Find the groups and you have found the poor
Exploring the dynamics of community-based organisations in Arua and Kabale.
Abstract
‘Find the groups and you have found the poor’ is a study undertaken to test an assumption commonly used by government and other development workers in Uganda that groups represent the interests and needs of poor people. For the purpose of this study, we used the word ‘groups’ to mean “Community Based Organizations and other small, informal local configurations of people from more than one household, who come together for some process or expectation of mutual benefit or the benefit of others”.
The study was carried out by CDRN and CARE Uganda, together with local partners: Community Empowerment for Rural Development, Koboko United Women Association, Kabale District Farmers’ Association and United Batwa Development Organization in Uganda. The research took place in four villages, two each in Arua and Kabale Districts.
The research concluded that the assumption “Find the groups and you have found the poor” is not wholly accurate. Some groups represent the interests and needs of the poor while others do not. Small, informal groups that are internally instigated, are much more likely to represent the poor. For a wide range of externally stimulated groups however, it is much less likely to be the case.
Three findings from the study which are most relevant to CDRN’s objectives are presented below, together with recommendations for action related to them.
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Finding One: The poorest members of communities are often not members of groups. However, many of them perceive that groups are a way of reducing poverty, because they provide both a means to work together (self-help groups), and to tap external benefits. Recommendation: There may be a need to create new mechanisms, supplementary to existing channels, to reach these people. These mechanisms could include targeting them at individual and household levels.
- Finding Two: Some of these poorer people could be in groups, if mechanisms of exclusion were tackled. Such mechanisms include among others: high membership fees, ethnic or neighbourhood-based discrimination, rigid contributions in rotational savings schemes with inflexible payment schedules, and lack of information about opportunities for external benefits. Recommendation: NGOs and government programmes could encourage or institute flexibility in group membership fees and payment scheduling as one of their working guidelines
- Finding Three: Many small, informal self-help groups are more representative of the poor than most externally stimulated groups, in terms of addressing their interests, and including them as members. Poorer people value these groups because of their minimum exclusionary mechanisms and feel ownership of them. Recommendation: Work with small, informal self-help groups may be useful but must be approached with extreme caution so as to minimize the risk of undermining the identity or agenda of such groups. For details about this research study, request for the full report from resource@cdrn.or.ug
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