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May 21th 2011 at the Pride Inn Hotel, Nairobi- Kenya
A considerable number of Somalis working in Somalia for UN agencies and international Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) attended the forum and by 10.00 Am, the facilitator requested one of the participants to open the meeting with a word of prayer. This was followed by orientation time where every participant introduced themselves to the other guests while stating their name and the organization represented.
The facilitator informed the other guests of how the idea of bringing together all the Somalis working in Somalia for UN agencies and international NGOs to an open discussion was born. Initially it was his own thoughts and he felt that it was necessary to exchange ideas and views with these professionals and intellectuals in the NGO world. He thanked NCF for considering his proposal to facilitate the forum. He wished that the local NGOs working and based in Somalia would have participated in the forum.
The facilitator reminded other panel guests that he had no stipulated forum agenda as this was an open discussion to know each other, exchange views and ideas, this was everyone’s forum. First he posed the question of whether there is the need for the workers of the NGOs working in Somalia to talk, discuss and share ideas? Are such forums necessary? If yes, then to what extent and how could they go about from here? According to the facilitator, this was a soft get-together forum and its outcome will determine the way forward. He lastly sorts the views of the other guests concerning the idea.
GUEST SPEAKERS’ COMMENTS
The first participant to contribute thanked NCF for facilitating the forum and he said that it is a good idea to bring together the Somalis working for the NGOs in Somalia who round up to be professional ant intellectuals. He claimed that the Somali professionals and intellectuals side-stepped the national affairs of their country compared to the other clusters like the business community which is vibrantly involved in the contemporary issues unfolding in Somalia. Regretting that this idea of bringing the Somali NGOs workers into a public forum came late, he pleaded with his colleagues to own the coordination of programs in Somalia and not leave them to the donor agencies to dictate the implementation of unnecessary projects.
Another participant said that he was happy when he got the invitation through the NGO consortium and to bring into single forum the NGOs workers in Somalia comprising of Somalis with the different dialects is something that deserved to take place in the yester years. He jokingly narrated how the other friends he invited to the forum suspiciously declined to turn up fearing that their contacts would be known and given to the TFG authorities. That is the level of fear and mistrust among the workers of the NGOs. He volunteered to be the “sacrificial lamp” and contrary to their fears, the idea was constructive and healthy. He called upon all the participants to support this initiative from now onwards and progress it to the next level.
In reference to the fear of attending such forum, a participant argued that it was baseless and he believed that frequenting the holding of such meetings will in the long run iron out these fears and mistrusts.
The fact that NGOs are playing crucial role in Somalia and are critical stakeholders in Somali matters, bringing together their staff in a round table meeting was highly welcomed by the participant.
A participant agreed with the others that it was important for the NGOs workers in Somalia to share and exchange ideas. This will help them formulate better policies that are pragmatic which fit the needs of the beneficiaries instead of relying on the direction of the foreign donors. Again such exchange of ideas will prevent duplication of projects by many NGOs in the same area; hence diversification of projects will be enhanced. The participant reminded the other guests that the Somalis need each other and their collaboration and collective approaches by all groups of the society can solve the problems facing Somalia.
On the fear and mistrust among the Somali NGOs workers to attend such forums, the participant alleged that the fear mutates from the weak relations between the different regional states in Somalia. For example NGOs in Somaliland are reluctant to co-operate with their counterparts in Puntland reflecting the tense relationship between the two autonomous states. But the Somali professionals and intellectuals in the NGO circles should portray non-partisan image and collaboration that entails nationalistic agenda and to achieve this, such meetings ought to take place often and the participant thanked NCF for hosting this eye-opener forum.
A university don who is also involved in the running of an NGO informed the other participants that people on the ground judge the NGOs by the individuals heading them. If the NGO head is a person of high integrity and a nationalist then that particular NGO will get the maximum respect and cooperation from the people. The don admitted that although sometimes criticized, the positive contribution of the NGOs to the social-economic developments in their operation areas is outstanding. He stressed the need to put together the minds of all professionals and intellectuals working for the NGOs whether locally or internationally in view of curbing the multi-dimensional problems facing the Somali populace. The don gave an example of how effective the umbrella body for nine universities they formed in Somalia has been in the national affairs. The body now has an undisputed voice and is respected by all quarters of the Somali influential decision-making agencies. He requested the NGOs to cordially relate with the institutions of higher education in Somalia and involve them in their policy making process as there are competent personnel in these institutions.
The lecturer noted that the NGOs working in Somalis can be the pivotal institutions linking other state and non-state actors if their activities are well coordinated because these numerous NGOs have direct contact with the locals at the grassroots level. While congratulating NCF for hosting the forum, he promised to convey this goodwill message to the universities in Somalia.
A participant expressed his satisfaction with the forum. He stated that the NGOs have vital resources in terms of information, capital and expertise more than any other non-state actors in Somalia. The planning, use and management of these resources can only be made more effective by the sharing of ideas, information and views by the different NGOs operating in Somalia through such forums.
