Case Studies of NGOs

#### **Chapter 4**

## The Rise and Fall of the NGOs in Bangladesh: What Does the Future Hold?

*Shahadat Baser and Syed Abu Hasnath*

#### **Abstract**

This chapter introduces Bangladesh's national and international NGOs, followed by an evaluation of some leading NGOs' roles in alleviating poverty of the economically vulnerable population, particularly women and children. The NGOs address these concerns through microcredit programs, nonformal education, and primary healthcare, creating employment opportunities, promoting participation in asset-building, and grassroots advocacy programs as catalysts for policy action. However, recently, NGOs have faced challenges that tend to diminish their role due to donors' declining funds and growing government restrictions. Therefore, the chapter suggests that NGOs, in their engagement with a leadership position, survive the present economic and political challenges—and continue to help the people left behind and exploited—through social enterprises and more commitment.

**Keywords:** Bangladesh, engagement, NGOs, microcredit, social enterprises

#### **1. Introduction**

*"Bangladesh has some of the most innovative, effective, and imitated non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the world."*

Professor David Lewis, London School of Economics.

Nongovernmental organizations, commonly referred to as NGOs, were first called such in Article 71 of the newly formed United Nations Charter in 1945. Since then, they have become an important partner of human development by improving communities and promoting citizen participation in developed and developing countries and, more importantly, in developing countries, including Bangladesh, where millions of people are poor and left behind.

NGOs are generally nonprofit entities, independent of government influence, although they receive funds from donor agencies, government contracts, and private charitable organizations. In addition, NGOs generate resources through investments and social enterprises—nonprofit and for-profit companies. In that way, many NGOs are engaged in income-generating activities, defined as social impact businesses, such as Savar Gonoshasthaya Hospital and BRAC University in Dhaka, Bangladesh [1].

A concise description of the aims and objectives of NGOs in Bangladesh—what we know of their activities and official documents describing their Mission, vision, strength, and modus operandi—may be summarized as follows: (a) to provide affordable financial services (microcredit) to fight poverty and catalyze socioeconomic development for the poor; (b) giving nonformal education (literacy, numeracy, and skill development) to increase the productivity of poor and thereby improving their life and living; (c) providing healthcare services and healthcare advocacy (i.e., increasing awareness to initiate change); (d) engaging in the environment (climate, clean air, safe water, uncontaminated soil, and green home); and (e) advocating human rights based on humanist values (something close to the objectives of the United Nations and its agencies). Together the NGOs work to empower the powerless. Or enabling the poor.

The NGOs modus operandi is evidently to reach out to the disadvantaged people with a sense of rebuilding the community—by providing resources, including basic education and healthcare—through teamwork and participatory efforts. Many NGO leaders envisage growth with alleviation of poverty, promotion of equity, and people's participation to involve the redistribution of economic and political power, including women's empowerment. That sounds quite promising—and we look ahead.

The organization below reflects theoretical and practical purposes. Section 2 sets forth the essay's analytical perspective. Section 3 is a narrative of the genesis of NGOs in Bangladesh. The following section provides a case study of 10 selected NGOs—eight domestic and two international NGOs (INGOs). The case studies are written within a broad framework of founding, funding, and function to address "key priority needs" and "current gaps in humanitarian response." Section 5 turns to substantive issues, including sources of funding and fund cuts—and the growing government restrictions on NGOs in Bangladesh. Against this background, we have tried to develop our view from a comparative perspective—which may be called a *new perspective* following the book's sub-title—of the present and future of NGOs in Bangladesh. Section 6 presents a critical overview of NGOs in Bangladesh. The final Section 7 is the central concern of the chapter: the future of NGOs and some tentative suggestions to overcome the challenges of the times.

#### **2. Analytical framework**

At the heart of our theoretical arguments for NGOs in Bangladesh is that the voluntary organizations—at least in their initial stage—were spearheaded in the absence of state capacity to deliver welfare to abysmally poor and neglected people of the country. Instead, the NGOs carried out many tasks—including small loans and advocacy—to raise them above poverty through participation. The idea flows quietly with the concept of Paulo Freire's ideas of community empowerment and participation in NGOs' discourse that focuses on resistance in the workplace, emphasizing class harmony rather than class struggle—and interaction for humanization for the permanent process. The central point of Freire's *Pedagogy* is that education not only empowers individuals to earn their livelihood but also raises awareness of human rights—empowering them to become valuable citizens [2].

Cavalieri Coimbra [3] defined empowerment as an intentional and continuous process centered on the local community. The method of empowerment includes help, respect, critical reflection, and participation through which those people are lacking resources can access and control them. They organize an active community

#### *The Rise and Fall of the NGOs in Bangladesh: What Does the Future Hold? DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.107855*

and participate democratically in the economy and environment. The organized community gives them a sense of belonging to the country [3].

The idea is also consistent with that of donor agencies from western democracies—including North America, Europe, Japan, and Australia that promote the ideals of participation and empowerment, which is not only cost-effective but also conducive to gaining control over decisions and resources. Moreover, participation has a political agenda that advocates for marginalized populations by opening up more spaces and opportunities for building political capabilities and participatory democracy.

There is a renewed interest among the scholars of development studies and public officials in developing countries, including Bangladesh, that economic growth with equity—and poverty alleviation—demands people's participation within the empowerment framework. Democracy provides that framework. In one of its entries, NGOs in *Banglapedia* (The National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh) notes:

*NGO is envisaged to involve redistribution of economic and political power, integrating rural areas into national development efforts with expanded opportunities for employment and income for rural people. … The problems in rural areas are so gigantic and complex that governments and public sector organizations often find it tough to deal with them without the full support and involvement of the people [4].*

Despite those inspiring statements—and success stories that prevail in some selected NGOs—many questions remain about NGOs' scope, impact, and effectiveness in sustainable national development [5]. There is plenty of literature on NGOs' contribution to the fight against poverty and social exclusion, but little is known about their accountability in general financial transactions. Although transparency is critical for development organizations, many NGOs are not immune to corruption.

In this regard, Professor Paul [6] provided a guide to evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of NGOs, including transparency, accountability, limitations, and corruption (see **Table 1**). We keep in mind his guidelines in our following discussion.

From an academic perspective, there is a serious disagreement between the liberal view and neoliberalism over the role of NGOs. The proponents of the liberal view give credit to NGOs as a progressive force—a potentially transformative force in promoting equal, participative, and sustainable development [7, 8]. While the neoliberals vigorously present their criticism that NGOs are nothing but privatization of public interest that maintain systematic exploitation and perpetuate inequality [9].

An Indian author and political activist, Arundhati Roy, believes NGOs pacify grassroots movements—in other words, the NGO-ization of resistance [10].

NGOs give the impression that they are filling the vacuum created by a retreating state. And they are, but their real contribution is that they defuse political anger and dole out as aid or benevolence what people ought to have by right. They alter the public psyche [10].

Not very many scholars subscribe to the idea of revolution. In their view, revolution brings the chaos of unstable state systems that people can hardly afford. In that context, we briefly review the rhetoric of NGO literature, such as "making poverty as a museum piece." But, at the same time, we interfere with the notion that NGOs emerged with the rise of the neoliberal view, following the new economic world order—including the Structural Adjustment Program (SAP) in the 1980s and onward [11].

We attempt to provide a review of some more active, innovative, and popular national and international NGOs in Bangladesh: How much contribution they have made in average time. We also review the role of NGOs in exceptional circumstances,


### **Table 1.**

*Strength and weakness of NGOs.*

such as the Rohingya refugee camps in Cox's Bazar, during the coronavirus outbreak in Bangladesh, and the recent devastating floods in Sylhet. Finally, how does the partnership (relationship between NGOs, donors, and the Government) landscape impact the development at scale sustainably, that is, survival in the future?

#### **3. The genesis of NGOs in Bangladesh**

The social sciences of development and the environment have sidelined, if not neglected, the role of NGOs as *the third sector* between state and market—and connecting them. So, the question is: Why does the third sector exist? The Heterogeneity Theory argues that two situations are accountable for being and prospering in the third sector—market failure and government failure. Market failure is based on the idea that the marketplace cannot deliver goods and services such as roads, security, clean air, and public health. Market failure also indicates that goods and services are available in the market, but poor people cannot afford those services—urban lowincome housing is a good case.

Between one-third and one-fourth of Dhaka's population live in slums and squatters. An estimated 600,000 children live and make a living on the street. The Government has a street children rehabilitation program, which is small in size and rife with corruption. One may define the situation as an example of government failure; there are, however, many such examples.

A few NGOs—including Restless Being and Save the Children—work exclusively for children's welfare. For example, Restless Being focuses on accommodation, clothing, education, medical treatment, and life skill to have a sense of responsibility. At the same time, Save the Children endeavors to protect children from abuse,

exploitation, trafficking, and violence through protection, education, health service, and advocacy.

Few other NGOs in Bangladesh handle externalities, such as contamination of river water and issues in shrinking open space in the cities. In all three cases, however, their work scope is minimal compared to the great demand for those kinds of services. We have elaborated on the case of environmental protection issues where we have discussed BELA (Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association).

Long before the independence of Bangladesh (1971), there were quite a few non-state/nongovernment organizations working with a good reputation for entertaining work and campus—they are functioning well today. The organizations include, among others, Kumudini Hospital (Tangail, Bangladesh), run by Kumudini Welfare Trust, Dhaka Ahsania Mission, known for its work of piety. In addition, the Bangladesh Academy for Rural Development (BARD) at Comilla devised an integrated rural development model emphasizing agriculture cooperatives.

Some prominent international NGOs—including Red Cross/Red Crescent, UNICEF, CARE, and CARITAS—have worked in Pakistan since the country gained independence in 1947. Then, East Pakistan—today's Bangladesh—was the eastern wing of Pakistan. As a result, the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society was established in 1973. Since then, the Society has been working with a mission to become a leading humanitarian organization. Other INGOs worth mentioning are UNICEF, Oxfam, CARE, and CARITAS. Below we have concisely introduced UNICEF and CARE.

Following the war of independence in 1971, Bangladesh became a popular site for NGOs. Why? The precarious economic condition of the country may be an answer to the question. Another answer was a bond of thought embedded in patriotism and giving to the needy.

The decade began with a devastating Bhola cyclone in 1970, ravaging the country's southern part and losing approximately 300,000 lives. The following year experienced a bloody civil war, with the estimated death toll varying from hundreds of thousands to 3 million. In addition, the economy was in total disarray, followed by the famine in 1974—with an estimated death toll between one million and 1.5 million—that further ruined the country, whatever was left. Quibria [12] describes the situation as follows:

*At independence, the vast majority of the people in Bangladesh lived in poverty, and a large proportion of them was in abject poverty. This was reflected in a low per capita income, estimated to be less than \$70 (in current price), and about 20% of the population subsisted on an annual income between \$15 and \$20. Nearly half of the population suffered from malnutrition, and more than 80% suffered from micronutrient deficiency (p. 2) [12].*

Against this background, the top domestic NGOs in Bangladesh, including Gonoshasthaya Kendra (or People's Health Center, herein after G.K.), Grameen Bank, Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC), and the Association for Social Advancement (ASA), came into being between 1971 and 1980. In addition, another NGO, Nijera Kori (we do it ourselves), for rural social mobilization was also established in 1980. A few notable NGOs of recent origin are Jaago Foundation (for children's education), Bangladesh Plan International (for slum improvement), and Shakti Foundation (which helps children with special needs).

The following discussion focuses on three aspects of each NGO—founding, function, and funding. Since the funding source is numerous and the NGOs do not fully disclose the references to the public, we only mention some major donor agencies at

the end of the case studies. Some NGOs receive substantial help from the Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF), the most significant rural development funding and skill development agency sponsored by the Government. All NGOs draw funds from national and international sources—while some generate revenues through social business—in addition to receiving donations. However, all of them function within the legal framework of the country. And the NGO Affairs Bureau of the Government regulates some 26,000 registered NGOs in Bangladesh.

