Category Archives: Assignment 5

Partners in Health

By jvaughn5 | Published March 3, 2019

Partners in health is an INGO that was founded in 1987 by numerous people. They were founded because the founders wanted to make basic health care more accessible to low income countries. They help provide hospitals, train local people to continue the work after they leave, and help treat common diseases in developing countries such as malaria and AIDS. Its mission statement is as follows: Our mission is to provide a preferential option for the poor in health care. By establishing long-term relationships with sister organizations based in settings of poverty, Partners In Health strives to achieve two overarching goals: to bring the benefits of modern medical science to those most in need of them and to serve as an antidote to despair.

According to the PIH Canada website PIH was founded to aid Zanmi Lasante which translates to partners in health. The American organization wanted to provide aid in ways that are not accessible to certain countries. Its’ aim was to support, not replace, the original organization. The original organization, founded in Haiti, served to educate health outreach workers and to help villages with treatment and education about preventable diseases (PIH Canada). This organization, compared to other NGOs that we have talked about in class seems to really aim to educate the people. They want to provide not only the tools but the access to knowledge on how to sustain the work that PIH puts in. In fact, in Rwanda, PIH started the University of Global Health and Equity. This school aims to educate young medical professionals to serve communities in need (UGHE, 2018). While the school is highly selective it provides education to the students that deserve admittance regardless of their ability to pay the tuition (UGHE). Further, the majority of students are Africans which means this organization is aiming to educate the community member rather than teach Americans to go into these places and feel superior to the people that they are helping (UGHE, 2018).

Currently, PIH has impacted millions of lives. The PIH website has a link to each of their annual reports and comprehensively lays out how they have helped communities along with statistics to back it. These numbers are as follows:

  • <4,000 people treated for cancer
  • UGHE provided education to students from 22 different countries
  • Supported over 80 clinics around the world
  • Over 300 community health workers deployed around the world

Clearly the impact of this organization is vast. Since they provide medical care almot for free they must receive a lot of donations to keep the quality of work that they do. In 2017, they received over $30,000,000 dollars from grants and the government (PIH Fiscal Report). Based on this fiscal report they spend almost $150,000,000 a year on program services, which goes undefined, and $5,000,000 on development which also goes undefined. Based on this information, the money they are receiving is actually going towards these clinic and treatments they give out. In the past, they have received grants from the Gates Foundation, partnered with the American Cancer Society, as well as funding from the Cummings Foundation which put money towards the building of UGHE (PIH). A concrete timeline of their work can be found here.

Upon further research and more concrete google searches I stumbled upon some criticisms of Partners in Health. From the outside they seem like the ideal INGO; but, when actually receiving the education from PIH founders and hearing opinions of locals surrounding their work this is not the case. One of the founders of PIH admitted that the work they are doing is patching up wound but not providing the stiches needed to actually fix the problem of poverty that is causing these diseases (Dubal, 2012). According to this blogger there was a clinic bombed in Peru, which I could find no articles on. This bombing, though, does show a level of discontent from the people. PIH makes partnerships around the world that will help fund them and look the best in the public eye but are not taking into consideration the political and historical context of the people they are partnering with (Dubal, 2012). For example, if they are partnering with governments that are not helping the country become equitable then the citizens will not view PIH as the helpful organization they come across as. This an important note to make because the main results I found during this research were all positive. I really had to dig to find negative things aobut this organization. But, the blog I found along with the anecdote of the bombing in Peru let us know that there is something deeper to be explore with this organization. Beyond just this blog post I would like to dig some more on this organization and see what else I can find with more time to research.

Lastly, the OXFAM issue. I unfortunately could not find anything about PIH’s opinions towards the OXFAM incident. They do, however, on their website have a link to their policies surrounding gender based violence. They have started an education program in Haiti to try and prevent GBV (PIH). This program is relatively new (2017) so there are no long term results yet. They help treat both in the moment, such as right after a rape, as well as provding therapy to ensure the survivor is able to process their trauma. They also say that they train their volunteers in how to react if someone has had gender based violence experiences. Again, this is from the website and I was unable to find anything else regarding this. I would like to do more research on this issue.

 

“COLON CANCER SCREENING.” PIH Health, www.pihhealth.org/.

 

Combating Violence against Women.” Partners In Health, www.pih.org/article/combating violence-against-women.

