooperação internacional. Entretanto, estas tecnologias podem acentuar e expandir as diferenças entre ricos e pobres, criando uma sociedade caracterizada por ter uma elite bem informada e uma grande parte da população mal informadas. Em uma época onde a informação é poder, isso poderia ser extremamente prejudicial aos países que estão enfrentando problemas, tais como: pobreza, doenças, fome e instabilidade política. Ultimamente, estas tecnologias podem, também, prejudicar a soberânia, a segurança, os direitos humanos e consequentemente os desenvolvimento de países na Africa tropical.
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NGOs are using `civil society' to mean different things: the author argues that the wide definition means that any potential partner organisation becomes a civil-society organisation, and that consideration of the conditions that are central to a community organisation becoming a civil organisation may be useful in helping NGOs focus on the quality of the associations they choose. This article is freely available as a chapter in Development NGOs and Civil Society.
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An examination is presented of an NGO project in Zambia, focusing on its approach, its specific consequences for local participation, potential for sustainability and its ability to hold the government accountable for how its uses public resources. Sections focus on: channeling food aid; and food for work programmes. It is concluded that unless aid projects make it a priority to establish or reinforce mechanisms by which existing, locally available resources are mobilized and used effectively in resolving the problems of the poor, they cannot contribute to laying a basis for further development. This article also appears in the Development in Practice Reader [13]Development, NGOs, and Civil Society. Abstract supplied by kind permission of CABI. This article is freely available as a chapter in Development NGOs and Civil Society.
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A description is presented of the development of NGOs in Brazil from small grassroots movements into over a 1000 specialized and consolidated organizations in 1996. NGOs generally operate through one or more of six inter-related activities: applied research; grassroots organizations; training and technical assistance; information sharing; public policy advocacy; and networking. The important role they play in promoting debate on public policy at the grassroots level is highlighted. The growth of the Anti-Poverty Campaign started in 1993 through the efforts of several leading NGOs is an illustration of the influential role NGOs now hold in Brazilian society. Abstract supplied by kind permission of CABI.
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An analysis is presented of the expansion of the NGO, the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP) in Gujarat, India following the approval of a #10 million grant for rural development from the European Union. The challenge facing the NGO is to scale up the kind of community based development which it has been successful at to a size that has an impact on a larger number of people. The grassroots approach adopted by the AKRSP is examined and the need to maintain this approach despite the increase in programme size highlighted and the problems this creates are outlined. Abstract supplied by kind permission of CABI.
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The authors report on a neighbourhood-based sanitation service set up in Dar es Salaam using appropriate technology for emptying pit latrines; the Manual Pit Latrine Emptying Technology (MAPET) project. The participatory development process and use of technology fitting the localised scale of the project contributed to its success, while notable lessons learned include the need for the cooperation of a local agency (whether an NGO or local government) in purchasing and replacing equipment.
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The author briefly discusses the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, negotiated and adopted by 189 countries at the Fourth World Conference on Women in September 1995, and how it promises that governments will take responsibility for its implementation, while recognising the roles NGOs have to play.
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In English only
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Este artigo analisa a confiança (sem crítica) no potencial das instituições micro-financeiras em reduzir a pobreza. Este artigo argumenta que apesar do entendimento sobre como estruturar as intermediações financeiras anti-pobreza ter melhorado, a atual campanha para aumentar o invetimento em recursos neste setor pode diminuir a sustantabilidade que já foi alcançada. Estudos posteriores sobre o impacto das microempresas de crédito sugerem que estas não são totalmente benefícas para as pessoas pobres. As intervensões no fornecimento de serviços financeiros não deveriam ser feitas sem uma análise específica da função das poupanças e das facilidades de crédito. Uma enfase em atos de escala, como um desinsentivo a tais análises, aumentam os riscos de que resurja uma abordagem para projetos de ações anti-pobreza.
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Mala milk is a cultured dairy beverage of consistent quality that can keep for four days without refrigeration, and up to three weeks with refrigeration. It offers important nutritional benefits for rural consumers, can be produced in simple facilities with a capacity of 500 litres per day or more, and is less complicated than cheesemaking. The production of mala milk in Kenya is discussed, and the equity trust approach is described. An innovative approach to the provision of financing, technical and managerial assistance proved successful for the establishment of small, community-owned mala milk plants in Kenya. Implemented by Techno-Serve-Kenya, this activity received core financial and technical assistance from Appropriate Technology International and enterprise finance from several other donors. The benefits of operating mala milk production in this way are noted. Abstract supplied by kind permission of CABI.