This essay briefly reports case studies of 10 selected NGOs—eight domestic and two internationals. The domestic NGOs are Gonoshasthaya Kendra, Grameen Bank, BRAC, ASA, Dhaka Ahsania Mission, Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA), Shakti Foundation, and Plan International Bangladesh. At the same time, the two international NGOs are UNICEF and CARE. The NGOs have similarities and differences in how they undertake service delivery—and how much they fulfill their objectives.

#### **4. Ten case studies of NGOs—eight domestic and two INGOs**

#### **4.1 Gonosasthaya Kendra (G.K.): a nongovernment People's health center**

Bangladesh was fighting a bloody civil war (known as the liberation war between March 1971 and December 1971) against the occupation army of Pakistan. According to the government document, 3 million people were killed, and 10 million people, including 150,000 freedom fighters and displaced person, took refuge in the Indian border states of West Bengal, Meghalaya, and Tripura. Being imbued by patriotism and the call of duty, Dr. Zafrullah Chowdhury, finishing his FRCS (Fellowship of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons) in England, returned to the liberation war sector in Tripura. He was accompanied by another Bangladeshi senior cardiac surgeon, Dr. M. A. Mobin. In mid-May 1971, they set up a 480-bed field hospital to treat the wounded freedom fighters in war with the least capabilities [13].

Following the independence of Bangladesh, the field hospital became a G.K. of the all-purpose, fully-fledged hospital under the leadership of Dr. Zafrullah Chowdhury—and over the years, Chowdhury became an uncrowned emperor of community health service in Bangladesh. He rightly observed that.

*Ill health is an important factor that forces the poor to remain poor. Even if they make a little bit of money, one episode of illness can wipe them out.*

Accordingly, the purpose was to reach poor people, the villagers, and the people without health care, which led to the establishment of G.K. The Government donated land and building materials for G.K. headquarters at Dhaka, and the villagers gave land and labor to have a branch of G.K. in their area. In addition, France and Netherlands gave money; the Philippines presented Ramon Magsaysay Award, and Sweden gave Right Livelihood Award. Furthermore, U.K. Bangladeshi Medical Association donated generously. In addition, several other international organizations, including UNCHR and GlobalGiving, Bangladesh charities—such as Future Bangladesh—and many individuals regularly contribute to G.K [13].

Although fees are minimal, G.K. earns revenues from two leading and five secondary hospitals in Dhaka city and its suburb at Savar—and nearly 40 health centers spread all over the country. G.K.'s Savar Kidney Dialysis Center is the largest in the

#### *The Rise and Fall of the NGOs in Bangladesh: What Does the Future Hold? DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.107855*

country—an open heart and transplant surgery unit is near completion. In addition, the organization maintains a certain level of self-reliance by engaging in more commercial activities—such as the People's Pharmaceutical Industry, Gonosasthya Textile Mill, Gonosasthya Printing Press, and the Gonosasthya University (a private university in Savar) to become less dependent on donors.

*Gonosasthaya Kendra Heath Service Centers in Bangladesh. Source: www.gonoshasthayakendra.com.*

The above statement indicates that G.K. is growing—spread all over the country (see **Figure 1**). Besides health care, primary education, and vocational training for income earning and women empowerment, G.H. has several other important functions, including disaster management and helping rehabilitation of the victims. One such example is the role of G.K. in support of recent flood victims.

In mid-June 2022, about 8 million people have been severely affected by devastating flash floods in the northern districts of Bangladesh, including Sylhet, Sunamganj, Netrokona, and Mymensingh. People have never seen such an intensive flood with so much death and destruction in their lifetime—a harsh reminder of climate change. About 100 people died, and over 3 million have been rendered homeless. Moreover, as expected, the flooding outbreak of infectious disease seized the whole area.

While it took the government functionaries—with the army, navy, and air force— 72 h to start a rescue operation of the stranded people, G.K. reached the spot with the delivery of lifesaving supplies within 48 h with 100 metric tons of food, clean water, and water purification tablets. In addition, the enthusiasm and dedication of dozens of domestic NGOs, INGOs, and many private organizations and individuals were remarkable. For instance, the Government allocated Tk 120 million for flood relief; at the same time, the NGOs and personal donations amount to Tk 600 million—a reaffirmation of their role and response to the national emergency.

Two other examples: G.K.'s presence in Rohingya camps in Cox's Bazar is visible: Medical personnel with boxes of medicines and medical equipment started working on the day the displaced people arrived from Myanmar. Likewise, the displaced people from Myanmar today get health services from G.K. Second thing, in mid-March 2020, when Bangladesh urgently needed a COVID-19 testing kit at an economical price, G.K. came up with a seemingly practical solution with a kit at \$3 only to detect the disease. The project was, however, stuck in a political quagmire—and its chief scientist returned to his previous position in Singapore.

Besides developing people-oriented health care centers, G.K. is devoted to promoting education among poor women and children and is committed to establishing women's rights by changing their social status. Among 2500 staff of G.K., 40% are female—and working with the people, they help income generation activities—and making them aware of health and environmental issues, such as reducing carbon emissions by introducing improved cookstoves and solar lamps [13].

The location of health centers is selected based on uneven regional development in the country. For example, the northeast region—the Rangpur division, a lagging part with the highest level of poverty—has a disproportionately more significant number of G.K. projects—and there are several clinics in remote Char (shoal) areas. G.K.'s many programs, including post-flood rehabilitation—and primary health care programs in remote areas, are supported by Oxfam, the Government, and UNICEF. That means there is coordination between and engagement with the Government, NGOs, and G.K.

A Board of Trustees administers the G.K. Dr. Zafrullah Chowdhury is a Trustee—a founding Trustee, of course. For the last 50 years, he has been arguing and working for inclusive growth and social justice, and minimum dignity for the poor and downtrodden—engaged in building power at the base. He has written books and seminal papers community health and development, including the National Drug Policy in 1982, and drafted other national policies in the following years. Dr. Chowdhury is highly respected and a lovable man whose larger-than-life persona is inextricably linked to the NGO literature. His great work resists not promoting neoliberalism at home and abroad (see **Figure 2**: Main building of G.K.).

*The Rise and Fall of the NGOs in Bangladesh: What Does the Future Hold? DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.107855*

**Figure 2.** *Main building of Gonosasthaya Kendra, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Source: www.gonoshasthayakendra.com.*

#### **4.2 Bangladesh rural advancement committee (BRAC)**

Two NGO leaders of Bangladesh—Sir Fazle Hasan Abed of BRAC and Nobel Laureates Professor Mohammed Yunus of Grameen Bank—are distinguished for the dream and work of social entrepreneurship since the country's independence. Their passion and path to change the life of teeming millions of rural Bangladesh by meeting the needs of small finance capital, primary healthcare, and nonformal education made a difference. Cooperation with the Government and international NGOs including UNICEF, Oxfam, and CARE—and multinational companies (MNCs) such as Nokia, BRAC, and Grameen Bank have substantially alleviated poverty (between 1980 and 2020) by providing immunization, vaccination, family awareness, and microfinance loans. We will first discuss BRAC, followed by Grameen Bank.

Like G.K., BRAC has its roots in war-torn, poverty-stricken Bangladesh due to the liberation war in 1971. With a naval architecture degree from Glasgow and chartered accountancy from London, Sir Fazle Hasan Abed sold his apartment in London and returned home in early 1972. With that money, he founded the Bangladesh Rehabilitation Assistance Committee (later Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee) to fight poverty, predominantly by concentrating on women. BRAC dealt with the long-term task of improving the living condition of the rural poor and women's empowerment using tools like microfinance, primary education, healthcare, raising awareness, and social enterprises.

BRAC's microfinancing program offers small loans to women to promote economic entrepreneurship in local communities addressing issues related to gender inequality. Raising awareness among the people means investing in their future by using loans, sending children to BRAC school, and taking opportunities for BRAC health services. Another example of awareness is the organization of community-based rights programs, such as "barefoot lawyers," a project that increases awareness of legal rights and delivers services to the doorsteps of the poor—so that individuals recognize and defend their legal rights and duties of a citizen.

Microcredit, microfinance, and small loans—are interchangeably used in NGO literature without much clarification. Their aims and objectives—and the nature of repayments—are rarely mentioned. Hence a brief statement of the concepts (in the context of BRAC) is in order [14].

The loans are distributed against some documents (address, assets, social image (e.g., police record, etc.) but without collateral assurance—but refundable within 52 weeks with 6 weeks grace period. The loans are of two types—*Dabi* loan, which borrowers can use the money without accountability, and *Progoti* or enterprise loan, which is distributed for the initiation of new small businesses or entrepreneurs who want the expansion of existing business.

There are four categories of enterprise loans with some observable characteristics, which are as follows:


While there are specific rules that BRAC follows in disbursing loans, there are no such clear-cut principles that make a difference between social enterprise (nonprofit) and business for profit. Social enterprises may be defined as engaging in commercial activities seemingly nonprofit with social objectives. BRAC has a dozen social enterprises, including Aarong (a chain shop of articles of clothing), BRAC Dairy, Seeds and Agroindustry, Artificial Insemination, Nursery, Sericulture, Fisheries, Recycled Handmade Paper, Cold Storage, Printing Press, Sanitary Napkins, and Delivery Kits. In addition, BRAC has four profit-making organizations—BRAC Bank, BRAC IT Service Company, and a 26% share in edotco (a network telecommunication infrastructure with 15,000 towers)—and BRAC University. The university—with its Business School, Computer Science Department, and BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD), is ranked among the highest in Bangladesh's higher education and research seats.

BRAC is the number one NGO in the world—empowering people and community, creating opportunities for social development, including education, health, human rights, livelihood, and disaster preparedness in a dozen countries, including Asia, Africa, and the Americas with its headquarters in Dhaka. The claim may sound an exaggeration, but the impact of BRAC cannot be overemphasized. Since its foundation, 13 million children have graduated from 31,000 BRAC schools in rural areas, 9 million clients received microfinance, 50 thousand health workers delivered primary health care in four corners, and 2.1 million families graduated from poverty. Moreover, BRAC's presence—with its elaborate organizational structure, was noticeable in all regular programs and disaster-affected areas, including the recent ruinous flood in the country's northeastern region mentioned above (see **Figure 3**). Reliefweb notes:

*The Rise and Fall of the NGOs in Bangladesh: What Does the Future Hold? DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.107855*

#### **Figure 3.**

*BRAC's organizational structure. Source: www.brac.net.*

*The non-governmental organization BRAC has been working alongside the local Government since the beginning of the recent flood situation in the country. The organization has allocated Bangladeshi Taka 3 crore from its funds for emergency flood relief. The money will be used to provide dry food, safe drinking water, oral saline, matches, candles, essential medicines, and other services to people affected by the flood. The money will also be used to rescue people trapped in floods. Initially, the relief will provide support to around 52,000 families [16].*

The border between social enterprise (seemingly nonprofit) and for-profit organizations such as Aarong and BRAC Bank is overlapping, if not elusive. Nevertheless, BRAC earns revenues from those enterprises that cover 75% of its expenditure for rural development—and urban slum improvement, including water supply and sanitation (see **Figure 4**). In that sense, BRAC is both a large organization and a self-supporting, autonomous institution. In addition, there is a long list of donors and partners—including World Bank, UNICEF, ADB, USAID, UNDP, UNCHR, FAO, Citibank, Mastercard, Living Goods, and U.K. Aid British people—who give money, materials, and international supports. The donor's aid—in the form of funds, awards, and recognition ensures the clout and prestige of BRAC. The NGO Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF) is also a development partner of BRAC. PKSF is an apex government institution training rural people with microfinance to implement sustainable rural development. BRAC's employment opportunities programs for women and marginalized groups are tailored to meet the local needs—and complement to PKSF program.

#### **Figure 4.**

*Distribution of enormous branches of BRAC both in rural and urban regions of Bangladesh as well as plan international Bangladesh. Source: Author.*

However, in June 2021, BRAC suffered great disappointment with the U.K. aid cut worth 450 million British Sterling Pound a year with a plea that the fund would go to the poverty-stricken African countries needing more overseas help than Bangladesh.