 

 

Dubal, Sam. “Being Ethical in an Unethical World.” Renouncing Paul Farmer: A Desperate Plea

for Radical Political Medicine, 1 Jan. 2012, samdubal.blogspot.com/2012/05/renouncing-paul-farmer-desperate-plea.html.

 

Hamblin, James. “The Moral Medical Mission: Partners In Health, 25 Years On.” The Atlantic,

Atlantic Media Company, 4 Oct. 2012, www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/10/the-moral-medical-mission-partners-in-health-25-years-on/262974/.

 

“History.” Partners In Health Canada, pihcanada.org/our-story/history/.

 

“Our Founders.” Partners In Health, www.pih.org/pages/our-founders.

 

 

“University of Global Health and Equity Impact Report 2018.” 2018.

I picked this picture because the blog from the critique of the organization fits this image. It is like PIH is the dog doing the work they can saying everything is fine but ignoring the historical context of the countries they go into which is the fire

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World Relief

By khermsmeyer | Published March 3, 2019

World Relief began at around the same time that the Holocaust was ending in Europe. The year was 1944 and the organization was originally named War Relief Commission of the National Association of Evangelicals, (“What is World Relief?”).  By 1950, the name was changed to World Relief and its services expanded to Korea, Vietnam, Chile, Peru, and Bangladesh. Christians all over the world took notice of the horrors committed and unified to spread the news of Jesus. World Relief has offices in 20 countries on four continents and helps over 7 annually, (World Relief). It has become one of America’s largest faith-based aid groups.

Mission Statement: “We Believe each expression of the worldwide Church has a unique and interdependent role in bringing peace and justice to the world.”

Today, World Relief partners with churches and communities across the globe to help vulnerable people and seek justice. One of the focus points is assisting over 68 million people that have been displaced worldwide and cannot return home. Just in the year 2017, in the United States, 32,000 refugees and immigrants were welcomed, 11,000 were provided with legal services, and 2,500 were assisted with citizenship applications, (World Relief).

With dramatic cuts and anti-immigration stance in Trump’s administration, World Relief has lost offices and and staff. World Relief continues to urge the President to pursue broad-based immigration reform with Congress. In regards to the government shutdown, Scott Arbeiter, the President of World Relief stated, “We’re concerned that by declaring a national emergency, not only has the president opened an avenue for bypassing true solutions, but also shortchanged those stuck in the immigration system and those seeking to come to the U.S. who need true legislative solutions,” (World Relief). While World Relief agrees that border security is important, the U.S. needs to respond in a humanitarian way, and to avoid restricting opportunities for those fleeing persecution, (“World Relief Responds to President Trump’s State of the Union Address, Urges Comprehensive Immigration Reform.”)

Internationally, World Relief seeks to aid refugees as well, but the focus tends to be child development, health, nutrition, agriculture, etc., (World Relief). In Africa, a model called Church Empowerment Zones have been adapted, comprised of local pastors giving the community the opportunity to join together and share resources. World Relief equips leaders in spiritual and technical development, giving them means to assist their fellow community members, (World Relief). In one Rwandan district, households visited by church volunteers were 2x more food secure and saved twice as much in community savings groups, (“Africa”). World Relief also has a strong presence in the Middle East, being that over one third of the world’s displaced people are located here, (“Middle East”). The major areas of assistance provided include humanitarian assistance, trauma counseling, family strengthening, and livelihood recovering.

Some criticism of World Relief stems from the fact that the majority of their funding stems from U.S. government grants. Some feel that by taking federal money, World Relief cannot legally share the gospel with those that they are serving and that “we should stop tearing apart the fabric of our own culture and nation,” (Shepherd). Another criticism is that all employees must be Christian, triggering many who denounce it as religious discrimination. Although it is lawful under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, many claim that it is hypocritical for an organization to discriminate based off of religious preference when many of the people they are serving have fled religious intolerance themselves, (Brachear). This policy just stems back to the idea of the White Savior Industrial Complex. World Relief is first and foremost faith based, so as Teju Cole discussed, we are imposing our beliefs and values to these struggling people through the form of Christianity. While there is aid incorporated as well, there is still no doubt that white privilege plays a role in spreading the Christian faith.

This is a video from the World Relief website interviewing a man about his experience as a refugee.

 

 

Brachear, Manya. Help Wanted, but Only Christians Need Apply, 29 Mar. 2010, www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-xpm-2010-03-29-ct-met-world-relief-20100531-story.html.

