I would like to get information on how i can form a ngo to assist refugees in south africa?

Question

there is a refugee crisis in southafrica and i would like information on how i can form a ngo to assist refugees

Answer 1

Well why not join one that is already in existance.  Nobody is going to give someone in Africa money to set up any charitable organisation because they know where it will end up.  If you want to do good works then there are plenty of organisations already there.

Answer 2

Do you have millions of dollars? Do you have contacts in the parts of Africa that you intend to set up that are not corrupt? Do you have the right visa's, permits, government documentation, taxation, and the myriad of other red tape all sorted or being sorted? Do you have accreditation in your home country?

If you are relying on funding from external sources, do you have appropriate banking ties in to Africa - have you thought about how you are going to get your money there?

I guess what I am saying is that setting up an NGO is tough at best. Very tough. You need to do a huge amount of ground work before you can even make a start. If you go in there with wads of cash and a fantastic desire to give each of these displaced individuals a home, food, school, jobs, and so forth, you will end up with no money in very short order.

You need policies, rehabilitation projects, your own schools or schools that you can work with, the list is long and for the most part, endless.

There are already loads of NGO's in Africa, my advice would be to take a trip there and immerse yourself with a few of these for several months to get a feel for the problems. Keep your money in your pocket until your willingness to help people is filled with every negative aspect that money will bring displaced people.

From experience, you give someone living on the street a house, they will sell it and go back to the street. Why? The street is what they know, it is what they are used to. You can't just give a house without giving a means and foundations to support the cost of having a house.

Answer 3

The South African government regulates NGOs in that country; you will need to check with them on what the process is. Basically, however, you will need to provide a proposal ('business plan') that includes things like:

a) A needs assessment - where are the people, what do they need and how did you determine that (e.g. face-to-face survey of refugee households)

b) What need(s) you wish to address and how (e.g. shelter as a need, providing housing as the aid)

c) Practical issues to be addressed (rights of landowners where you want to build the houses, groundwater reserves, etc)

d) What credentials you/your organisation have to do this (academic, years field experience of providing aid, construction experience, etc)

e) Financial wherewithal (how many houses are you planning on providing, how much will this cost, where will the funds come from, etc).

The process of registering a new NGO (one that hasn't previously existed) can take months (years?) and needs someone on the ground.