#### *The Rise and Fall of the NGOs in Bangladesh: What Does the Future Hold? DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.107855*

Nevertheless, the withdrawal of funds affected women's and girls' education and those in extreme poverty in Bangladesh. According to one study by the Power and Participation Research Centre (PPRC) and BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD), more than 20 million people have slipped into extreme poverty since the pandemic. In addition, millions of people left cities during the pandemic to their rural homes—as they lost their work and income—many have not returned, putting an extra burden on the rural economy. The fund cut was not simply a financial loss but a withdrawal of BRAC's strategic partnership with the U.K. The flop came when Bangladesh recovered from the widespread corona pandemic and flood havoc in North Bengal that marooned one-fourth of the country. The situation in 2022 is even worse, with an indirect effect on food and fuel due to the Ukraine–Russia war, followed by another heaviest flood in 121 years.

Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, the lifeblood of BRAC, received numerous national and international awards, including the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership, Spanish Order of Civil Merit (2014), Leo Tolstoy International Gold Medal (2014), UNDP Mahbub ul Haq Award for Outstanding Contribution to Human Development (2004), and Palli Karma Sahayak Foundation (PKSF) Award for lifetime achievement in social development and poverty alleviation. He also received many honorary degrees from Yale, Columbia, Oxford, and Princeton University. In addition, in 2010, he was knighted in a special ceremony at Buckingham Palace in London to recognize his contribution to reducing poverty in Bangladesh and internationally. The legend died on December 20, 2019, at 83. The leadership vacuum in BRAC at this critical juncture would not be filled in quickly if at all filled in.

#### **4.3 Grameen Bank: bank for the poor in Bangladesh**

With a freshly minted Ph.D. in Economics from Vanderbilt University (USA), Professor Muhammad Yunus returned home in 1972 with the same passion and zeal as his two predecessors (Dr. Zafrullah and Sir Abed) to do something for the poor and helpless in the country. He joined as the head of the Economics Department of Chittagong University and eventually became involved with poverty reduction after observing the 1974–1975 famine—established rural economics program in his department. The famine led to an escalation of food prices, a rise in unemployment, and the erosion of farmers' purchasing power—poverty looms large all around—left a deep mark on him.

In 1976, Professor Yunus closely observed the poverty situation of a village named Jobra, close to Chittagong University. His observation revealed the problem affecting the poor in Bangladesh in person was the lack of access to money at low interest so that they could start a small business, including cattle raising, start raising poultry, or buying a small cart to carry people and goods. They also build small water well for irrigation. The traditional moneylenders charged usurious interest. The excessive rate of interest kept the borrower perpetually poor. Professor Yunus also realized that training and subsidy to agriculture alone could not alleviate poverty in rural areas where 92% of people used to live.

He firmly believes that given a chance with a small loan, the poor villagers can improve their income and pay back the loan in time. It may sound trifling, but he lent \$27 from his pocket to 42 people without collateral—and the initiative worked well. Overcoming many obstructions, Professor Yunus met his well-intention effort in securing a credit line from Janata Bank, offering himself as the guarantor for the project. By October 1983, the project—specializing in making a small loan to poor

villagers—was converted into a fully-fledged bank named Grameen Bank or Village Bank. Grameen Bank was an independent project—established through a special government act—while the Government owned a minority stake. Thus, Professor Yunus became the pioneer of microfinance. Although before him, a microcreditbased poverty alleviation program was in practice at Bangladesh Academy for Rural Development (BARD), Comilla, Bangladesh, albeit on a small scale.

The uplifting story of Grameen Bank with microenterprise loan continued to grow in the 1990s and 2000s with new programs, which are as follows:


The combined effect of microenterprise and mobile phones—which helped make an informed choice—changed the lives of hundreds of thousands of villagers, particularly village women in Bangladesh. Their income-earning through self-employment rather than labor-wage made a behavioral change with confidence to help themselves invest in their small business that can bring a significant shift in families (see **Figure 5**). In the images of busy rural housewives making a substantial income by raising livestock and poultry.

#### **Figure 5.**

*Livestock raising with a microloan from Grameen. She started with one goat, and after 10 years, she owns a small firm. The example is not anecdotal, there are many such examples. Source: [17].*

#### *The Rise and Fall of the NGOs in Bangladesh: What Does the Future Hold? DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.107855*

While the role of microfinance hardly needs an introduction in developing countries, including Bangladesh, where market failure and government failure loom, what is new and novel in Grameen Bank is its modus operandi. The Bank's credit delivery system and its recovery are more specific:


Many organizations were initially enthusiastic about Grameen Bank's role as an institution for poverty alleviation in Bangladesh. Some of them, including the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD), Ford Foundation, and Bangladesh Bank, gave millions of dollars to make sure the Bank functions unconstrained. However, in 1995, Grameen Bank decided not to receive any donations as it became self-sufficient1 .

The Grameen Bank of Bangladesh attracted worldwide attention, leading to its many replications in over 40 countries, including Grameen America in Brooklyn, New York. At home, another subsidiary of Grameen Bank is the Grameen Kalyan (Welfare) Health Program, which provides primary care for the bottom 20% of income households in urban and rural areas—millions of people are served with empathy and empathy care. As a result of various social contribution activities, the Grameen Bank of Bangladesh and its founder Professor Muhammad Yunus received Nobel Peace Prize in 2006. In addition, he received the U.S. Congressional Medal in 2013, Olympic Laurel in 2021, and 136 awards from 33 countries.

However, some analysts suggested that microcredit was linked to exploitation many borrowers cannot escape from the exorbitant rate of interest (between 15% and 20%) the Bank charged from early 2000. In addition, many poor families had to sell their belongings—some borrowers even committed suicide—to avoid humiliation from the Bank workers. Finally, in March 2011, the Government stripped off his position as Managing Director of the Bank in charge of financial irregularity, age bared for the post, and exploitation of the poor. Dr. Yunus denied all the allegations [18]. Nevertheless, the professor amassed a considerable fortune through other social businesses, including Grameen Telecom. Bangladesh Anti-Corruption Commission is investigating Yunus' Grameen Telecom irregularities, while at 82 years old professor is fighting a rolling political criticism against him.

<sup>1</sup> In 1996, Professor Yunus and his friend Mr. Iqbal Qader, an investment banker in the U.S., founded Grameenphone—the largest telecommunication operator with a nationwide network. They successfully raised money from a U.S. philanthropist Joshua Mailman and the Norwegian telecom company Telenor. Grameenphone covers 100% population, including women, in Bangladesh. It is a large corporation with profit unbound.

#### **4.4 Dhaka Ahsania Mission**

The oldest and one of the most prominent NGOs—working in the field of human welfare—in Bangladesh is Dhaka Ahsania Mission (DAM); it was established in 1935 by Khan Bahadur Ahsanullah, then Assistant Director, Education of undivided Bengal. Khan was *a Sufi* philosopher believing in the divine and humanitarian services. His contribution to the Muslim awakening in the Indian subcontinent—when the Muslims were lagging—is remembered with great reverence. Although DAM aimed to promote education for the socioeconomic development of Muslim majority East Bengal, a spiritual current followed quietly. Khan described the purpose of the mission as follows:

This mission's purpose is comprehensive: worshiping the creator and service to the creation. This mission has been born with the great responsibility of developing the whole human Society and shaping a spiritual life. It is not limited to any particular community … and does not differentiate between human beings. The love of the creator for every creation is equally present, so to discriminate against the creation is to look contemptuously at the creator. The service of creation is the service of God [19].

DAM has a long list of projects for socioeconomic development. Below we provide the number of projects in each development sector—with some elaboration on the three most outstanding projects. DAM has 13 projects in the education sector, 10 in the health sector, five in the economic development, four in the technical and vocation, three in WASH, two in rights and governance, and six in climate change and disaster risk reduction.

Three outstanding projects are as follows:


#### **4.5 Association for Social Advancement (ASA), Bangladesh**

ASA belongs to the first-generation NGOs in Bangladesh, established in 1978 by a well-educated visionary (M. Shafiqul Haque Choudhury) with a commitment to

#### *The Rise and Fall of the NGOs in Bangladesh: What Does the Future Hold? DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.107855*

improving the economic and social wellbeing of mostly rural landless people. ASA's following ongoing programs may provide a more explicit representation of the NGO's functions:


#### **4.6 Three second generation NGOs: Shakti, PIB, and BELA**

The focus of those NGOs is other than microfinance for the rural poor. For example,


To address the issue, PIB started a project titled "Empowering Girls for Economic Opportunity and Safe Bathing Space for Community Use." Under this project, they have established 15 shaded bath spaces in four slum areas of Dhaka city. As the project title indicates, PIB has low-income (informal sector) urban development programs to empower girls for economic opportunity. A few important projects are preadult (between 11 and 15 years old boys and girls), reproductive health care education for young adult girls, skill training for income earning, encouraging participation in community activities, and extending help for disaster management. PIB has expanded its activities on a larger extent in different parts of Bangladesh to ameliorate the development activities (see **Figure 4**).

iii.*The Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA) was* established in 1992 "to assist efforts to protect the environment." According to its founder, Dr. Syeda Rizwana Hasan—a law school graduate with distinction—the focus of BELA is to "promote the notion of environmental justice in Bangladesh."2

BELA has several noteworthy achievements to credit, including creating environmental awareness among people and compliance monitoring (i.e., the Government, private businesses, and individuals) following Bangladesh's environmental law. Next is the war against the shipbreaking industry. The industry is highly polluting as it contains large amounts of carcinogens and toxic substances that harm the human body and the environment. Under Rezuana's supervision, BELA won three lawsuits demanding "rights for workers and banning in Bangladesh of ships carrying poisonous substances." Other notable works include stopping the real estate invasion of wetlands, cutting hills, deforestation, and unlawful construction of St. Martin's Island.

From an intellectual perspective, BELA has a strong publication record. Two of its books—*Laws Regulating Environment in Bangladesh and Transboundary Water Issues in South Asia—*are used in legal practice and academic reference. BELA also publishes its newsletters in English and Bengali (*Bela Barta*), updating its activities.

Because of the organization's outstanding contribution to environmental protection, BELA received quite a few prestigious awards, including the Global 500 Roll of Honor' under the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) in 2003 and the joint winner of the 2020 Tang Prize in Rule of Law for Sustainable Development.

#### *4.6.1 Small NGOs*

Small NGOs are doing great work. There are several small NGOs that do great jobs. We will give three examples of such NGOs in Bangladesh.


<sup>2</sup> The first CEO of BELA was Dr. Mohiuddin Farooque (1992–1997). After his untimely death in 1997, Dr. Syeda Rizwana Hasan. became CEO of BELA.

*The Rise and Fall of the NGOs in Bangladesh: What Does the Future Hold? DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.107855*

• **Nabolok Parishad** means an assembly of a new world. The NGO upholds the value of people's rights—and works for human rights in general and women's empowerment in particular. Like many developing countries, women in Bangladesh suffer from exploitation, abuse, and intimate partner violence (IPV), putting wife beating. In a broader sense, the NGO works to ensure human dignity, gender equality, and democracy.

All those NGOs get grants from foreign donors and large domestic NGOs such as BRAC by doing a part of the latter's work and sharing revenues of the project.

#### *4.6.2 Expatriate NGOs*

Another exciting development in NGO networks has occurred recently. Many Bangladeshis living and working in Europe, the US, Canada, and Australia are stakeholders in the development of their home countries. Bangladesh's government is very positive in support of expatriate NGOs' contribution. We give two examples of such NGOs.


#### **4.7 Two international nongovernment organizations (INGOs): CARE and UNICEF**

Two hundred plus INGOs are doing their humanitarian work in Bangladesh. More familiar names are Red Crescent (Red Cross), Oxfam, UNICEF, CARE, Save the Children, and Action Aid. We have selected CARE (for their massive relief effort in Rohingya Refugee Camp in Cox's Bazar) and UNICEF (supplying 190 million COVID-19 vaccines and 2022 flood relief). Below we briefly describe their founding, functions, and funding source3 .

<sup>3</sup> Following the devastation of World War II, President Harry Truman ordered to ship out million tons of food, medicines, and other basic supplies for individuals and families in war-ravaged Europe. However, he also decided to let private organizations provide relief to the people who suffered from starvation due to War. As a result, a large number of NGOs and other compassionate organizations—including Red Cross, Oxfam, UNICEF, Save the Children, Doctors Without Borders, Catholic Relief Organization, World Vision, and CARE, to name a few—came forward to alleviate the suffering of the societies. And they are continuing to give people in more than one way.

