Aid Situation in Somalia
Somalia, Local, 2/9/2002

"Aid strategies work best when they promote a feeling of ownership and investment among local communities," says Robert MacPherson, the emergency group assistance director for Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere, Inc., better known as CARE, a U.S.-based non-governmental organization (NGO) that operates worldwide.

MacPherson spoke February 6 at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing looking into the situation in Somalia, the Horn of Africa nation where political instability has meant no central government for the past 10 years.

He said that after years of civil war "Somalia has begun to change.

The Somali people have made progress toward making their country a more peaceful and less impoverished place."

McPherson explained that CARE's mission is "to serve individuals and families in the poorest communities" of the world by providing aid and assistance. In partnership with other communities, CARE works on a range of grassroots health care, economic, environmental, and agricultural initiatives in 65 developing countries.

In Somalia, he said, "CARE is currently the largest humanitarian organization operational on the ground, providing both emergency relief and rehabilitation services to hundreds of thousands of poor people in 14 out of 18 regions of the country."

MacPherson emphasized a "bottom-up process" rather than a "top-down process" as CARE's key to developmental success in Somalia. And he explained that CARE fulfills this grassroots objective through a key principle known as "Somali ownership."

The CARE official said this principle recognizes that "if Somalis are going to protect and invest in their society, they must have influence over the people and processes that order it."

"A corollary to Somali ownership [of their own development programs]," the aid official said, "is to recognize what does not work -- specifically, aid should not be implemented through large, externally imposed schemes."

"The greatest lesson Somalia teaches an outsider is patience," MacPherson said. "It takes time to get to know the people." Starting at the grassroots, CARE has worked closely with the people of Somalia, and the result is a greater chance for lasting, sustainable development, he asserted.

In the process of bringing about ownership-directed development, MacPherson pointed out, individuals as well as organizations are working in Somalia to "counterbalance the lawlessness and division" of the country.

In that regard, he mentioned local heroes like Edna Adan Ismail, Dr.

Mohammoud Zahid Mohamoud, and other humanitarian and development professionals who are changing the future of Somalia with their "heroic efforts" to implement health, humanitarian, and economic initiatives.

Using a U.S. government grant, CARE has identified and trained other groups and individuals working in Somalia to reduce poverty and increase social change. MacPherson describes the program as "a model for how the U.S. government can deliver foreign assistance in countries where it does not have a USAID [U.S. Agency for International Development] mission."

One Somali NGO that was trained by CARE is Bani Adam, which has been operating a revolving loan fund to farmers that has a 95 percent repayment rate, McPherson said. Another is Agro Action, a Somali agency that assists more than 1,000 local farmers in improving their yield through training, construction, and agricultural extension.

MacPherson also mentioned that CARE is working with a number of woman-led NGOs that are functioning "as a voice for the disadvantaged people of Somalia."

After many visits to the region, MacPherson noted, he could see that among the Somali people, "a great will for peace and prosperity does exist." He added that through aid programs such as CARE's, this great will of the people may help Somalia "transform into a lace of hope, opportunity, and lasting peace."

Previous Stories:
  UN food program urges the international community to give humanitarian aids to Somalia   (12/29/2001)
  Drought in Somalia   (10/18/2001)
  Hunger threatens half a million Somalis, WFP says   (8/23/2001)

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