New Article @ Jyoti

Check out my article and by my friends at AiD-MN

http://www.tc.umn.edu/~aidmn/docs/Jyoti2005.pdf

Here is my article as it appeared in Jyoti 2005

“… Project Small Family [PSF] is open to young women in the age group between 18 and 35, who are willing to show up once in three months and be checked for being pregnancy-free, If found free, they are paid at the rate of Rs.250 per month…”

http://www.goodnewsindia.com/Pages/content/ideasforindia/story/192_0_8_0_C/

Rewards – for now and for ever.

This one scores high on simplicity and result. No complications. No long drawn out procedures. Effective in reducing population and empowering women. Makes them feel important due to their new found financial leverage.

The beauty of this is it addresses a problem many Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) face in implementing most of their projects. The most difficult task of an NGO is not raising funds or getting the required resources. It’s in convincing people that what it proposes to do will in fact be effective and useful. We human beings always have a tendency to ask ‘what’s in it for me?’. When the answer is unsatisfactory or unfathomable, it is normal to question if its worth to put in the required resources.

In spite of all the skepticism and the lack of a very clear picture, NGOs are determined enough to go ahead and make a difference. There are a few approaches the NGOs typically take in handling this. One is the concept of convincing early adopters to take the initiative so that others are convinced about the idea and start following suit. Unfortunately, in most cases it takes a long time for results to be evident. Patience is needed from the sponsors, NGOs and the people. Again, it takes the whole community to work in tandem to produce something substantial. If only a subset of that group adopts a scheme, it might actually work to be counter productive.

Example: Specific types of industries tend to be concentrated in a certain region and they tend to pollute to some degree. Convincing just one company in the group to be more conscious of the environment will not work because it will cost more for that company and eventually it will go out of business. The other companies would continue to pollute and produce their products cheaply. Even if convinced to take the risk, other companies would be discouraged from following suit as they would see the decrease in profits of that one company before they appreciate the improvement in the quality of air and water. This defeats the whole purpose in convincing that one company to change its way.

So in such scenarios, either the entire industry has to be convinced to change its way or the early adopters need to be suitably compensated by either the government or the people in the community or may be even an NGO as a reward to their efforts. This is very similar to what happens in a community. One person or one family in a village might seem like a good start. But for others to get inspired and adopt the same means and ways, it has to be successful and for it to be successful, it has to be adopted by the entire village. Protecting the local tradition, population control, income generation, awareness – all these share the commonality that they need a critical mass to be successful. And most people need living proof that something works before they use it. So what’s the answer?

Reward is the key. Yes. There might be long term benefits. Yet asking someone to see all the wonderful things 1000 feet down the road when there is a deep hole lurking right in front of them just doesn’t work. They will be more concerned about avoiding the abyss rather than looking into what’s in store many years down the lane.

Instead of trying to push forth very idealistic goals to people who are more concerned with making their ends meet on an everyday basis, the architects of the project described in the opening paragraph offered something that didn’t ask for much nor promised much. It was innovative in what it asked for – get tested once every 3 months; simple in what it measured – pregnant or not; and very effective in the way it rewarded success – Rs 250/- each time they tested as “not pregnant”. It managed to delay pregnancy. It reduced birth rate. Made sure the money was available directly to women and hence for the health and education of their children.

Examples like these throw new light into the challenges faced in developmental projects. There are people out there who are really smart about the problems and it is important that we know about them. They are creative in their solutions. They understand the working of the human mind and design their solutions around that instead of trying to force a solution on the people. They take people into confidence, acknowledge that they are the experts of their problems and try to work with them as partners in development. As an organization dealing with communities and NGOs, it is my hope that we look out for and encourage such out-of-the-box yet simple endeavors.