#### *4.7.1 CARE*

Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere (CARE) is one of the largest and oldest INGOs committed to providing emergency relief and humanitarian assistance to several countries, including Bangladesh. CARE International was founded in 1945 with its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. It was established in 1971 in Bangladesh with food security, health and nutrition, climate emergency adaptation, women empowerment, and disaster risk reduction programs.

However, one of the unique functions of the organization is to deliver emergency relief for disaster victims. The disasters include the civil war in Syria and Yemen, the earthquake in Nepal and the Southern Coast of Mexico, the drought in the horn of Africa (Ethiopia and Kenya), and one million-plus Rohingya refugees fled to Bangladesh after Myanmar's armed forces crackdown in August 2017.

CARE has provided shelter, water, sanitation, and hygiene programs (WASH), cash vouchers for essential household items, and sexual and reproductive health services and they do through intersectoral coordination and interorganizational coordination. One hundred fifty-six NGOs—80 international and 76 local NGOs—are working in the camps. The staggering number of NGOs indicates the magnitude of the problem and the importance of national and internal NGOs for delivering humanitarian services that the Government could not handle alone, particularly in an emergency.

Let us take two examples. First, fire hazards and flooding are common problems in the camps. For instance, on January 9, 2022, a massive fire broke out in two Blocks of the camps. Under the supervision of the Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner (RRC), CARE reached the spot in a rush—called fire service and civil defense—to rescue the victims—and rehabilitate them in safe places. Another example was in May 2018, when heavy rains in Bangladesh threatened the lives—and made thousands of lives vulnerable—with landslides and flooding in the camps; CARE made a substantial contribution to save their lives. In cooperation with the Government and other NGOs, including the International Organization of Migration (IOM), CARE relocated them to a safe place protected by a concrete footpath and railing. In short, many refugees in the camp consider CARE—and UNICEF—as a stand-by help.

CARE receives contributions from individuals, organizations, corporations, and governments of western countries—and multilateral funding partners, including the E.U. and major organs of the U.N., such as FAO, ILO, and UNDP, to name a few partners.

#### *4.7.2 UNICEF*

The United Nations International Children's Fund was created in 1945 to improve the health and wellbeing—and long-term needs of children and mothers of Western Europe devastated by World War II. The mission of this special U.N. program eventually spread to many developing countries and came to Bangladesh in 1950.

Since then, UNICEF has been cooperating with successive governments of (former) East Pakistan and today's Bangladesh to address the deadly issues of childhood tuberculosis, smallpox, malaria, and cholera. They also develop maternal health services training local midwives. In a broad sense, UNICEF is engaged in improving the condition of children affected by poverty and social exclusion living in the urban slums of Dhaka and Chittagong. In addition, they work closely with the Government to support children's needs, including health, nutrition, and education. For example, their education program in the Rohingya camp covers 10,000 children, which many consider a milestone for refugee children.

#### *The Rise and Fall of the NGOs in Bangladesh: What Does the Future Hold? DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.107855*

UNICE's list of humanitarian actions is long, and its history is rich. We will give two examples of historical importance. During the civil war between Bangladesh and Pakistan in 1971, approximately 10 million people fled to the neighboring Indian states of West Bengal, Assam, Tripura, and Meghalaya. Many were sick, critically malnourished children and reported cholera cases. UNICEF's readiness and dedication to helping were remarkable.

Next, on May 31, 2022,

*UNICEF delivered over 190 million COVID-19 vaccines to Bangladesh in one year through COVAX. To date, Bangladesh remains the top recipient of doses under COVAX, the global initiative co-led by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovation, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and the World Health Organization, with UNICEF as a key delivery partner [20].*

UNICEF is a highly organized institution with its headquarters in New York and seven regional offices (in Panama City, Geneva, Bangkok, Nairobi, Amman, Kathmandu, and Dakar) administer overall management. UNICEF also has six other offices—located in different parts of the world—each with a unique function, including program and policy, external relations, operations, and emergency programs.

UNICEF receives five types of funding: Regular resources (on which UNICEF builds programs); Thematic funding (that helps meet the basic needs of children and protect their rights); Earmarked fund for a specific program purpose); Humanitarian Funding (for emergency relief); and Pool funding and trust funds (representing more than one donor's contributions and holding the fund in trust. UNICEF's annual revenue has been increasing over the years: Its revenue in 2014 was 5266 million dollars; in 2017, 6577 billion dollars, and in 2021, 7.2 billion dollars, according to UNICEF Annual Report 2021.

#### **5. Sources of funding and fund cut for domestic NGOs**

The domestic NGOs of Bangladesh are not so lucky to receive donors' funds. Although there are numerous donor agencies—including the U.K. Department of Fund for International Development (DFID), the Global Fund, Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), USAID, Embassy of Demark, United Nations Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), UNICEF, World Food Program (WFP), Global Affairs Canada (CAN), Swedish International Development (SIDA), and Bill & Melinda Gate Foundation, to name a few.

However, the flow of donations—foreign grants to NGOs working in Bangladesh declined by 14% till May 21, 2021. The more than Tk. One thousand crores (U.S. \$1 = Tk. 90) drop in funding is causing an existential crisis for many small and medium NGOs (see **Figure 6**). Even one of the most prominent NGOs, BRAC, feels aid cut to Bangladesh is a gut punch to them. The organization stumbled in the shadow of disappointment by the U.K. aid cut—worth 450 million British Starling Pound a year to BRAC. This withdrawal from long-term partnerships affected women and girls' education and those in extreme poverty in Bangladesh due to the devastating impact of the coronavirus endemic, followed by the ensuing war between Russia and Ukraine [21].

According to one estimate, there are 26,000 NGOs in Bangladesh; out of that, 2600 NGOs are registered. And some 260 international NGOs are working in Bangladesh. Both national and international NGOs are registered with the NGO

#### **Figure 6.**

*The flow of foreign grants to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working in Bangladesh. Source: [21].*

Affairs Bureau, Government of Bangladesh. They are regulated by the rule and regulations of the Bureau.

The Foreign Donation Regulation Act 2016 in Bangladesh provides for a series of highly restrictive measures that significantly limit the ability of NGOs to operate independently. Another restrictive action is that NGOs cannot receive foreign donations without government approval. Many NGO heads complain the restrictions encourage red tape on bureaucratic behavior that hinders NGOs' work progress.

About 40-plus INGOs working in Rohingya Camps are upset that their work is hindered without reason. Although the domestic and international NGOs are doing vital work on the Government's development plan, there is no uniform law and authority for regulating and monitoring this sector [22]. This state-NGO relation in Bangladesh may be defined as a *new dimension* of "indifference and ambivalence" while, at the same time, the donor's contributions are shrinking.

Against this background, what do we think about the future of NGOs in Bangladesh? And why do we feel so? We present a concise critical overview below in the form of the essay's conclusion in the following sections.

#### **6. A critical overview of the NGOs in Bangladesh**

#### **6.1 Raison d'être of NGOs in Bangladesh**

#### *6.1.1 National perspective*

Above, we have presented a concise account of the origin, growth, and development of the four most prominent NGOs—Gonosasthaya Kendra, BRAC, Grameen Bank, and ASA—that came into being as a historical necessity. They share the same goal: rebuilding Bangladesh, which is devasted by the liberation war. Leadership in this socioeconomic development movement was highly educated, dedicated, and

#### *The Rise and Fall of the NGOs in Bangladesh: What Does the Future Hold? DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.107855*

determined, knowing fully well what was the right thing to do for poverty alleviation and overall development of the poor. They delivered health services, a small loan to poor people, particularly women, and primary education to underprivileged children—and created awareness among women about the practice of family planning, preventing child marriage, and abuse of females.

Although there is no objective definition of success—and it is more difficult to quantify success—we will substantiate the role of NGOs from three perspectives: a quantitative measure, some anecdotal examples, and an evident part of NGOs during emergencies. We consider the contributions of all registered NGOs after independence (1971)—and NGOs working long before independence, such as Ahsania Mission, Dhaka.

At the time of independence, the threat of the Malthusian catastrophe was frighteningly real: many economists thought that Bangladesh's ability to control its population would be its litmus test for economic viability. However, belying conventional belief, Bangladesh displayed a striking success in birth control: in 1980, the population growth rate in Bangladesh was 2.72, and in 2000, the rate declined to 1.01. Other demographic indicators are equally inspiring. For example, the infant mortality rate fell from 138 to 25—and the literacy rate increased from 35 to 75. Bangladesh has experienced a stellar growth rate of, on average, 6% + for the last three decades, 1991–2021. As a result, the poverty rate declined from 50% in 2000 to 20% in 2020 [12].

A World Bank study examined the contribution of microfinance, the standard function of most NGOs in Bangladesh, in 2016. The following results were concluded from the study:

Microfinance institutions (MFI) have sustained benefits over two decades in reducing poverty and increasing incomes. Microcredit accounted for a 10% reduction in rural poverty in Bangladesh over that time—meaning MFI lifted some 2.5 million Bangladeshis from the ranks of poor [23]. However, this role in alleviating poverty is no mean achievement. Moreover, the NGOs offer entrepreneurial skills in raising livestock and poultry. By doing that, there are plenty of examples that rural homemakers improved their income earning opportunities—and increased the supply of eggs and poultry meats to the local market.

Microloans are used not only for raising livestock and poultry but for various other purposes, such as operating as working capital, purchasing inventory and supplies, purchasing (or leasing) boats, trishaws, fishing nets, and materials for embroidery quit. Moreover, what preceding analysis shows that NGOs are not simply giving microloans; they are hope givers. They provide health and wellness, primary education, skill training, and opportunities for women, which the Government and the market failed to reach [24].

Employment generation is another NGO contribution to the development of Bangladesh's economy. They create employment in two ways: a) NGOs provide loans and assistance to rural poor to participate in employment generation activities, and b) they provide employment in their organization. For example, BRAC has 120,000 people on its payroll. Gonosathaya Kendra has even more employees. However, more than one-third of college graduates remain unemployed in Bangladesh. Therefore, NGOs employing fresh college graduates greatly help the economy.

#### *6.1.2 International perspective*

NGOs are a significant part of the international system in today's globalized world. The problem of developing nations becomes more apparent, and their level of democracy and development constitute a substantial space in the foreign policy agenda of the western governments. NGOs have grown in number, size, and stature since the end of World War II. Western donor states—and several U.N. agencies and World Bank—emphasize the role of NGOs in democratization, service provision, and prioritizing climate change.

The World Bank defines NGOs as private organizations that pursue activities to relieve suffering, promote the interests of the poor, protect the environment, provide essential social services, or undertake community development [25, 26]. Some critics say NGOs are part of the promotion of western hegemony in the global south Maybe. But the facts remain that NGOs have a strong foundation, draw resources from home and abroad and retain a substantial potential role in bridging the gap between Government and Civil Society. So, the NGOs are not going wither away due to fund cuts and government restrictions. However, the fund cut will minimize the scope of NGOs' work and development programs in the country. Some small NGOs will be closed down temporarily or seize to exist forever.

#### *6.1.3 Emergency perspective*

Bangladesh is a disaster-prone country: periodic floods, cyclones, tidal bore, and droughts are perennial problems. On top of that, 1.2 million Rohingya refugees fled their homes, creating the largest refugee crisis in today's world. And a return of Rohingya is a world-class debate. That means, with all probability, they are not going back home, and the problem remains. Furthermore, the aid has declined in recent years (see **Figure 7**), which has accelerated multifaceted problems for Bangladesh.

Time and again, it has been proved that NGOs and INGOs rush to help alleviate the predicaments of the disaster victims—in addition to their long-term goal of social development, including poverty alleviation. We have discussed the caring and constructive role of most NGOs at a reasonable length and found their role is substantive—and their connection is international. So, the role of NGOs leads us to conclude that they do good by helping people and doing business to help themselves. Moreover, our observation of some NGOs' dedication and enthusiasm to rescue victims of massive flooding in Sylhet–Sunamganj–Netrokona gives us an impression that for some people, helping others—particularly those living with poverty and vulnerability—is transcendental.

