Insights on Donor Funds

CTT has learnt that while it looks to donors for funding to cover organisational operating costs, the donor community also contributes to the lack of sustainability of the programmes. But the heart of the problem lies not solely with the NGOs receiving donor support. Donors normally come in with various conditions attached to the support given.

When dealing with micro-finance, CTT learnt that in its future projects, they should assist the specific need rather than disburse money because money can easily be mismanaged or misappropriated. Many of the beneficiaries have to date not been able to pay back their dues to CTT, yet had they done so CTT could have benefited greatly by duplicating the same project with other beneficiaries.

CTT has learnt it is important to cultivate an amicable working relationship with central and local government such as Members of Parliament and Rural Councils.

CTT has learnt that the decision on which projects to implement must be made in consultation with the beneficiaries because they know what they need in order to better their livelihoods. The beneficiaries need to feel that they own their projects, as they are not imposed on them, and will in turn be responsible for them. That way, they will be able to maintain the buildings, boreholes or toilets put up for them. CTT has learnt that the organisation’s decision-making body must be resolute in the decisions made and not lose its focus and discard the initial decisions made and pursue other projects that may not be beneficial to the organisation in the long run.

CTT has had to suspend some of its activities due to lack of funding. It needs adequate and stable funding to carry out its mission. CTT requires at least two types of funding from donors in order to continue its activities. There is a serious dependency syndrome in some of the communities as they are unwilling to contribute to their own developmental process. This is because they feel that there is always someone out there to support them and have developed the ‘what’s in it for me?’ syndrome.

Men’s apathy has also been a major problem as a lot of men do not fully participate in CTT programmes and projects even though they regard the work as being noble. To try and encourage men to be part and parcel of CTT, a men’s fellowship was established 2003 but in 2005 it disbanded due to lack of interest.

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