Role of Non Govt.Organisations  
 

Development generally signifies improvement from an undesirable state of affairs to a desirable one in any field of social living. Disasters unfortunately hamper developmental processes. Disasters can be natural such as earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, draughts etc. or manmade such as wars, invasions, industrial accidents etc. After the disaster occurs the injured are rescued, property salvaged and the affected begin to rebuild their life once more. Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) play an important and crucial role in the rehabilitating process.

NGOs supplement the efforts made by government. Local NGOs reach the grass-root level and provide relief to the disaster- affected people. The primary role of an NGO in times of disaster is to provide:

  • selfless, voluntary, non-discriminating service.

  • joint action/programmes at the national level

  • public awareness through the mass media

Raising funds for relief of victims and rushing emergency relief by providing food, clothing and health checkup are standard responses of any NGO. They also help in rebuilding the community. For these long-term goals, they seek assistance from government or private organisation. As they share a common goal of helping disaster-affected people, TOIRF seeks the support of NGOs in the relief work, especially in the spheres of education, health, community development and environment. TOIRF provides the necessary financial and non-financial support (through Times Assisted Projects) so that these organisations can contribute towards the rehabilitation programme.

Selection of NGOs:

TOIRF joins hands with local NGOs as and when required in the affected area for rehabilitation work. A TOIRF committee selects certain local NGOs as they are familiar with the local conditions, people, environment and the administration. These NGOs are shortlisted by the TOIRF committee on the basis of their long-standing service, their experience and the recognition they have, the quality of development done and services provided, infrastructure available, their credibility and influence. Sometimes more than one NGOs are involved in the rehabilitation work and it is, therefore, necessary that there should be a considerable consensus among the NGOs regarding what should be done to accomplish their goals and how it should be done.

 
 
 
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