**Figure 7.** *Fund for Rohingya's aid declined (2017–2022). Source: www.unocha.org.*

Nevertheless, it is pertinent to present a brief criticism directed at the NGOs in Bangladesh—without being ambiguous and logically confused.

• **Issues in Sustainability of Development:** During the last three decades (1990– 2020), rural areas of Bangladesh have witnessed a considerable positive change due to several factors. The critical factors are—among other things—microcredit as a bottom-up financial tool to alleviate rural poverty [27]. So, the role of microfinance is once more recognized. But the recent survey by the South Asia Network of Economic Models (SANEM) shows that the poverty rate in Bangladesh increased from 21% in 2019 to 42% in 2021. While the reason for this exacerbating poverty was the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, there is no denying that the development in Bangladesh was not sustainable. The Government and the NGOs cannot evade responsibility for this disastrous situation.

Unfortunately, the NGOs were not "very visible in the COVID-19 response." Save the delivery of 150 million COVID-19 vaccines by UNICEF' Furthermore, in the post-COVID regime (2022 onward), Russia's invasion of Ukraine has disrupted the global trade of food, fuel, and fertilizer. And the impact of war is being felt in Bangladesh—inflation increased close to 10%, making many more low-income people worse off. Since the western donor's fund declined, the NGOs' presence in rural areas has been less conspicuous.


#### **7. Concluding remarks about the future of NGOs in Bangladesh**

The future of NGOs is the future of the 1st decile population in Bangladesh, whose income share is 1.01% of national income, as opposed to the 10th decile, which gets

#### *Global Perspectives on Non-Governmental Organizations*


#### **Table 2.**

*Division-wise number of microfinance branches and village organizations of BRAC.*

38.16%. Besides interpersonal income inequality, there is a vast regional disparity. For example, the population below the poverty level in Kurigram and Dinajpur—the two poverty-stricken districts of the Rajshahi Division—was 70.8 and 64.1, respectively. While the percentage of the below-poverty population in Narayanganj and Munshiganj are 2.6 and 3.1 only. The two districts are in close vicinity of Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh. The data shows that interregional uneven development is broad and conspicuous [29].

It is worth noting that many NGOs, including BRAC, have not overlooked this regional gap in development. For example, **Table 2** (Row 6) clearly shows that the most significant number of division-wise microfinance branches and village organizations are located in the Rajshahi division. While this geographical development in the lagging regions, remote villages of that region—is a considerable challenge for the Government—which relies on the bureaucrats and local leaders with a vested interest—NGOs can reach the target people more effectively.

Let us substantiate our view on humanitarianism. Buthe et al. [30] study—based on an original data set—finds "*strong support for the argument that the deeply rooted humanitarian discourse within and among aid NGOs drives their aid allocation, consistent with a view of aid NGOs as principled actors and constructivist theories of international relations* [30]."

However, Freire's concept, challenges, and opportunities are inherent in organizations, including NGOs. Nevertheless, we believe the future of NGOs is partly the future of the grassroot development of Bangladesh. Several inspiring stories of NGOs' success in poverty alleviation with the provision of health and education are mentioned above. In addition, INGOs' rapid response to disasters and emergencies guided by humanitarian principles cannot be overstated. So, NGOs and INGOs deserve more support from home and abroad. However, the question remains how the NGOs could reconcile with the funding challenge situation.

Scholarly literature on how to cope with NGO funding issues suggests

• To achieve financial stability and resource mobilization through business activities—balancing social and entrepreneurial values. The suggestion is good for microfinance or healthcare services but of no use for environmental protection. For the latter, goodwill and the generosity of others to cover costs are essential

*The Rise and Fall of the NGOs in Bangladesh: What Does the Future Hold? DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.107855*


In November 2020, Bangladesh received \$256.5 million from the U.N. Green Climate Fund (GCF) to promote private sector investment by adopting energy-efficient technologies in the textile and garment sectors [31]. In addition, in July 2022, the World Bank approved a \$500 million credit to Bangladesh for disaster preparedness and to minimize the impact of inland flooding [32, 33]. These small amounts compare the country's need for implementing National Adaptation Plan. And more funds are expected to come. What is needed is for the environment-oriented NGOs to build up their capabilities to undertake adaptative actions to minimize the negatives of climate change.

Those are general suggestions for all NGOs. But NGOs are not a monolithic concept—they vary in size and function. There are large, medium, and small NGOs based on resources, annual revenue, and the size of employees. So, the future of all NGOs is not the same. However, large NGOs have distinct advantages over medium and small NGOs, and their future is relatively more secure than others.

#### **7.1 Large NGOs**

Large NGOs are like banyan trees. Over time, they have spread out to several major sectors of the economy, including health, industry, education, bank, agro-firm, cottage industry, trust fund, and microcredit business. As a result, they earn substantial revenue from that, and they can comfortably cross-subsidize nonprofitable programs, such as free schooling in rural areas or eye-camp for cataract surgery. Nevertheless, when donors' contributions become less generous, the NGOs' nonprofit programs tend to shrink—or close altogether. Again, we have the example of BRAC above. The U.K. government's funding cut has negatively impacted girls' education, access to family planning, and support to families in extreme poverty.

#### **7.2 Medium-size NGOs**

Although there is no standard scale for measuring large, medium, and small NGOs, we may consider some criteria such as annual revenue and the size of employees. For example, while BRAC has 120,000 employees, JAAGO Foundation has 400-plus employees, and Shakti Foundation only has 176 employees. So we may define them as a medium size NGO. Those kinds of NGOs usually maintain a good connection with large NGOs, INGOs, and the Government—and they receive some funds and, more importantly, subcontract a project from them. They also do microfinancing, making some profits. So, they have a good chance of survival in one way or other.

#### **7.3 Small NGOs**

Small NGOs are less resilient to any exogenous shock, including donation loss. They are mainly run by small projects in remote areas with funds from large NGOs and INGOs. However, they do microcredit business in those rural villages and city

slums, which overlooked other NGOs. Small-scale microfinance is the primary source of survival. Many of them are, however, vulnerable due to reduced donor support.

#### **7.4 INGOs**

INGOs have relatively large and secured funding for they belong to the donors' community—and their reputation is above board, though they are not blameless. It is alleged that a significant part of the donation is spent on the maintenance of INGO staff in the form of their salary, travel, research, and allowances. Others say the compensation of INGOs staff appears to be high in the context of Bangladesh, not in an international context.

The classification of NGOs—large, medium, small, and INGOs—are broad. Each category of NGOs has a diverse function and sources of revenue. For example, Gonosathya Kendo and BRAC are both large NGOs. Still, they are known for different functions—Gonosasthya for healthcare, BRAC for microfinance and rural development—similarly Shakti for education, and Plan International for slum improvement.

Therefore, further investigation of each NGO based on functional category is needed to better understand their work and network. On the same token, the source of funding from donors and local governments—and local private sources—need to be a constant search for opportunities arising from potential sources of funding for the NGO sector. One last point: NGOs have rich databases but are mostly under-cited. This database—may be used by universities and research organizations—that can provide new insights into critical areas of national development.

To summarize the stories, funding cuts force many NGOs to minimize the scope of their work, sometimes breaking their commitments. Moreover, the post-pandemic situation—further aggravated by the Russia-Ukraine War—is a significant challenge for the Government and nongovernment organizations to carry through their development and humanitarian work. However, the future of NGOs depends on how effectively they cope and build resilience [34]. Help may come from progressive groups whose willingness to help we have defined as *transcendental*.

Challenges and opportunities are inherent in all organizations [2], including NGOs. Nevertheless, we believe the future of NGOs is partly the future of the grassroot development of Bangladesh. Several inspiring stories of NGOs' success in poverty alleviation with the provision of health and education are mentioned above. In addition, INGOs' rapid response to disasters and emergencies guided by humanitarian principles cannot be overstated. So, NGOs and INGOs deserve more support from home and abroad. However, the question remains how the NGOs could reconcile with the funding challenge situation. Our answer is they should do both: social business with a nominal profit and social work with a humanitarian action and social transformation mission.

*The Rise and Fall of the NGOs in Bangladesh: What Does the Future Hold? DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.107855*

#### **Author details**

Shahadat Baser1,2\* and Syed Abu Hasnath3

1 Department of Geography and Environment, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh

2 Department of Geography, Cadet Colleges Bangladesh, Bangladesh

3 Department of Geography and Environment, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA

\*Address all correspondence to: shahadat.baser@gmail.com

© 2022 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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#### **Chapter 5**

## Contributions in Early Intervention Programs: The Case of Vision Community-Based Rehabilitation Association in Ambo, Ethiopia

*Bonsa Tola and Dawit Negassa Golga*

#### **Abstract**

The purpose of this study was to explore the contributions of the vision communitybased rehabilitation association (VCBRA) in early intervention programs in Ambo, Ethiopia. In this case study, a total of 18 respondents, consisting of the VCBRAs' staff, such as the program director, the manager, social workers, beneficiaries, and participants from partners' institutions, such as Ambo branch organizations of persons with disabilities, Ambo University, Ambo town social affairs office, were participated in the study as sources of data. Data were collected through document analysis, interview, and closeended questionnaire. The quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, such as frequency, percentage, and mean. In addition, data from document analysis and interviews were analyzed thematically and supplemented by narrative descriptions and verbatim quotations. The effectiveness of VCBRA intervention programs were assessed using a CBR matrix, and the finding uncovered that VCBRA intervention programs were found to be effective in general. Specifically, VCBRA seems to be more effective in the three intervention areas, such as health, education, and livelihood components, while empowerment and social components of rehabilitation programs were less focused. In addition, children and youths with different disabilities, parents of children with disabilities, and poor families were beneficiaries of VCBRA intervention programs. Further, lack of trained and diversified staff, lack of financial resources, low parent involvements, and the negative impact of COVID-19 were identified as the main challenges hindering the implementation of early intervention programs provided by the VCBRA.

**Keywords:** contributions, early intervention program, community-based rehabilitation

#### **1. Introduction**

The World Disability Report estimates that there are over one billion people with disabilities in the world, of which 110–190 million experience very significant difficulties, and amongst them 80% of persons with disabilities live in low- and middle-income countries [1]. In Ethiopia, it is estimated that 17.6% of the Ethiopian population has a disability [1].

Ethiopia has ratified and adopted almost all of the relevant initiatives and international legal documents on the rights of persons with disabilities, including the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities [2]. The Convention in its article 26 states that comprehensive rehabilitation services, including health, employment, education, and social services are needed "to enable people with disabilities to attain and maintain maximum independence, full physical, mental, social and vocational ability, and full inclusion and participation in all aspects of life." ([2] article 26).

Accordingly, supporting children with disabilities at an early age is paramount. Early intervention is a range of all necessary interventions social, medical, psychological, and educational targeted toward children and their families, to meet the special needs of children who show or risk some degree of delay in development (Karanth et al., n.d.). Evidence indicates that two-thirds of the young children who need early intervention programs are yet marginalized and underserved.

The responsibility for improving the situation of children with disabilities lies not only on the government but also requires the engagement of civil society, including the private sector and the general public [3]. In relation to this, different governmental and non-governmental organizations have been working to ameliorate the situation of PWDs in Ethiopia [4]. Specifically, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) play a critical role, along with the government, in the design of early intervention programs that create a foundation for providing support for children, their caregivers, and the community.

In the Ethiopian context, plan international and save the children were amongst the organizations that are widely involved in early intervention programs (Belay H. and Belay T., 2016). But, most of the interventions made in developing countries, such as Ethiopia, are uncoordinated and do not adequately involve the community in rehabilitation activities [4]. Besides, it was reported that children with disabilities are excluded from education, health, employment, and other aspects of society, and that this can potentially lead to or exacerbate poverty and there is a need for stronger evidence base on the efficacy and effectiveness of CBR programs [1].

