Call for empowerment of BANGO

Civil society groups attending a United Nations-sponsored consultation over the week-end called for the empowerment of the Barbados Association of Non-Governmental Organisations (BANGO).

One theme that emerged from discussions of the three working groups charged with coming up with an Action Plan was the need for a more vibrant BANGO, more effectively staffed and bankrolled to meet the challenges of the Civil Society Sector.

BANGO, as the leading organisation mandated to interact with the more than 800 listed Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), was hamstrung by its reliance on a small cadre of volunteers at headquarters and by its shortage of funding, delegates reported.

A key recommendation, therefore, was the recruitment and payment of a small full-time staff and the mobilisation of funds for the organisation to function effectively.

BANGO now acts as a focal point for the CSOs, rallying them around key issues, providing secretarial and technical assistance, pointing them towards financial and other aid sources and fast becoming a clearing house for information.

Delegates agreed that if civil society organisations are to function more effectively under the CARICOM Single Market and Economy, then BANGO would have to be outfitted for a bigger role.

BANGO's role must include mobilising organisations, facilitating information flows, organising groups into networks and helping to build partnerships among CSOs as well as between CSOs and government or other funding agencies.

The consultation at United Nations House in Hastings focused on the "Millennium Development Goals: Global Goals Supporting Caribbean Development".

There are eight MDGs, representing a pledge by all 189 UN Member States to achieve the following by the year 2015:

• Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger;
• Achieve universal primary education;
• Promote gender equality and empower women;
• Reduce child mortality;
• Improve maternal health;
• Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases;
• Ensure environmental sustainability; and
• Develop a global partnership for development.

The UN House gathering agreed that if NGOs and CSOs in general are to be more effective in helping their countries meet these goals, there would have to be more collaboration and partnerships among them with regard to projects.

They would also need to come out of a "culture of secrecy" that reflects a lack of distrust of each other amidst the keen competition for funding and other resources.

The meeting recommended an assessment of the CSO sector, to determine which groups are active, which could be organised as part of a network to facilitate negotiations with aid-agencies and other agencies, and also to find out the general needs of the sector.

The CSOs were said to be constrained by organisational structures that are often inadequate to meet their needs: a dependence on volunteers; little finance; and a shortage of highly skilled persons serving them full-time.

They ought to be "sufficiently structured and resourced to achieve their goals", with constitutions that are relevant to their needs, not just sounding good.

The groups saw the need for capacity-building to help them effectively function. These groups were advised to push for a package of legislation from the government that would focus on best practices in the sector.

One recommendation was the establishment of resource centre or a network of resource centres by parish to assist CSOs in their development.

The delegates also agreed that BANGO should be strengthened to undertake some of the important work in positioning CSOs "so that they don't get lost" as the region prepares for the coming of the CSME.

One workshop group focused on education for social change in the context of the Millennium Development Goals.

It stated that education planners need to take into consideration people with disabilities. It called for greater community outreach in education, and recommended using the media to promote positive messages.

It underscored the need for a shared vision on education, while emphasising that everyone - including the family and the community - needed "to be responsible for education of the nation".

It called for an education system that highlights Values, Ethics and Morals. The meeting recommended the continuous training of teachers and community facilitators.

It also pointed to the need for more technology in the classrooms, while recognising the importance of more money being made available to achieve the MDGs.

The meeting recommended establishment of an Independent National Education Commission and a regular State of Education report. One complaint was that Barbados was not producing enough educational material which is indigenous to the region.

Another was that education was structured around performance and not creativity, and was being driven by "the syllabus".

Delegates concluded that there was an "autocratic system" of imparting education; one where the role of the teachers was simply to teach a set course and the role of the student was simply to absorb the information.

It was also asserted that children with special needs were not adequately served by the education system.

The meeting also raised some questions about the reported 100 per cent access to education Barbados boasts of. It was pointed out that due to poverty, and when compounded by disabilities, many children do not make it to school.

The delegates also estimated that 70 per cent of students leave school without any certification; the point being made that Barbados has to focus on "quality education", rather than churning out quantity".

Presenters at the consultation included, The Deputy Prime Minister, Hon. Mia Mottley; Deputy Resident Representative of UNDP Rebeca Arias; UN Volunteer Programme Manager Muraguri Muchira; Giles Romulus of the GEF Small Grants Facility; CEO of Pinelands Creative Workshop Rodney Grant; Steve Williams representing the Barbados Coalition of Service Industries and Representatives from the Ministry of Social Transformation Kirk Humphrey and the Hon. Trevor Prescod, M.P.

Secretary General of BANGO Roosevelt King and the Resident Representative of the UN Dr. Rosina Wiltshire addressed the consultation.

Trevor Yearwood
Press Secretary, BANGO
trevoryearwood@bango.org.bb