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The author comments on research into poor urban women's survival strategies done in Zambia in 1994, funded by the Natural Resources Department of the British government's Overseas Development Administration. Chilimba is an informal savings and credit system, one variation of the ROSCAs (Rotating Savings and Credit Associations) successfully in use throughout Africa and elsewhere. The author discusses the potential for intervention designed to enable those with no capital or regular income to participate, and to increase and widen the benefits gained from participation.
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As markets are increasingly deregulated and government control over public service provision loosens, so the importance of effective urban management is growing. No longer directly providing urban services, governments should now, the author argues, perform an `enabling' role, planning and co-ordinating provision. Werna reports on case studies from Bangladesh, Kenya and Brazil, and discusses the common problems faced in these very different urban environments and how local government authorities can work to close the growing gulf between service management and provision.
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As organizações governamentais e não governamentais, em Bangladesh estão implementando programas e projetos de economia de energia para protegerem o meio ambiente. Este artigo examina tais programas em uma área específica, que é o melhoramento de `tecnologia de estufa'. Este demonstra que uma avaliação inadequada do meio ambiente pelos ambientalistas e práticos de desenvolvimento permitiu que fossem selecionadas tecnólogias inapropiadas, que resultaram no fracasso da incorporação das mulheres no movimento de economia de energia. O artigo identifica as razões que motivaram as mulheres a rejeitarem uma tecnologia que lhes foi imposta, em vez de ser baseada na observação de seus poblemas distintos, de sua cultura e de sua ecologia.
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A reabilitação envolve: o reestabelecimento da segurança entre as pessoas mais pobres, de forma a reduzir a vunerabilidade de suas vidas destas a desastres futuros, recomeçando uma economia local com respeito as regras da sustentabilidade e evitando a dependência. Este artigo discute experiências de reabilitação pós-guerra em Moçambique e sugere que a maioria dos pequenos proprietários ainda tem uma situação bastante vulnerável, apesar destes terem recomeçado a plantar imediatamente, pois não puderam fazer reservas. O autor previne sobre a retirada dos programas de assistência rapidamente, ele argumenta que muitas vezes é mais apropriado para os pequenos proprietários que estes recebam dinheiro e empréstimos para a compra de artigos que tenham mais necessidade, ao invés de receberem alimentos, sementes, ferramentas e instrumentos de trabalho e produtos selecionados.
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As políticas do regime do `Apartheid' destruiram, prematuramente, os pequenos proprietários/agricultores na Africa do Sul, deixando milhões de pessoas sem emprego e sem terra. A revogação das leis raciais na Africa do Sul, que reservavam 87% das terras para os brancos, fez com que fosse possível o lançamento de políticas abordando as necessidades dos proprietários de terras negros. Os eforços para promover o crescimento comercial dos donos de terras/fazendeiros negros oferece um risco de piora das condições para a maioria da população rural. Ao mesmo tempo que não se pode negligenciar a segurança de alimentos e a agricultura, a Africa do Sul necessita, também, reviver e estimular os pequenos agricultores, que tem uma função similar aos trabalhadores dos setores informais, nas áreas urbanas.
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The author expands on the four ingredients `feminist-flavoured gender-sensitive development' should have: Strategic needs of women; Agenda-setting direction to mainstreaming; Flexibility; and Empowerment philosophy (`SAFE').
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The paper defines financial sustainability; why financial sustainability is a valid objective; how it can be measured; and what can be done to improve levels of financial sustainability. The discussion is situated within the context of NGOs managed credit schemes, operating in developing countries. The following issues are considered: importance of savings; gender; appropriate loan size; realistic interest rates; repayment periods and intervals; security and collateral; group loans versus group businesses; separation of finance from other support; systems; measurement; incentives; and scale. Abstract supplied by kind permission of CABI.
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The indigenous informal credit market within Sri Lanka encompasses a wide range of financial arrangements, including: direct money-lending (professional and semi-professional money-lenders); indirect money-lending (trade financing, commission agencies, and credit related to mortgages on crops); and voluntary credit groups (single purpose and multi-purpose credit assistance and cheetu/ROSCAs). The paper focuses on: the Hatton National Bank; 'barefoot banking'; the extension of irrigation; and, the role of NGOs. Aspects are listed in which outside agencies could assist the banking systems in reaching the small- and micro-enterprise sector: preferential interest rates; risk sharing; awareness of banking; identifying potential entrepreneurs; entrepreneur development; monitoring; encouraging savings habits; and group lending. Abstract supplied by kind permission of CABI.