Likewise, studies in Ethiopia reported that the majority of the children with disabilities have not yet been reached by rehabilitation service providers and their access to basic services remains limited and concentrated in urban areas [3] and mostly located in the capital city, Addis Ababa, at Paulos specialized hospital, and in a number of major towns, such as Mekele, Hawassa, Arba Minch, Dire Dawa, and Jimma [4]. Therefore, these centers cannot serve children with disabilities who live far away from the service deliverers.

As a result, among millions of children with various degrees of disabilities in Ethiopia, only a few are beneficiaries of intervention services and the traditional approach has been predominantly applied in delivering rehabilitation services in Ethiopia [4].

Thus, there is still a great need to work for the full inclusion of children with disabilities in all aspects of society [3]. The lack of comprehensive research-based data on the access, practice, and challenges at the national level in Ethiopia makes it impossible to understand to what extent CBR is an effective strategy [4]. Hence, the engagements of civic society in the provision of early intervention programs need to be investigated in Ethiopia [5]. To this end, this study was aimed at assessing the effectiveness of on-going early intervention programs by VCBRA under operation in Ambo, Ethiopia.

*Contributions in Early Intervention Programs: The Case of Vision Community-Based… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.106496*

Many organizations and stakeholders have been involved in early intervention programs and practices in Ethiopia [5]. However, the practice, strengths, and opportunities of early intervention programs functioning, particularly found in the community have not been explored sufficiently in Ethiopia [5]. As a result, there is a lack of reliable data and statistics about disability and intervention practices in the country [3].

VCBRA is one of the disability service providing NGOs in Ethiopia. It is responsible for providing technical guidance, delivery of services, and support for PWD in collaboration with the government and organizations of persons with disabilities (OPDs) [3]. Recognizing the challenges people with disabilities are facing in west Shewa Zone in Ethiopia, the vision community-based rehabilitation association (VCBRA) was established in 2006, and licensed to provide rehabilitation services for people with disabilities (PWDs). VCBRA used community-based rehabilitation (CBR) as the main strategy to address the needs of people with disabilities. The association provides early intervention programs for children below 15 years of age and works by mainly focusing on the four components of CBR: health, education, livelihood, and social, to offer comprehensive rehabilitation services. VCBRA has been operating in Oromia regional state and provided a wide range of rehabilitation services to people with disabilities in Ambo and the surrounding areas.

However, the VCBRA's current practices, status, success scenario, and challenges in implementing early intervention programs need to be researched and communicated to the scientific community. Accordingly, this study aimed at investigating the ongoing early intervention programs provided by VCBRA in Ethiopia.

The following basic research questions guided the investigation:


This study has both theoretical and practical contributions for intervention programs in Ethiopia and other similar contexts. It attempts at filling the literature and research gap in the current practice, components, and challenges of intervention programs, as well as contribute to the enrichment of the body of knowledge in the area. In addition, this study is significant to solve current problems related to the early intervention by assessing VCBRA's strengths and challenges and suggesting some practicable recommendations for improving the intervention quality of the association.

#### **2. Methods**

The study area, Ambo, is located in the Oromia regional state in Ethiopia, 110 km west of Addis Ababa (Finfinne), the capital city. The town has a latitude and longitude of 8°59′N 37°51′E and an elevation of 2101 meters. Ambo is a center for institutions, such as the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research, Ambo University, Rift Valley University, Ambo Mineral Water, and several NGOs, including VCBRA. VCBRA was established in Ambo town and provides intervention services to the surrounding areas, such as Guder, Woliso Tiulubollo, Dillella, and Goro towns.

To assess the nature of VCBRA's early intervention programs, a case study design was employed, to investigate the institution-bounded issue (VCBRA), through detailed data collection that involved multiple sources of information (e.g., questionnaires, interviews, and documents). Quantitative and qualitative data were collected

simultaneously to analyze, merge and use the results of both. A basic rationale for this design was that one data collection form supplies strengths to offset the weaknesses of the other form and that a more complete understanding of a research problem results from collecting both quantitative and qualitative data [6].

This study attempted to assess the early intervention programs being delivered by VCBRA in Ambo and the surrounding areas. A total of 18 participants were selected purposively based on their collaborations and experiences with VCBRA early intervention programs in Ambo town. More specifically, seven (39%) participants were VCBRA staff members, including executive director and founder, program manager, two field workers, a workshop worker, and two supervisors. On the other hand, about 11 (61 %) of the respondents were recruited from partner institutions currently working with VCBRA, such as two beneficiaries, one Ambo town labor and social affairs office expert, two experts from Ambo town education office, two leaders and one teacher from primary schools, one representative of Ambo branch organization of persons with disabilities (OPD), and two staff of Ambo University.

Besides, from the total participants, seven(39%) were female, 11 (61%) were male, and the majority of the respondents have work experience ranging from 6 to 26 years. Further, regarding participants' educational background, nine(50%) of them were second-degree holders, while five(27.8%), three(16.7%), and one(5.6%) were firstdegree, diploma, and primary school certificate holders, respectively.

A questionnaire, document analysis, and interview were employed to collect data. All sample participants filled a closed-ended questionnaire in which four items were designed to collect participants' background data, 25 closed-ended items were prepared with three points rating scale: 3-agree, 2-not sure, and 1-disagree, and employed to collect data on the type and effectiveness of VCBRA's early intervention programs. In addition, documents, such as VCBRA plans and reports, internal and external evaluation reports from 2019/20 to 2021/22, and photo gallery methods. Finally, interviews conducted with the VCBRA director, program manager, and beneficiaries were used as data sources.

The study used both quantitative and qualitative methods of data analysis based on the CBR matrix developed by ILO, UNESCO & WHO [7]. The quantitative data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, such as frequencies, percentages, and means. In addition, data from document analysis and interviews were analyzed thematically and supplemented by narrative description and verbatim.

The CBR matrix provides a structured overview of thematic areas (health and education), life conditions (livelihood and social), and political strategies to improve the situation (empowerment). The CBR guidelines aim to connect the different areas and to show the direction toward inclusive development [4]. The CBR matrix (**Table 1**) provides a basic framework for CBR programs. It highlights the need to target intervention in different aspects of life, including the five key components: health, education, livelihood, social, and empowerment. Each component includes five elements where the different activities are listed. A CBR program is formed by one or more activities in one or more of the five components. Thus, a CBR program is not expected to implement every component of the CBR matrix, and not all people with disabilities require assistance in each component of the matrix [9].

The five components of CBR matrix are: health, education, livelihood, social, and empowerment. **Table 1** shows the components of the matrix along with its element:

*Contributions in Early Intervention Programs: The Case of Vision Community-Based… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.106496*


#### **Table 1.**

*CBR matrix.*

The way in which CBR might work varies depending on the targets of specific components included in the program are: health, education, livelihood, social, and empowerment.

Therefore, VCBRA's intervention programs were assessed by using the CBR matrix depicted in **Figure 1** [9] as a conceptual framework. The overall approach includes a focus on including people with disabilities in existing services, as well as creating new interventions, specifically considering people with disabilities and their families.

Respondents agreed to participate in the study with a clear understanding of the purpose of the study, the type of information required, and their roles and rights in the study process. In addition, an agreement was made with the study participants not to misuse the results of the study and to provide them with access to the research findings.

#### **3. Results and discussion**

In this section, the results and discussion sections are combined "for not separating the finding from its interpreted meaning" within this research context ([10], p. 169). Results from the quantitative strand are presented first followed by the data from document analysis and interview. Respondents' views of disagreement are compiled together to reveal the low performance of VCBRA in early intervention program provision. On the other hand, respondents' views of the agreement are compiled together to indicate VCBRA's high level of performance in the provision of an early intervention program. The analyses are arranged under four themes: background of VCBRA, intervention type and beneficiaries (health, education, social, empowerment, and livelihood), the effectiveness of intervention programs, and challenges faced.

#### **3.1 Background of VCBRA**

The data obtained from document analysis indicated that VCBRA is a non-profit, non-partisan association that was initiated in 2005 and registered by the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Charities and Societies Agency under law No 0263. It was established in 2006 and licensed for three years as an Ethiopian Resident Charity (indigenous) NGO in accordance with Charities and Societies Proclamation No 621/2009. It was re-registered as the Ethiopian Resident Charity Organization in 2009 to help persons with different disabilities. VCBRA was established by a person without disability (current executive director) based on his commitment to improve the lives of persons with disabilities.

VCBRA has the vision to see disadvantaged people free from experiencing major life challenges and the mission to prevent disability and ensure meaningful involvement of people with disabilities in the development endeavors of the country.

VCBRA operates in Oromia regional state, west and south west Shewa Zones, Ethiopia. It has two branches; the main branch is located at Ambo town and the sub-branch is located at Woliso town. The association has different offices with full equipment, indoor and outdoor therapy centers, and a mini-workshop that produces assistive devices for people with disabilities. Further, it has internet, transportation, and health insurance services for all its staff members.

From interviews conducted with the manager it was noted that the association runs different activities in Ambo, Guder, Waliso towns, and adjacent areas of Ambo town. In addition, the manager explained that VCBRA has different permanent and contract staff members, including physiotherapists, nurses, and social workers. In addition, data from the document review depicts that some of the VCBRA staff members have an educational background in such fields of study as psychology, development study, business administration, management, and ICT. By reviewing VCBRA's staff profile it was ascertained that the association did not have workers with special needs and inclusive education background. However, the director of the association during the interview revealed that some of the employees have taken training in special needs and inclusive education organized by the Ministry of Education, CBR Network Ethiopia, and Ethiopian Center for Disability and Development (ECDD). The major donors for VCBRA are Light for the World, Rehabilitation International, and Cittadinanza Onlus of Italy.

*Contributions in Early Intervention Programs: The Case of Vision Community-Based… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.106496*

#### **3.2 Intervention types and beneficiaries of VCBRA**

The UNCRPWDs state that comprehensive rehabilitation services for PWDs should include health, employment, education, and social services to enable PWD to maintain maximum independence, full physical, mental, social, vocational ability, and full inclusion participation in all aspects of life [2]. Accordingly, the intervention programs carried out by VCBRA in the west and south west Shoa Zone of the Oromia region are presented based on the CBR matrix, as follows: health, education, social, empowerment, and livelihood.

#### **3.3 Health**

The health component of the matrix aims for people with disabilities to achieve their highest attainable standard of health. It includes health promotion, prevention of impairment or illness, medical care provision, rehabilitation, and provision of assistive devices [8]. This is in line with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) Article 25 which addresses the right to health for people with disabilities [2].

Participants of the study were requested to assess the extent to which VCBRA's health intervention programs are effective. The observed mean score for "health intervention" was found to be 2.4, which becomes greater than the expected mean of two, which indicates VCBRA's health intervention programs are effective (**Table 2**).

*Early Identification and Referral Services:* Identification and admission of children with disability are the primary activities of the schools to realize their education. Regarding this idea, the Ethiopian Ministry of Education ensures that screening and assessment tools are prepared at the national level and used to identify children with disability in the schools [11].

In relation to the health component, VCBRA has been working to meet the health needs of PWDs.

The annual report of the VCBRA, (2019/20 and 2021/22) shows that in 2019/20, 425 and 2021/22, 584 children with disabilities were identified and benefited from rehabilitation services under the VCBRA project catchment area.

The same report reveals that VCBRA has established effective referral systems with general and specialized medical care services at governmental and non-governmental


**Table 2.** *Health component.* hospitals. In 2019/2020, more than 547 and in 2021, 199 children, youths, and adults with disabilities were referred to St. Luke, Cure, and Ambo hospitals and to other similar rehabilitation centers to get access to a wide range of rehabilitation services such as medical treatment, corrective surgery, and provision of assistive devices (VCBRA Annual Report, 2019/20 and 2021/22).

One of the VCBRA management members confirmed during an interview that "*in the provision of referral services … VCBRA covers the coast of general and specialized medical care services for people with disabilities in collaboration with governmental and non-governmental hospitals while in some hospitals they are served free of charge and/ or half payment.*" This indicates great achievement attained by VCBRA in providing referral services for children with disabilities. VCBRA conducted a disability-specific baseline survey to determine the status of disability in Ambo town, Woliso town, and surrounding areas. Accordingly, 3,686 persons with disabilities were identified to have various rehabilitation services (Annual report, 2021/22).

