Sahiba struggles with beneficiary aggression

The challenge of building civil society institutions in politically hostile environments

The question for Sahiba: How to brand and market its "leading image" to gain footing for civic education, leadership training, networking and women's economic empowerment activities with grassroots CBOs…?

Sahiba Sisters Foundation focuses its activities at grassroots community levels in the context of advocacy for empowerment of women and youth. As a network organisation, Sahiba has established relationships with various groups, as well as individual leaders and activists. One community-based group currently collaborating with Sahiba is Matemwe Control AIDS, Education and Environment (MCAEE), in Northern Unguja (Zanzibar).

MCAEE's activities include environmental conservation and capacity building of women's groups. Sahiba recognises that the majority of women in rural Zanzibar are marginalised due to lack of civic engagement and self determination, in particularly conservative patriarchal, social and cultural systems. The immediate programme goals in supporting MCAEE's work in Matemwe area are strengthening organisational, entrepreneurial and technical skills for women and youth groups.

The opportunity to collaborate with organisations such as MCAEE has revealed a number of difficulties for a networking organisation like Sahiba. One of the most intriguing challenges is the expectation by community groups to receive per diems for attending community activities, as well as funding for projects.

With elections approaching in 2010, such expectations are increasingly based on the erroneous assumption that individuals associated with Sahiba are likely seeking electoral office. This means that the presence of community members we support can be perceived as a favor to Sahiba. Such perceptions pose a big identity question for Sahiba - an organisation coordinated primarily through volunteer staff, many of whom are young women receiving leadership development support from the Foundation.

An immediate risk is the loss of trust by groups and communities that need to shape a common identity with Sahiba, in order to build the institutional resilience sought for advocacy and empowerment activities. This an institutional development challenge for the Foundation, particularly in terms of managing its identity in local communities and with network members.

Such questions for Sahiba's own institutional development are compounded by hostile environmental factors. How does Sahiba sustain local awareness and support for the big idea of empowering vulnerable groups, in the face of forces that are willing to spend huge sums of money to get the attention and support of the same groups, for their predatory political interests?

The need for funding to provide loans to womens' groups immediately shows two paradoxical dimensions for Sahiba; that is, on one hand, it is an authentic avenue for promoting economic empowerment but, on the other hand, Sahiba is feeling pressure to acknowledge that in the current reality, financial handouts would enhance its own "credibility" in competing for the attention and "participation" of local community groups.

So far, Sahiba hopes that the volunteerism it demonstrates will make it stand apart from grand standing politicians. It also hopes that its civic education and leadership training will open up the eyes of community groups, even though the immediate survival needs of the poor communities is prime ground for the predator instincts of local politicians in alliance with big business.

The real challenge is the fact that this competition, for Sahiba, is not about, and would not end with any increased possibilities of accessing "funding baskets" for handouts or projects. Ultimately, it is a about Sahiba's capacity to brand and promote itself toward being understood for what it is, and, therefore, increase the likelihood of local support for the specific causes it is advancing!

The above experience of Sahiba Sisters Foundation is adapted from a case-study written by Sophia Ngalapi and Khadija Mohammed Hija, both of Sahiba, for the recently EASUN Southern preparatory workshop for North/South NGOs' dialogue initiative with PSO of Netherlands. (See briefing below.)

For questions related to conflicted organisational identity and beneficiary aggression as a coping mechanism of community groups in hostile political environments, contact Mosi Kisare: mosi.kisare@easun-tz.org
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BRIEFING: Moshi dialogue on sustainable partnerships for capacity building

Development is a process of sustained transformation. Our interventions in capacity building must, therefore, be geared toward transformation of practices at the levels of leadership, values and identity so that capacity building may include institutional development possibilities and an impact for long-term value creation for sustainable human communities.
-- Southern (East Africa) Preparatory Workshop for North/South NGOs Dialogue Initiative

Reporting on the Moshi dialogue process is gathering speed, especially since the completion of the first draft of the Southern NGOs Preparatory Workshop Report. EASUN staff also spent a total of six hours reviewing and editing an exciting and informative video of the workshop proceeeings.

Thirty-six (36) civil society leaders from Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania met in Tanzania from 15-18 March, and deliberated extensively on partnership issues, particularly with regard to relationships between Northern and Southern NGOs supporting capacity building. This was in preparation for planned North/South dialogue event that will take place from 8-12, November 2009 (see eNews dated 04 April 2009).

The report captures key workshop processes, insights, lessons and recommendations for the November Moshi dialogue event, with a clear intent toward establishing relationships that are more responsive to holistic development needs of complex organisational, institutional and community relationships.

Case studies shared in the workshop have highlighted both the prominent issues related to North/South partnership, as well as critical questions in South/South relations. The challenges of networking and identity management were notable, and seem prominent in the case of Sahiba Sisters highlighted above. "Putting our house in order", especially being able to draw on Southern NGOs' innate power, through organisational and institutional resilience (i.e. having a self-identity - conscious points of reference and commonality constructed around common values) was considered to be a prerequisite process in managing effective partnerships with the North. This was referred to as: "tapping on the innate power of Southern NGOs".

The need for good governance in partnership between North and Southern NGOs was also underlined (i.e. sharing in change leadership, decision-making and participative processes that respect and work with the lived experiences of partners on both sides). The Moshi dialogue begins to move capacity building toward valuing diversity and practicing cultural competency as mainstream practices.

The following points were recommended for the agenda of the planned North South Moshi dialogue event that will take place in November 2009:

• Define the term "sustainability" with regard to partnership and capacity building.
• How to provide services and expertise respectfully in diverse circumstances of local cultures.
• Characterise capacities required for sustainable partnership, for both Northern and Southern NGOs.
• How to promote commitment to openness between Northern and Southern NGOs.
• Creation and participation in an ongoing dialogue platform between North and Southern NGOs.
• How to develop shared priorities and goals.

A planning meeting for the November Moshi dialogue event, involving staff members of EASUN, PSO (Netherlands) and Danish Mission Council (Denmark) will take place in Moshi from 18-20t May 2009.

For more information on "Moshi dialogue", contact Nyantito Machota: nyantito.machota@easun-tz.org
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This newsshot is also available at: www.easun-tz.org/enews/newsshot_17may2009.html

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