Cole, Teju. “The White-Savior Industrial Complex.” The Atlantic, 21 Mar. 2012.

Shephard , Josh. “Conflict of Interest? World Relief, Refugee Resettlement and Immigration Debate.” Stream, 21 Feb. 2018, stream.org/conflict-interest-world-relief-refugee-resettlement-immigration-debate/.

World Relief, worldrelief.org/.

World Relief. “What Is World Relief?” World Relief Fort Worth, worldrelieffortworth.org/blog/what-world-relief.

World Relief. “World Relief Responds to President Trump’s State of the Union Address, Urges Comprehensive Immigration Reform.” PR NewsWire, 5 Feb. 2019, www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/world-relief-responds-to-president-trumps-state-of-the-union-address-urges-comprehensive-immigration-reform-300790512.html.

 

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World Vision International

By ebassett2 | Published March 3, 2019

Today, World Vision International is a leading organization devoted to humanitarian work around the world.  The organization was created in 1950, by Reverend Pierce. A few years earlier, in 1947, Pierce was introduced to a mother and abandoned child in China, and was asked for help.  He proceeded to give the woman five dollars, and promised to send that amount each month thereafter. A bittersweet encounter later led him to creating a child sponsorship program to help support the thousands of orphans resulting from the Korean War.  Within a few decades, the work of World Vision expanded to several other areas including; Asia, Latin America, and Africa. With this expansion, the organization also enriched their mission, and created an emergency relief division.  At this time World Vision also began to deal with the causes of poverty, through a focus on essential needs of people including; water, sanitation, education, health, as well as the community need of leadership training, and income generation (Our History).

Not too long ago, at the start of the 21st century, World Vision revisited the area in which inspired Pierce to embark on his humanitarian imperative, and put more work into issues related to child survival. This included the strengthening of the organizations relationships with governments and businesses to address the gruesome issues of child labour, children in armed conflict, and sexual exploitation (Our History).

Currently, World Vision has employed over 40,000 staff members, who work to implement programs to enhance affected communities in almost one hundred countries.  Everyday the actions of those at World Vision International are done in a commitment to their mission statement, “follow our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in working with the poor and oppressed to promote human transformation, seek justice, and bear witness to the good news of the Kingdom of God”.  World Vision, an organization that believes in the Christian faith, works toward their goals while following Jesus’s identification with the poor and oppressed with a special concern for children (Vision and Values). A focus on children is an important and valued aspect of the organization’s goal, and many other humanitarian organizations.  Children are often born into the harsh conditions, and are forced to deal with the disastrous situations. It is important to focus on the children in these situations, to inspire and inject hope into the youth so that they can live a better life. The Borgen Project in Honduras highlighted this emphasis on focusing on the youth, so that they can age to be creators of a better community rather than live a life grounded in the corruption they were born in  (SOC 376: 2/25).

World Vision International also is referred to as the World Vision “partnership” as they have several entities around the world.  Specifically, the organization is a religious non-profit corporation, with a majority (63%) of its funding coming from private sources.  The other 27% of funding often is from governments and agencies. Of the funds collected in 2018, around 86 % were used toward programs that benefit children, families, and communities, with the remaining 14% for fundraising and management purposes (Financial Accountability).

World Vision has significantly changed their branding through social media, after selecting a platform, Brand watch, to support their worldwide marketing and fundraising efforts. World Vision has streamlined access to their social media insights, enabling their own social analysis instead of having another organization do it for them. This ultimately helps the organization work more efficiently with their resources and raise money to support children (Darnbrough).

Enhanced marketing for World Vision has allowed for their success in a unique feature of child sponsorship.  Individuals can choose to sponsor a child on the World Vision website, and then witness the changes being made through progress reports and communication with the child.  I would think this is an effective tool as it should makes the sponsor feel more personally connected to the development, which then would lead to a higher likeliness of continuous donations. (Sponsor a Child).

This aspect of World Vision International, of child sponsorship, to some people is viewed as a scam for donations.  In 2016, a donor to World Vision assumed he was sponsoring a boy, Othman, and later found out that Othman was not receiving any of the money, or personal letters he sent.  Othman’s family was concerned because they had not remembered being approached by World Vision, to have their child’s picture on their website. In response to this, World Vision said that they never promised that a sponsors donations would directly support a child, yet that they would go toward community projects in the area. Although the work was done by World Vision, and supported the community of Othman, the false, or almost manipulative advertising of the organization, does not shine a positive light on the work of humanitarian aid organizations (Hadid).