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A case study is presented of the Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA) in Gujarat, India, which has taken on responsibility for providing marketing support to the Development of Women and Children in Rural Areas groups in the Banaskantha district. It is the first time a voluntary organisation has been involved directly in business activities in an open market environment. A brief introduction of the SEWA experiment is presented, followed by a discussion of the group process in marketing; links with external agencies are presented, and some lessons are noted. Abstract supplied by kind permission of CABI.
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The authors discuss the feelings, status, and working conditions of women in factories making garments for export. Many legal requirements under the 1965 Factory Act (child care facilities, maternity leave, length of working hours, holiday entitlement) are rarely observed, workers are often unaware of their legal rights, and factory owners argue that such provisions would involve expenses which would nullify Bangladesh's low-wage advantage over other exporters.
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In English only
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A participação necessita ser vista como uma atividade política. Existe, sempre, uma certa tensão com referência a determinados aspectos, que são: quem está participando, como esta participação está sendo feita e em que termos. Ao mesmo tempo, que a participação tem o potencial de desafiar modelos de domínio polílico, ela pode ser, também, o meio pelo qual as relações de poder existentes sejam consolidados e reproduzidos. As áreas nas quais as pessoas manifestam os seus interesses e julgam se estes podem ser expressos, não são neutras. A participação pode acontecer por um número váriado de razões, sem serem descompromissadas. É muito importante encarar a participação como um processo dinânico e entender que a sua própria forma e função pode ser um foco de luta.
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The paper argues that education should be a crucial part of relief operations which respond to emergencies in developing countries. In practice, however, educational needs in emergencies have been neglected in competition with the demand for more conventional relief. An example from southern Sudan demonstrates how the need for education can be addressed in an emergency. Indigenous initiatives for the re-establishment and improvement of educational provision have been supported by a group of agencies working as part of the emergency operation. A flexible system of teacher education is the focus of a programme which invests in people rather than buildings. It emphasizes the crucial importance of the involvement of local communities, on whom the success of rural primary school education depends. The scheme has also recognized the importance of schools for conveying information and stimulating discussion on topics such as health, psycho-social needs, and girls' education, and integrating these cross-cutting issues into teacher education. This article also appears in the Development in Practice Reader Development in States of War. Abstract supplied by kind permission of CABI.
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Academic urban development training programs tend to either train in town planning, where the focus is on the production of plans, or in urban studies, where the focus is on the development of urban areas; there is a need, the author argues, for training that produces `working planners' with knowledge of both. He advocates `for-the-job training', in which trainees use the real problems they face in their working environment as study material, allowing trainees to produce useful outputs while being trained, and ensuring the relevance of training.
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Against a background of reduced government funding of African universities, the International African Institute in London co-ordinated a study in 1995 to evaluate university libraries, in terms of their sustainability, now that many survive on (usually short-term) funding from donors. Through structured interviews and questionnaires, the researchers discovered libraries are becoming marginalised and decentralised within universities, and many are not providing the most basic services for students and staff.
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Uma avaliação rural rápida (Rapid Rural Appraisal - RPA) e uma avaliação rural participativa (Participatory Rural Appraisal - PRA) surgiram em um contexto de trabalho com as comunidades rurais em países em desenvolvimento. Os princípios da participação e de ações para uma pesquisa orientada são igualmente válidos para trabalho de desenvolvimento em setores urbanos e em países industrializados. Este artigo descreve o uso de tecnícas de avaliação participativa em comunidades desfavorecidas no Reino Unido, nas áreas da saúde e assistência social. Este artigo foi estruturado com base em um caso estudado pela autora, em seu trabalho. A autora analisa as dificuldades práticas, organizacionais e políticas inerentes a reunião de profissionais de várias organizações, de trabalhadores do setor público e de membros de comunidades locais para o desenvolvimento de um consenso de trabalho.
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Este artigo analisa os níveis de reconhecimento que o sistema educacional dá a importância da participação das mulheres no setor informal da economia e os níveis de absorção que este sistema tem lhes oferecido para o seu emprego e auto-emprego. Este artigo examina dados tanto no setor da educação formal como no setor da educação informal, ou seja podem estes sistemas oferecer as mulheres as qualificações necessárias para que elas possam competir com os homens no mercado de trabalho? Este artigo conclui que ambos os sistemas educacionais (formal e informal), geralmente, são ineficazes de suprir as mulheres com as qualificações necessárias, com um bom salário, com um trabalho seguro e estável. Portanto, a maioria das mulheres trabalham no setor informal da economia, em atividades de susbsitência. Este artigo examina, de acordo com o sistema informal de educação, os projetos de treinamento para atividades geradoras de renda, que é a maior fonte de assitência para as mulheres pobres de países em desenvolvimento. Este artigo, também, apresenta algumas recomendações de estratégias para educação e para a provisão de treinamento.
