Major issues faced by NGOs in India

by Kanan James NGO INDIA

The relentless efforts put in by various social work organizations throughout the country is commendable. Be it the ones working at regional, national or international level, the work carried out to uplift the deprived and suffering individuals from their remorseful phase is perpetually happening. Despite everything, there are many problems which an NGO faces including short term and long term. This is to say that NGOs run on funds received through charity, therefore, there are times when a particular organization finds lack of sufficient fund to carry out their mission. In India with so many people suffering and succumbing to various illnesses, helping them all is anything but easy. There are other problems as well. Let us have a look at some of them:

Fund Crunch
In a developing country like ours, it is not easy to accumulate funds on a daily basis; only a handful are able to do it. NGOs in India suffer from a paucity of funds as earning charity in India is a herculean mission to achieve. Quite often you get to see ABC organization winding up because they ran out of capital to continue. There are provisions of getting government grants but not all are worthy enough to receive it. Approaching the right donors who can continuously or for a long time contribute for the cause is one of the most difficult things an NGO faces.

Not having a Proper Management

Running an organization is not one man’s task - it needs an upright administration. An NGO which aims to provide stability in other people lives should have that within the organization otherwise, it will most likely falter. The lack of coordination, ego, understanding a situation, staffing, etc., account for a problem in the management itself which hinders the progress. The priorities aren’t set correctly so it works as a rudderless ship which eventually may sink.

Lack of Experience

This is mostly in the case of those organisations which are at the grassroots level. It’s not necessary that one should start an organization with all the knowledge and experience of the world, but the basic requirement of understanding the problems, planning and strategizing, networking and gathering fund is of utmost importance. Although the real knowledge comes with practical experience still the theoretical know-how is a must. Many lack these while setting up an association that yearns to work in this field.

Commitment Issues

Heterogeneity is a great virtue for an organization, but it becomes a hindrance when every member doesn’t share the same vision. Many join an NGO to obtain experience/training certificates so that they can probably enhance their resumes. Some suggest it’s a great ‘stopgap’ before being aboard in the corporate bandwagon. This is very common in NGOs in India. Young college graduates are mostly a part of this unfitting plan. A project commences, but some leave halfway. This causes a huge asynchrony in the organization as there are left only a few dependable delegates to forge ahead.

Political Jargons
This is a growing phenomenon in India as the organizations are trying hard to acquire funding, fame and strong network support. They do register themselves as ‘non-governmental’, but someday you will suddenly see them backing a candidate or a political party out of the blue. Their primary intention is anything but serving the needy. The activists who are a part of such illicit schemes only see a win-win situation where they ensure their own pockets are filled and serving the society might be somewhere at the far end on the list of priorities.

These were some of the major demerits a social work organization in India faces. Be it an NGO for senior citizen, children or rural women, there are problems which arise, and by tackling these grievances, it proves its mettle. Active participation of the youth in more numbers is the need of the hour.