Regarding the referral service, the director took as an example ten years old boy, with a club foot on his left leg, who was treated through the referral system and brought to normalcy. The director mentioned that, currently, the child is attending primary school (**Figure 2**).

*Home Based Rehabilitation*: According to the annual reports of the VCBRA (2019/20), 361 and (2021/22) 294 children with disabilities were benefited from home-based rehabilitation services. The report reveals that various exercises and therapies for the hand, leg, and head; daily living activities for children with intellectual disability, mobility training and orientation for blind children basic sign language and Braille literacy skills, psycho-social support, medical follow-up, and awarenessraising programs are among the major activities performed through the home-based rehabilitation programs to improve the children's functionality to join the school. This is in line with the recommendation by UNCRPD, which states that comprehensive rehabilitation services may be preferred to isolated interventions for persons with disabilities [2].

Data from interviewed parent-beneficiary revealed that "*VCBRA's field workers make a follow-up program once in two months to check the children's situation and provide* 

**Figure 2.**

*Boy with clubfoot before and after the intervention. (a) before getting intervention, and (b) after getting intervention under referral by VCBRA.*

*Contributions in Early Intervention Programs: The Case of Vision Community-Based… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.106496*

*technical support for families as needed"*. Similarly, the manager disclosed that *"The duration of home-to-home intervention may take from 4 months to 4 years and VCBRA's field workers visit 1-4 times in a week depending on the nature and intensity of the child problem.*"

*VCBRA Rehabilitation Center:* VCBRA rehabilitation center is located in Ambo town to provide medical and rehabilitation services to children with cerebral palsy, developmental delay, and clubfeet, people who have a stroke and spinal cord injury, and people with a wide range of disabilities (VCBRA Annual Report, 2021/22) (**Figure 3**).

*Awareness raising activities:* In order to create awareness on disability, VCBRA used multiple strategies, such as community sensitization programs on disability during coffee ceremony, organizing disability awareness clubs at schools, child-to-child programs, such as telling oral traditions on disabilities, and song, community conversation programs at the community meeting and at Idir, and celebration of international day of PwDs with the office of social affairs and Ambo University (VCBRA annual report, 2021/22). Further, the annual report of the association (2019/20) showed that training has been conducted for 13 CBR workers on assisting children with disabilities at home-based and center-based rehabilitation services.

The International Disability Day was celebrated with the aim of increasing awareness of disability and promoting an inclusive environment. The International Day of Persons with Disabilities was celebrated in Woliso and Ambo towns as the Oromia region is celebrating the day for the 20th time (VCBRA annual report, 2021/22) (**Figure 4**).

According to the VCBRA report, 150 awareness-raising sessions were conducted in the community. In reference to the report, in 2019/20, around 11283 individuals (4198 male and 7085 female) and in (2021/22) 8981 persons (3697 male and 5284 female) were benefited from these sessions. Similarly, the manager reported that *the awareness-raising sessions were organized within families of children with disability, at schools, at health centers, and other places where there are public gatherings mainly focusing on the topics chosen by the community members.*

VCBRA also conducted awareness-raising activities on the prevention of COVID-19 and adhere to health measures to stop the pandemic's spread. Proper use of mask, hand washing, use of hand sanitizer, and maintaining social distancing was among the topics communicated (VCBRA Annual Report, 2021/22). The interview with director indicates as VCBRA is working by giving priority to promoting both

**Figure 3.**

*(a) VCBRA's institution based physiotherapy out of the room, and (b) VCBRA's institution based physiotherapy in the room.*

**Figure 4.** *Awareness raising workshop on Disability: VCBRA in collaboration with Ambo University.*

center-based and community-based rehabilitation services, inclusive education, and social inclusion interventions for PWD in Oromia region, Ethiopia.

Further, parents of children with disabilities are key rehabilitation actors to bring change to the disability situations of their children with disability. In relation to this, the manager stated that "*Though parent's role is significant, there is a high knowledge gap on rehabilitation skills, particularly with those who have a child with severe disabilities.*" To fill this gap VCBRA has organized training for 60 parents of children with disabilities on disability management and rehabilitation skill (Annual Report of VCBRA, 2019/20). A manager reported that "*At this time some parents are supporting their children with disability and they are taking part in the rehabilitation process of their kids.*"

#### **3.4 Education**

The education component of the matrix has a goal to provide access to education and lifelong for people with disabilities, leading to the fulfillment of their potential, a sense of dignity and self-worth, and effective participation in society. It includes formal and non-formal education as well as life-long learning [12].

Participants were requested to assess the extent to which VCBRA's education intervention programs are effective. The observed mean score for "education intervention" was found to be 2.4 that is greater than the expected mean of 2. This indicates that VCBRA's education intervention programs are effective in the study area (**Table 3**).


*Contributions in Early Intervention Programs: The Case of Vision Community-Based… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.106496*

VCBRA as an association, is dealing with children and youth with disabilities following CBR as a strategy and promote educational opportunities for children with disabilities. Educational materials supported were to children with disabilities, including exercise books, pen and pencil, facemask, sanitizer, and school uniforms Ambo Awaro, and Addisketema schools. One of the association management noted that "*The education materials provided by VCBRA helped the students with disabilities to remain in the school and continue their education."*

Similarly, VCBRA's director and program manager indicated that the main strategy to bring children with disability to school is through home-to-home visitation. They also explained that the coffee ceremony and community meetings have helped them to get an opportunity to discuss with the community and to create awareness about the causes of disability and the right to education for all (**Figure 4**).

Further, the manager mentioned, "*Following the awareness raising program, the association starts to give educational support at home, center and school level according to the degree and type of disabilities.*"

As displayed in the **Figure 5a** and **b** below, these boys have amputations in both hands. During the interview, the program manager indicates (**Figure 6**):

*Because of VCBRA interventions of training and physiotherapy, two boys are able to write, dress themselves, eat and drink using their toes. These children joined the surrounding primary schools and started to learn along with their peers. In addition, VCBRA provided a special chair prepared in its workshop so that they can use adapted chairs at home and in the classroom.*

*Intellectual disability:* According to the data obtained from the manager during the interview, "*children with intellectual disability were identified by VCBRA and a special classroom was organized for children with intellectual disabilities in Awaro primary school in collaboration with Ambo town education officers."*

**Figure 6** illustrates the educational intervention provided for the boy in the early intervention program.

*Capacity Development*: According to VCBRA's annual report document (2021/22), the training has been given to several participants, such as VCBRA staff, teachers in primary and secondary school, social workers, and community members on different topics: disability, child rights, and inclusive education; sign language, and rehabilitation skills. Specifically, the annual report, (2019/20) indicates the training organized

**Figure 5.** *(a) Boy writing by leg, and (b) Self–feed by the leg.*

**Figure 6.** *A special class organized for children with intellectual disabilities by VCBRA.*

at different times on the topic of inclusive education for 30 primary school teachers. Further, one of the parent beneficiaries reported that "*the association provides training and appropriate devices for their children with disabilities before bringing their children to school.*"

*Inclusive Resource Center:* Establishing an inclusive resource center is a key to enhance the education of children with disabilities in schools. Ministry of Education of Ethiopia stated in its ESDP VI to "strengthen and expand inclusive education resource centers." ([13], p. 89). In line with this, the VCBRA report (2019/20) showed that various materials and equipment have been purchased to the strengthened inclusive resource center and support of children with disability in selected primary schools of Ambo town. The center is equipped with the materials like computers, television, sign language books, audio, play, practical, pictorial, and other educational materials (VCBRA Annual Report, 2019/20) (**Figure 7**).

*Accessibility of the School Environment*: The data obtained from the interview noted that VCBRA worked a lot to make educational environments accessible to children with disabilities. The participant notified as an example, "*the dormitory, playground, ramps and toilets were adapted by VCBRA for students with disabilities in Ambo University.*" Similarly, figure taken from a photo gallery showed that walkways were built in some primary schools so that wheelchair users and other people with disabilities can move around in the school compound (**Figure 8**).

**Figure 7.** *Disability resource center established by VCBRA.*

*Contributions in Early Intervention Programs: The Case of Vision Community-Based… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.106496*

**Figure 8.** *Ramps were built in primary schools.*

Thus, based on the presented data above, this result is supporting the Ethiopian building proclamation no 624/2009, Article 36 that states the design and construction of public buildings should be accessible for people with disability [14].

*Provision of Assistive Materials:* Data from the document review annual report (2019/20) revealed that different assistive materials are purchased (**Figure 9a**) or were prepared in VCBRA's mini workshop (**Figure 9b**) and provided to children with disabilities. The same document reported that in collaborations with other rehabilitation centers, VCBRA has purchased materials like treatment beds, therapy materials, various exercise tools, small therapy machines, stimulation, and play equipment that are important for establishing a rehabilitation center at Ambo town.

In addition, VCBRA provided different supportive devices, such as optic glasses (spectacles), hearing aids, orthopedic shoes, crutches, wheelchairs, special chairs, artificial legs, walking frames, toilet chairs, guide canes, hand blocks and to children with disabilities in the community (VCBRA Annual Report, 2019/20). Similarly, the selected photos from the collection showed that several materials have been produced

#### **Figure 9.**

*(a) The adapted chair produced in the VCBRA workshop, and (b) VCBRA purchased a special wheelchair for a child.*

in VCBRA mini workshop and provided to the local community to support children with physical disabilities. For instance, children with physical disabilities who have moving difficulty access assistive chairs from VCBRA (**Figure 9a**).

Further, VCBRA has been providing educational material support to integrate children with disabilities in schools. For instance, school uniform, Braille paper, slate, stylus, sign language books, and voice recorder have been provided to special classes found in Woliso Liban, Ambo Awaro, and Addis Ketema primary schools (Annual Report, 2021/22).

The data gained from document analyzes showed that VCBRA distributed more than 30,000 washable and reusable face masks for nearly 14,500 students with disabilities in five regions of the country, such as Addis Ababa, Oromia, Amhara, and Sidama in order to protect the expansion of COVID-19 (Annual Report of 2021/22).

#### **3.5 Livelihood**

Livelihood is one of the five vital components of the CBR strategy in which people with disabilities can earn enough income to lead dignified lives and contribute economically to their families and communities that include skills development, selfemployment, wage employment, financial services, and social protection [15].

In relation to this study, participants were requested to assess the extent VCBRA's livelihood intervention programs are effective. The observed mean score for "livelihood intervention" was found to be 2.4 that is greater than the expected mean 2. This indicates that VCBRA's livelihood intervention programs are effective in the study area (**Table 4**).

In the livelihood domain, the CBR services provided in VCBRA focus on providing financial services, skill development, and self-empowerment services by establishing micro-finance enterprises. Specifically, for purpose of economic empowerment of PWDs, VCBRA recruited and established a group of children with disabilities and their families who have an interest in being a member of the saving and lending association in their local areas (Annual Report, 2021/22).

In relation to this, the VCBRA manager noted through his interview that PWD was trained in different activities to improve their livelihoods. He said, "*VCBRA facilitate vocational training for the individual with a disability in Ambo technical and vocational training centers to help them get training on wood and metal works, salon, shopping, tailoring, decoration, and ICT skills.*" After the training, VCBRA provided PWD with the starting capital or seed money for PWD to organize into groups to help them start up their business. Further, VCBRA link PWD with existing microfinance institutions to make them active in the system and as a result more than


**Table 4.** *Livelihood component.*

*Contributions in Early Intervention Programs: The Case of Vision Community-Based… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.106496*

16 parents of CWDs and 61 children with disabilities benefited from the services (Annual Report of VCBRA, 2021/22).

On the hand, VCBRA in collaboration with Ambo University, provides economic support for children with physical disabilities. The university donated a cow of foreign Creole with a calf. This cow gives about 15 liters per day. The boy got enough milk to drink and rent the excess. His family earns money from milk rent and improved economically. These are the livelihood and social components that endeavored for this boy, said the program manager and one of the social workers of VCBRA (**Figure 10**). This boy is now happy and said that "Thanks to God and to those who saw me and treated me well, my legs serve me both as legs and hands" (**Figure 5**).