Lastly, it is important to note that World Vision’s mission includes working with entire communities of people, including men and women, which helps to tackle discriminatory practices. The organization itself has decided to support inclusiveness, with the launch of a code of standards, the Minimum Standards for Mainstreaming Gender Equality, which many organizations in the humanitarian aid sector follow.  It is important that the organization has foundations built on gender equality, so that gender inequality and violence occur’s less, especially in these areas of crisis (Gender Equality).

 

Sources:

Becoming/ Being a Global Citizen. (SOC 376: 2/25)

Darnbrough, Drew. “Non-Profit World Vision Selects Brandwatch to Boost Global Development Efforts”. BrandWatch. https://www.brandwatch.com/press/press-releases/press-press-releases-non-profit-world-vision-selects-brandwatch-to-boost-global-development-efforts/

Hadid, Diaa. “A World Vision Donor Sponsored a Boy. The Outcome Was a Mystery to Both”. Nytimes.https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/03/world/middleeast/worldvision-palestinians-sponsor-a-child.html?_r=0

“Gender Equality”. World Vision. https://www.worldvision.org/our-work/gender-equality

“Our History”. World Vision. https://www.wvi.org/our-history.

“Structure and Funding”. World Vision. https://www.wvi.org/structure-and-funding

“Sponsor a Child”. World Vision. https://www.worldvision.org/sponsor-a-child

“Financial Accountability”. World Vision. https://www.worldvision.org/about-us/financial-accountability-2

 

 

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A5: INGO Research Assignment

By Tom Arcaro | Published January 31, 2019

 

Humanitarian INGO Research Assignment

Choose an humanitarian INGO (make sure to indicate your choice on our GoogleDoc) and do a profile of the organization.

Consider including the following elements:

  • Origin story
  • History from beginning to present; timeline of major developments/changes
  • Current size and scope
  • Mission statement
  • Use of national/local development workers
  • Funding sources
  • Spending priorities
  • Branding efforts and examples (e.g., PSA’s, web site)
  • External critiques (view from outsiders of the organization)
  • “Tell all” insider blogs or mémoires
  • And finally, in the light of the recent OXFAM issue, what are their policies related to SEA/GBV?

Please put the presentation into a format that will effectively inform the class; this may mean that you present some information via bullet points in addition to short descriptions.  Embed hyperlinks, videos, etc. to enhance.  As opposed to our previous blog posts where you have been asked to not only describe but to have a heavy emphasis on analysis (using the sociology you’ve learned), this post will be almost all description, i.e., the what, not the why.  In our class discussions of these organizations we’ll do detailed analysis and comparison.

Though there are dozens to choose from, here are a few examples of INGOs that you might profile:

  • OXFAM
  • MSF
  • CARE
  • Mercy Corps
  • World Vision
  • World Relief
  • War Child
  • International Rescue Committee

 

Rubric:

  • Due by 1class time Monday, March 4th.
  • Late posts will be downgraded at least one letter grade.
  • Comments to at least three colleague’s posts by March 5th by 10:00PM EST.
  • At least three citations: at least one from text and/or other assigned reading, and at least two from outside academic sources.  Note:  you are to read/watch/listen to all of the material in the hyperlinks in the parent post above; your contact with the material should be apparent in your post.
  • List references at the bottom of the page (MLA format).
  • At least one photo and/or video link.
  • Minimum 0f 500 words (excluding references).
  • Grade will be based on quality and quantity of response to the post prompt including adherence to the above benchmarks.
  • Keep in mind that you are writing for a broad audience that is educated and interested in this topic; infuse your post with the sociology you are learning/have learned in a non-jargonistic manner

As a shorthand for the longer, more detailed grading rubric above this SOC summary may be useful.

  • S = demonstration of understanding and application of sociological concepts, theories, etc. germane to the topic, especially those taking about in the text and in class
  • O = organization and structure overall; flow of ideas, appropriate and contextualized use of images and videos, proper documentation of sources
  • C = analytical creativity; going beyond obvious restatement or simple examples and pushing boundaries of thought and perspective; finding outside academic sources beyond the obvious

Please check Assignments/Assignment 5 before you Publish.

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