Another participant demonstrated how important is the information that NGOs have to the current federal institutions and hence advocated for the need of the various NGOs to share their information among themselves and with the government agencies. Concerning the fear that some workers have in attending such forums, he blamed this to the lack of a central authority in Somalia hence workers have nowhere to lodge complaints if their rights are violated. So they are always on high alert even concerning meetings of any kind. He also suggested that the fear might be because the NGOs workers fear their donors who suspect the intention of such forums. All in all, he agreed with the others that many such forums would erode such fears and suspicion.
In fact it is only through such forums, that the workers of the NGOs working in Somalia can overcome the challenges posed by some cartels in the NGO consortium circles which the participant claimed is one of the sources of the divisions in Somalia
While giving a node to the significance of such forums, a participant cited that the first advantage of the meeting is that it acted as the avenue where many NGOs workers can learn from one another and discuss issues concerning Somalia in general. What a humanitarian worker in Puntland knows might be new to another one in Somaliland.
All the developed countries have done so because their citizens were united in the achievement of the national interests. And this was done by sharing information, ideas and strolling together in the same path and he expressed the same expectation from the Somali professionals and intellectuals in the NGOs as they should pioneer the start of that journey.
If the Somalis are united at the local levels with proper leadership, cheap and effective projects can be implemented without the need for donor intervention. A participant reported how he witnessed a government official in one of the regions is Somalia successfully implementing an agricultural project with fewer costs compared to an NGO’s proposal to finish the same project expensively. The minister was able to achieve this because he adequately mobilized the required resources, locally and he also had the goodwill of the people. The participant concluded that although donor aid was necessary, the NGOs should not overlook the resources at the local levels and should in fact fully utilize them. The same participant in his capacity as the head of an NGO was able to sensitize the Somali professionals in one city to carry out projects without donor funds. Both the capital and the human resources were locally mobilized.
Another participant noted that the NGOs can act as the bridge to reconcile the emerging misunderstanding between the Somali nationals living in Somalia and the foreign-based Somali intellectuals who are accused of working with the foreigners to distort the Somali culture.
It is unfortunate that some intellectuals shun the Somali culture and this further alienates them from the society. It is through these NGOs that the intellectuals disseminate their ideas and policies to the locals in public forums and workshops. At the end, these intellectuals who have sincere motives to help their fellow countrymen are fully integrated into the society.
A participant requested all the NGOs operating in Somalia to prioritize education in all the regions as this is the most appropriate way of enlightening the society. A substantial budget must be allocated to cater for the educational needs of the entire population in Somalia. He also suggested that the NGOs advocate and support the use of the Somali language as the language of instruction in all levels of learning.
Efforts to enshrine the Somali culture into the education system should be rolled out by the NGOs in collaboration with all other stakeholders involved and if possible an overhaul of the entire education system in all the regions should be carried out. NGOs should also focus on matters of environmental and drug abuse.
The youth being the group worst affected by the civil wars, the NGOs were called to prioritize measures that will see the creation of jobs for the youth and for instance, opening vocational training to impart them with self-employment skills.
Poor prioritization of projects due to donor conditions had been a perennial problem that needs to be discussed by the NGOs workers meeting in such forums.
The participant puzzled the audience when he reported how he failed to get donor fundings for his registered NGO to mitigate the environmental degradation in Somalia, to fight drug abuse and uplift the education standards. Instead the donor agency prioritized the fight against Female Genital Mutilation. So he urged the NGO heads to convince the donors to fund priority sectors in order to gainfully assist the locals and he reminded the other guests that the donor community is a toothless dog who cannot bite without their help as Somali workers.
A guest speaker highly commended the NGOs for playing crucial roles in Somalia and absolved them of any blame. He even sympathized with the NGOs workers for working in a hostile and insecure environment with no proper authorities to support them. According to him, the NGOs workers find themselves in between a rock and a hard place in that they want to simultaneously please the donors and the beneficiaries. The sharing of ideas in such forums can help build strategies that balance donor satisfaction and at the same time help the people with little pressure on the NGO workers.
He narrated how in one instance he held sensitization workshop for the wives of the Somali warlords and women supporting the warlords. They were able to spearhead and carryout important development projects that were of great beneficial to the residents. He concluded his contributions by urging the heads of these NGOs to break the barrier existing between the different organizations working in Somalia who are confined to specific fields and areas because of donor requirements. He believed that if such meetings are held regularly, then more cooperation between the various organizations would be seen.
RECOMMENDATIONS
It was generally agreed that there was a pressing need to organize such forums in the future whereby the Somalis working for UN agencies, international and local NGOs will be invited to attend. NCF was requested to also facilitate these future meetings.
Categorizing the NGOs workers into different clusters depending on their respective sectors of work and organizing separate meetings for each cluster was also recommended. For instance, a separate meeting for the workers in sectors of education, health, water etc.
To ascertain the numerical value of all the international and local NGOs operating in Somalia plus their staff has been cited as an urgent priority. It is through the NGO consortium that the database on the number of NGOs and their personnel can be gotten.
In order to increase the level of participation of the next forums, NCF was asked to:-
- Give at least two weeks prior notice of the meeting to be held
Invite participants through the NGO consortium and the websites of the respective organizations.