We need to accept that in rapidly changing circumstances only funds will not be enough.
There was a time when accumulating indigenous people’s wisdom was meant the success of every initiative.
Zaheer Udin Babar Junejo
Serving with the civil society sector for over 21 years I witnessed times when leaders led from the front and emphasized rural connectivity and active participation of beneficiaries. It was a time when accumulating indigenous people’s wisdom was meant for the success of every initiative.
Indeed the concept of services, expertise, and grounding of these institutions can’t be unified or compared with each other. Some of the institutions got their place when they filled the gaps left by ineffective system and corruption by government institutions, provision of basic needs, and securing livelihood with the impressive work of volunteers at the scenes of natural disasters.
I also witnessed long-term initiatives being replaced with short-term gains, local resource mobilization replaced with huge foreign funding, local wisdom replaced with global experiences, program designers replaced with good followers, leaders preferred to follow whispers from advisors instead of building upon indigenous knowledge.
Post-COVID and Taliban takeover in the neighborhood is something new and unexpected for many of us. In such a situation international partners’ priorities will change. It’s time for Civil Society Organizations to amplify cooperation around knowledge management and Research. We need to accept that in rapidly changing circumstances only funds will not be enough. All of our sectors require more focus on discovery and discussions to keep aside racist behavior.
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Zaheer Udin Babar Junejo is a Hyderabad-based Development Consultant.
