TABLE OF CONTENTS
Contents
DECLARATION
APPROVAL
DEDICATION
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iv
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT ix
CHAPTER ONE 1
INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 Background to the Problem
1.2 Statement of the Problem 4
1.3 Objectives of the Study 5
1.3.1 General Objective 5
1.3.~ Specific Objectives 5
1.4 Research questions 6
1.4 The Scope of the Study 6
1.4.1 Geographical Scope 6
1.4.2 Content Scope 6
1.4.3 Time Scope 7
1.5 Significance of the Study 7
1.8 Definition of Operational key terms 8
CHAPTER TWO 9
LITERATURE REVIEW 9
2.0 Introduction 9
2.1 Theoretical Framework 9
2.2 Related Literature 10
vi
2.2.1 Definitions ofPoverty .10
2.2.2 Dimensions and Causes of Poverty; Perspective from Kisoro District 11
2.3 Beneficiary Participation in Poverty Reduction Programs 11
2.2.3 NGOs Proliferation and their Roles in Africa 12
2.2.4 The Growth and Expansion of NGOs in Uganda 13
2.3 Importance ofNGOs in Reducing Poverty in Uganda 14
CHAPTER THREE 16
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 16
3.0 Introduction 16
3.1 Study Design 16
3.2. Area of Study 16
3.3. Study Population 17
3.4. Sampling Techniques 17
3.4.1. Sample Size 17
3.5. Research Instruments 18
3.5.1 Key Informant Semi-Structured Interviews 18
3.5.~. Semi-Structured Questionnaires 18
3.5.3. Focus Group Discussion 19
3.5,4. Observation 19
3.5.5 Documentary Review 19
3,5.6. Data Processing and Management 20
3.6. Ethical Considerations 20
3.7 Limitations of the Study 21
CHAPTER FOUR 22
PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF RESEARCH FINDINGS 22
4.0 Introduction 22
4.1 The Study Respondents and their Social- Economic Characteristics 22
4.2 Development Aspects of Compassion International in Kisoro District 25
4.2.1 An Analysis of Development Aspects and their Relevancies in Poverty Reduction 27
VII
4.3 Beneficiary Participation and Project Sustainability 31
4.4 Compassion International and Local Government Authorities: Working Relations 35
4.5 The Illusion of Participatory Poverty Reduction in Compassion International 38
4.6 Compassion International: Challenges in Reducing Poverty 39
CHAPTER FIVE 43
CONCLUSION: SUMMERY OF FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 43
5.1 Summary and Conclusion 43
5.2 Recommendations 45
5.3 Areas for further Research 47
BIBLIOGRAPHY 48
APPENDICES 52
QUESTIONNAIRES, FGDs AND INTERVIEW GUIDES ON NGOs AND POVERTY
REDUCTION IN UGANDA: A CASE OF COMPASSION INTERNATIONAL IN KISORO
DISTRICT 52
ABSTRACT An overwhelming body of literature claims that Non-Governmental Organizations are an important engine of development. They are considered to be the “third sector” to the State and the “~fV1arket. Analysts argue that NGOs not only improve local people’s participation in development processes but also use appropriate approaches to development. The motivation for this study was therefore to investigate whether these theorized phenomena apply to developing countries like Uganda. The study investigates the contributions of NGOs to poverty reduction in Uganda with specific reference to Compassion International in Kisoro district. It investigates the beneficiary’s form of participation; people’s perceptions on the approaches used by the NGO; and the working relations between the NGO and the district authorities in poverty reduction. Using a case study design combining both qualitative and quantitative methods, the findings indicate that NGOs do promote education and training, health, environmental conservation, and protection against child abuse. However, NGOs are not panacea to poverty reduction in the country. Instead, NGOs are becoming puppets of foreign donors on whom they rely for funding opportunities. They are dependent, elitist, corrupt, less accountable to the beneficiaries and more answerable to their foreign financial benefactors. These flaws lay the foundation for religious strictness, over-concentration in urban areas, passive and pseudo-participation, and inadequate monitoring and evaluation of projects. These findings prove that NGOs are less capable of reducing poverty than has been theorized and idiosyncratically propagated, because they come with pre-planned agendas with strings attached, under the camouflage of poverty reduction. The study therefore, recommends a paradigm shift: use locally available resources to fund NGOs and to sustainably and accountably induce development. This could be followed by empowering and training the beneficiaries with life skills instead of giving them tangible gifts that do not last but instead force them to develop a dependency syndrome. Granting full educational support, invoJving beneficiaries in all decision making and demanding for accountability and greater partnership with local government authorities would also create synergy between non governmental and governmental development interventions in the district and indeed the whole country.