Empowering Lives International (ELI) is a faith-based NGO that, as evidenced by their name and mission statement, believes in empowering individuals and communities by working through partnerships. ELI operates orphanages, health clinics, schools, and rehab programs in East Africa. In their core values, ELI states that “no one knows the needs of the community better than the people and leaders of the communities themselves,” and that partners are, “part of a mutually beneficial relationship in which both the organization and those being touched by its ministry are blessed by the hand of God” (ELI, 2010). Their language here suggests equality between ELI and those with whom they work; they even acknowledge that locals know more than foreigners with regards to best reaching their community. This is why, in 2002, ELI employed one hundred African and fifteen American staff members. Still, NGOs approach empowerment differently, and ELI’s emphasis on partnership deserves further inquiry to see what can be gained from their methods. For this reason, this author conducted an interview with Brian Albright, former Director of Kenya Operations for ELI. Through conversation with Albright, a few elements of ELI’s partnership principles are worth noting.
Friendship
Don Rogers, an American who was working with churches in Tanzania and Kenya, founded ELI in 1994. Rogers became disillusioned with the limited scope of the church’s work as he became increasingly aware of the economic needs of those around him. Meeting two Kenyan men who shared his vision for starting an organization, they began ELI’s work together. As Albright talked about the origins of ELI in each East African country, he never failed to mention the names of the African staff members who initiated ELI’s major programs, speaking of them with clear respect and admiration.
The Sudan program was started by a Sudanese man named Stephen who had befriended an American ELI staff member while studying in Kenya. Over the next two to three years, the two men established a close friendship. From that friendship, Stephen’s vision and plans for running development programs in his home country is now being realized. ELI’s expansion into Congo and Tanzania happened in much the same way, through relationships that blossomed into committed partnerships. Interestingly, Albright attributes ELI’s ability to maintain friendship-based partnerships with the organization’s smaller size. Larger organizations, such as World Vision, are more “cookie cutter” in their approach, whereas ELI maintains the flexibility to follow the direction that flows from their partnerships (B. Albright, personal communication, April 7, 2010).
Only a particular type of friendship qualifies for true partnership. According to Albright, there are many African nationals who care primarily about the material resources they might gain from a foreign partner. This is understandable, when one considers the power imbalances and inequities in wealth between developing and developed countries, but it does hinder the formation of relationships built on reciprocity. It is no secret that Westerners are sometimes shown undue deference in poorer countries simply because of their perceived wealth and superiority. ELI seeks to minimize these barriers and to discourage any tendencies to appease Westerners for the purpose of securing funds. One of Albright’s insightful criteria for gauging potential partners is the national’s willingness to say “no.” Albright shares some impressive examples where this was the case:
[A] major donor who gave $300,000+ to build our first orphanage had an idea – instead of building the facility that would house 100 orphans, to use the same money, and to work with the church to set up feeding centers...the impact could be thousands of orphans [served] at a fraction of the cost. It was part of a “home based” orphan care model model that [the donor] had heard about. Our national leaders said “no” to that idea because it would create a larger long-term dependency and build unhealthy relationships between the pastors and the NGO.
There are multiple times where people (short term team members, long term American staff, etc...) have wanted to sponsor a child, or give food or clothing, or buy things for people. But the national staff have said “no” to some of them, or have channeled the funding through different routes to meet the needs. (Albright, 2010)
The willingness of ELI’s national staff to be firm with their American counterparts, as well as the latter’s readiness to defer to their African counterparts are marks of genuine partnership.
Ownership
ELI’s partners show ownership of their programs. They demonstrate this repeatedly, says Albright, especially through their willingness to accept lower pay than many other INGOs would offer. Due to their smaller size and funding base, ELI can only afford to pay their program directors about one-third of what World Vision pays their directors, yet ELI staff are willing to accept lower pay. This demonstrates, according to Albright, “a sign of commitment [that] show[s] they want to work with us. They could go somewhere else and get paid a lot more. That’s a sign that they have ownership of the program” (B. Albright, personal communication, April 7, 2010). ELI’s African staff are sacrificial in their leadership roles. This also signifies their ownership of ELI programs. They are the first to volunteer for pay cuts when funds are low, in order to alleviate the burden on project beneficiaries. The Kenyan men with whom Rogers started ELI donated portions of their own land for building the first orphanage. The fact that nationals willingly give up their precious resources proves their heartfelt buy-in to the life of the program.
FOOTNOTES
Albright, B. (2010). Empowering Lives International.
In K. Oswald (Ed.).
ELI. (2010). Empowering Lives International. Retrieved April 15, 2010, from http://www.empoweringlives.org
In 2010 I conducted research on the concept of capacity building for a disaster and relief mitigation graduate course at Eastern University. I share excerpts from my research here, in a series of posts called Capacity Building: What Does it Take?
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