From a Singapore Angle

It's been a while since I got any detailed news about the doings of Singapore's NGOs involved in tsunami relief. Fortunately, Terz of "Terse & at Large" has provided his readers with a rare up-close look at Mercy Relief's work in Meulaboh (Terz was with them in Meulaboh). Today's ST (Mar 4) has a piece by Lydia Lim, who was also in Meulaboh with Mercy Relief (probably in the same 5 day time-frame as Terz), "A baptism of fire for Singapore's NGOs". Because this is a piece for ST, it is predictably more upbeat than, say, Terz. But that is not reason to dismiss it, as it too, is written by one who was on the ground; and especially as an important point with wide implications for civil association in Singapore came up somewhere in the middle:

In this pool of Olympic swimmers, Mercy Relief is like a child attempting his first lap. It is facing a steep learning curve as, I expect, will the other Singapore NGOs with plans to help in the rebuilding of tsunami-hit countries. This is their baptism of fire, the first major test of their abilities.

But as Lydia very astutely points out, it's not just about the Singapore NGOs relative youth--

It is both a consequence of their youth and of coming from a country where the Government has shown itself well able to deal with crises. So whether it was the economic recession or the Sars outbreak, local NGOs played at most a small supporting role in helping the country recover.

Buried among a mass of other details is a little gem of an observation. Why are the NGOs young and inexperienced? --because the government has been so good; which is another way of saying: because the government does everything in Singapore, and as a result, there's hardly any scope for voluntary associations in Singapore to mature. That way of putting it is probably overstating it, but not completely off the mark. What's changed is that this time, even the government realises that it can't be doing everything. There is the obvious point that the SAF can't stay forever in Meulaboh, at least, not in a big way. There are political sensitivities to juggle. But more importantly, there are certain sorts of things in the longer term rebuilding phase that could be done much better by NGOs rather than by the military. But, in a sense, I am glad that the SAF pulled out as soon as it has done its job. Just as it had its golden opportunity to be tested by fire, the NGOs now have theirs. If the cards are played right, this is potentially an extremely good development for the long term maturity of civic association in Singapore. With the SAF--not just the LSTs, but an entire framework of coordination with the Indonesian authorities--having pulled out, the NGOs are on their own in the deep end now. They will have to swim or sink.

I'll let Lydia continue:

Among the challenges they now face is the lack of experienced volunteer managers. In a tough environment like Aceh, volunteers' expectations of what they can expect to contribute need to be managed. Otherwise, their enthusiasm and goodwill can quickly turn into frustration, even anger.

Excellent piece of advice; reminds me of something someone else said. And there's more:

Yet another challenge is the lack of expertise in areas like disaster relief assessment. As a result, some NGOs end up poaching staff from one another.

Finally, there is the issue of learning to work together. On the one level is the national objective, which requires NGOs to cooperate to keep the Singapore flag flying high in places like Aceh. Pitted against that is the natural rivalry that springs from each group wanting to establish its own identity, as well as from having to compete against one another for scarce funds, volunteers and even staff.

But now that the tsunami has focused attention as never before on this sector, perhaps it is time for NGOs here to set aside their old rivalries and find ways to help the non-profit sector emerge stronger from this experience.

Hopefully, more able Singaporeans will also step forward to help lead, manage and staff this sector. Because only then can the wave of volunteerism unleashed by the tsunami be channelled towards its intended destination - helping the many in need.

I fully expect the SAF to learn the most from Operation Golden Eagle; it now remains to be seen if the NGOs will be able to do so.