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As organizações não governamentais e assistência aos refugiados: algumas lições de Malawi e ZimbábueApesar das ONGs indígenas estarem bem localizadas para prestarem assistência aos refugiados, estas organizações têm uma participação bastante marginal comparando ao trabalho que as ONGs do norte oferecem, pois estas realizam a maioria dos trabalhos de assistência. O desequilíbrio das relações de poder entre as organizações do norte, os doadores e as organizações do sul na assistência aos refugiados são revistas neste artigo. Utilizando-se dados dos programas de assistência para os refugiados de Moçambique em Malawi e Zimbábue. As condições e as estratégias utilizadas pelas organizações indígenas para combaterem com sucesso esta situação são, também, examindas. Os fatores que são considerados como importantes são: a formação de instituições locais para trabalhar de assuntos referentes ao desenvolvimento (`institution building'); a diversificação da base dos doadores; o projeto de planejamento e de desenvolvimento; as qualificações e o conhecimento dos diretores de trabalho de campo. O artigo considera uma ampla aplicabilidade deste experiência.
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The paper notes that there are substantial differences between women's studies/women in development and gender studies/gender and development. It suggests that the differences between women in development, and gender and development is such that the focus changes from one of equity to one of efficiency. Within gender and development, there are a number of different loci: gender studies (the conceptual part of the process, during which models are developed and refined through research, debate and networking); gender training (a technical part of the process which involves passing on practical skills for implementing gender-sensitive policy, planning, and training in specific circumstances); and gender planning (the practical application of the skills that have been acquired through gender studies and gender training). The paper examines some of the specific problems encountered in each of these areas, the need to develop effective courses within Africa, the scope of training currently available and the impact of gender studies and gender training as a positive change in the lives of marginalised groups of women. Abstract supplied by kind permission of CABI.
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The Community Development Resource Association (CDRA) is a non-profit NGO, established in 1987 to build the capacity of organizations engaged in development and social transformation in South Africa and sub-Saharan Africa. It aims to do this by providing organizational development (OD) consultancy services, offering OD training and programmes, and through the programme, Action Learning: Education for Development. Since inception, the NGO has worked with 164 client organizations in South Africa, Lesotho, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Angola, and Tanzania. Although consultancy services and appropriate development interventions are helpful in building organizational capacity, the NGO perceives fieldwork as the most important aspect of development. The paper discusses the need for field work, within the needs of South Africa, and the importance of promoting good field work including some of the reasons why good field work is not attained. It also considers the qualities found in good field workers, using consultants appropriately, and the necessity to prioritize field work. Abstract supplied by kind permission of CABI.
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Recent years have seen development NGOs making significant efforts to show how they are performing, a trend impelled by three factors: stricter requirements attached to official aid, which is a fast-growing proportion of NGO funds; doubts about NGOs claims to be more effective than governments; post-Cold War shifts in the role of NGOs, which increase their own needs to know what is being achieved, in order to manage the processes of organisational reorientation and transformation. Almost without exception, NGOs are finding it very difficult to come up with sound, cost-effective methods to show the results of their development activities, or even to demonstrate their effectiveness as organizations. These difficulties arise from both key features of the aid system, and from the nature of 'non-profits'. The paper summarizes the difficulties in each of these two areas, and considers solutions that are emerging from recent experience. A concluding section explores the link between accountability and performance, and speculates on the range of approaches which NGOs might use in the future to prove that they are valuable and effective agents of development. Abstract supplied by kind permission of CABI.
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The World Bank claims to have become the defender of women's rights, urging national governments to 'invest more in women in order to reduce gender inequality and boost economic development'. Through its Women in Development Programme (WID), adopted throughout the developing world, the Bank defines the ground rules on gender policy. A market oriented approach is prescribed, with a monetary value attached to gender equality: women's programmes are to be framed in relation to the opportunity cost and efficiency of women's rights. The Bank determines the concepts, methodological categories, and database for analysing gender issues. The paper critically analyses the World Bank's approach to women and gender issues, and concludes that the neo-liberal gender perspective (under the trusteeship of international donors, such as the World Bank and IMF) is largely intent upon creating divisions within national societies, and demobilising the struggle of women and men against the macroeconomic model. Abstract supplied by kind permission of CABI.
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The UK Development Studies Association is a voluntary body of academics and practitioners concerned with economic and social development. The author highlights the `added value' of academics and practitioners sharing their expertise, and discusses the climate of mutual respect in which Cupertino can be most productive.