#### **3.6 Empowerment**

The empowerment component of the matrix is a cross-cutting theme of the CBR program with the goal to allow people with disabilities to make their own decisions and take responsibility for changing their lives. It includes advocacy, political participation, establishing self-help groups and organizations for peoples with disabilities, and claiming their right to equity, justice, and inclusion in society [16].

To this end, the study participants were requested to assess the extent to which VCBRA's empowerment intervention programs are effective. The observed mean score for "empowerment intervention" was found to be 2 that is equal to the expected mean 2. This indicates that participants were not sure about the effectiveness of VCBRA's empowerment intervention programs (**Table 5**).

On the other hand, VCBRA establishes networking between disability organizations and governmental bureaus, such as health bureau, social affairs bureau, and women and children issue bureau, in Ambo town (Annual Report, 2021/22). In addition, the VCBRA's annual report document (2021/22) the most effective way to change community attitudes toward people with disabilities, should focus on the training and empowerment of PWD. Similarly, the report indicates that VCBRA organized the training for 27 PWD selected from the organization of persons with disabilities (Annual Report, 2019/20).

**Figure 10.** *The gift to the boy by Ambo University President in collaboration with VCBRA.*


#### **Table 5.**

*Empowerment component.*

#### **3.7 Social**

The social component aims for people with disabilities to have meaningful social roles and responsibilities in their families and communities, and be treated as equal members of society. Hence, children with disabilities have a right to participate in the community's culture, religion, art, sport, recreation, and access to justice [17].

Accordingly, the study participants were requested to assess the extent to which VCBRA's social intervention programs are effective. The observed mean score for 'Social intervention' was found to be 2.4 that is greater than the expected mean 2. This indicates that VCBRA's social intervention programs seem to be effective (**Table 6**).

This finding is similar to the findings from the picture collection. Accordingly, VCBRA worked only on inclusive sports (Source: photo collection of VCBRA) (**Figure 11**).

This depicts the inclusive sport in which boys with physical disabilities play football with children without physical disabilities. From this figure, it is possible to observe that VCBRA is working to improve the situation of children with disabilities to have meaningful social participation in sports activities in the community.

#### **3.8 Challenges of VCBRA's intervention programs**

By reviewing relevant documents of VCBRA and data gained from the interview, the major challenges encountered during the VCBRA's early intervention programs were identified and presented as follows. Some of the major challenges include:


#### **Table 6.** *Social component.*

*Contributions in Early Intervention Programs: The Case of Vision Community-Based… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.106496*

#### **Figure 11.** *Inclusive sport.*

*Lack of coordination among stakeholders*: There was weak partner institutional among different stakeholders, which resulted in program postponements and delays (Annual Report, 2021/22). The manager highlighted in his interview that coordination amongst stakeholders presented one of the critical challenges for early intervention programs. Governmental offices of the concerned body are not supportive as expected and some of them are reluctant to work for effective early intervention. On the other hand, literature depicted that organizations of person with disability have the roles in promoting the education of children with disability, for example, by "encouraging parents to send their children to school and become involved in their children's education, providing role models, and campaigning for inclusive education." ([1], p. 125)

*Lack of professional staff*: Staff noted that one of the biggest challenges faced in the early intervention program had been the absence of trained and professionally diversified staff (Annual Report, 2021/22). The manager reported the low capacity of parents, teachers, and school staff to screen children with disabilities and implement early intervention programs were also identified as the major challenges.

*Budget constraints*: The annual report stated that due to the lack of budget constraints, VCBRA was not able to address the needs of a large number of children with disabilities migrating from rural areas to the towns. For example, assistive devices are a major unfilled gap in Ethiopia (Annual Report, 2019/21). This finding is consistent with the research report indicating that the intervention program was highly dependent on external funds [18].

*Low involvements of parents*: The duration of the intervention depends on the type, intensity of the problem, and parents' involvement level. The manager notified that some parents are reluctant to play their role and make the intervention program ineffective. This is one of the challenges field workers encountered and forced to stop intervention. He contended that "*parents … rather than playing their role as they sign agreement with VCBRA to deal with intervention programs, some parents wait for payable money from VCBRA in order to provide support service for their own children.*" This finding is not similar to the roles of parents identified by the World Report on

Disability (2011) [1] serving as the first source of information for a child and creating educational opportunities for their children at home.

*COVID-19 as a challenge*: Finally, the various challenges and restrictions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted and reduced the VCBRA's intervention program activities (said the Director).

In relation to this, all the above, identified challenges were consistent with the challenges of intervention programs reported by MOLSA [3], such as limited number of community-based rehabilitation programs, inadequate or nonexistent specialized medical rehabilitation services, and lack of availability of affordable assistive aids and devices.

#### **4. Conclusion**

The effectiveness of VCBRA intervention programs was assessed using the CBR matrix. It is possible to conclude that VCBRA worked mainly on three components of CBR: health, education, and livelihood components of rehabilitation services intervention programs for children with disability. The health, education, and livelihood components gained high emphasis from VCBRA, while empowerment and social components of rehabilitation programs were less focused. In addition, children and youths with different disabilities, parents of children with disabilities, poor families, employees of the association, and the community at large are beneficiaries of VCBRA intervention programs.

VCBRA has faced challenges, such as lack of trained and diversified staff, lack of financial resources, low parent involvement, and the negative impact of COVID-19, were identified as the main challenges hindering the implementation of early intervention programs provided by the association.

#### **5. Implications**

Early intervention is essential, cost-effective, and more successful if it is done at the early years for children with disabilities. In the early intervention program it is better to focus on the child's abilities (what he/she can) rather than the child's disabilities (what he/she can't). The interventions by VCBRA were focusing on emphasizing the child's ability than disability. For more achievements, VCBRA shall work to employ skilled and professionally diverse staff to provide comprehensive services. There should be a strategy to increase the involvement and collaborations with parents and other stakeholders, search for more financial resources, and strengthen the identification and support centers for children with various disabilities. Moreover, VCBRA should work more on its coverage and expansion of the rehabilitation services throughout the region and at the national level in order to address a large number of marginalized children in the community through early intervention programs. Finally, there is a need to improve, expand and standardize the CBR services [3].

*Contributions in Early Intervention Programs: The Case of Vision Community-Based… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.106496*

#### **Author details**

Bonsa Tola1 \* and Dawit Negassa Golga<sup>2</sup>

1 Department of Special Needs and Inclusive Education, Ambo University, Ethiopia

2 Department of Special Needs and Inclusive Education, Haramaya University, Ethiopia

\*Address all correspondence to: boontoo2008@gmail.com

© 2022 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

### **References**

[1] World Health Organization and the World Bank. World report on disability. WHO; 2011. pp. 272. Available online: https://apps.who.int/iris/ handle/10665/44575

[2] UN. UN Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities. UN; 2006. Available online: https://www. un.org/development/desa/disabilities/ convention-on-the-rights-of-personswith-disabilities.html

[3] MOLSA. National Plan of Action of Persons with Disabilities 2012-2021.pdf. 2012

[4] Ayalew AT, Adane DT, Obolla SS, Ludago TB, Sona BD, Biewer G. From Community-Based Rehabilitation (CBR) Services to Inclusive Development. A Study on Practice, Challenges, and Future Prospects of CBR in Gedeo Zone (Southern Ethiopia); 2020. pp. 1-17. Frontiers in Education. 5:506050. DOI: 10.3389/feduc.2020.506050

[5] Belay T. Early childhood care and education (ECCE) in Ethiopia: Developments, research, and implications. Eastern Africa Social Science Research Review. 2018;**34**(1):171-206

[6] Creswell JW. Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research. Boston: Pearson Education; 2012

[7] Iemmi V, Gibson L, Blanchet K, Suresh Kumar K, Rath S, Hartley S, et al. Community-based Rehabilitation for People With Disabilities in Low- and Middle-income Countries: A Systematic Review Campbell Systematic Reviews . 2015. p. 1-177. DOI: 10.4073/csr.2015.15

[8] WHO. Education Component: CBR Guidelines. WHO, Geneva; 2010. pp. 1-79

[9] WHO. Introductory booklet: CBR Guidelines. WHO, Geneva; 2010. pp. 1-70

[10] APA. Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. 7th ed. APA, Washington, DC; 2020

[11] MOE. Special Needs /Inclusive Education Strategy Implimentation Guideline. Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Ministry of Education; 2012

[12] WHO. Education Component: CBR Guidelines. WHO, Geneva; 2010

[13] MOE. Education Sector Development Programme 6 (ESDP-VI) 2020/21- 2024/25 G.C (Issue Esdp V, p. 195). Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Ministry of Education; 2021

[14] International Labor Organization. Inclusion of People with Disabilities in Ethiopia Governmental Support for People with Disabilities. International Labor Organization; 2013

[15] WHO. Livelihood Component: CBR Guidelines. WHO; 2010

[16] WHO. CBR Guidelines: Empowerment Component. WHO; 2010. Available online: http://apps.who.int/iris/ bitstream/10665/44405/5/978924 1548052\_empower\_eng.pdf

[17] WHO. CBR Guidelines: Social Component. WHO, Geneva; 2010

[18] Bongo PP, Dziruni G, Muzenda-Mudavanhu C. The effectiveness of community-based rehabilitation as a strategy for improving quality of life and disaster resilience for children with disability in rural Zimbabwe. Jamba: Journal of Disaster Risk Studies. 2018;**10**(1):1-10

#### **Chapter 6**

## The Role of NGOs in Protecting and Preserving Cultural Heritage in the EU: The Case of Slovenia-Austria Cross-Border Program

*Vito Bobek, Manuela Slanovc and Tatjana Horvat*

#### **Abstract**

The core part of this chapter is an analysis of how is the cultural heritage present in the EU Policies and in the Slovenia-Austria Interreg V Program in the previous and present multi-annual financial framework (2014–2020 and 2021–2027). The special focus is on the role of NGOs in protecting and preserving cultural heritage at the level of Slovenia. The final section identifies an example of a project idea titled HEGIRA-Heritage in Your Hands where NGOs in the field of cultural heritage are accepted as project partners. A historic forge in Bad Eisenkappel (Austria) serves as an authentic location to establish a "Centre for Forgotten Arts" where NGOs could play a distinctive role. Due to its strategically beneficial position, the center will serve as a gateway to Slovenia and bundle cross-border intangible cultural heritage offers. The implementation of the "Craftsmen in Residence" workshop series—aimed at schools, tourists, and interested citizens—will facilitate knowledge transfer and contribute to safeguarding traditional craftsmanship. HEGIRA builds capacity by connecting actors and institutions to develop an integrated cross-border tourist product, which will serve as a role model and can be transferred to other regions with similar territorial challenges and opportunities.

**Keywords:** EU, cultural heritage, policy, cross-border cooperation, project, NGOs

#### **1. Introduction**

An over 300-year-old forge in the south of Carinthia serves as an authentic location to establish a "Centre for Forgotten Arts" embedded in a cross-border EU project. For the project, it is assumed that a nonprofit association, dedicated to the preservation of traditional handicrafts and the revitalization of the forge as a unique local cultural heritage site, has already been founded. This is not the case at the current stage. It is further assumed that this association will act as a Lead Partner. The project partners

were chosen by the authors based on their adequateness to meet the criteria of the EU Funding Program and the project objectives.

As cross-border regions, South of Carinthia and Upper Slovenia have a common handicraft culture and history, the European Territorial Cooperation (ETC) Program INTERREG V-A-SI-AT with its Investment Priority 6(c) "Protecting, promoting and developing cultural and natural heritage" is chosen for this case. The authors see sustainable regional development as a holistic concept, not limited to national borders. It must be understood in regions that make use of the strength of common resources. Based on that credo, this specific ETC Program is chosen.

The chosen funding program INTERREG V-A-Slovenia-Austria is part of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), which further is part of the European Structural and Investment (ESI) Funds. The European Territorial Cooperation Program, better known as INTERREG, is built around three strands of cooperation [1]:


ETC is one of the two goals of Cohesion Policy (the other one being an investment for growth and jobs) and fosters joint actions and policy exchanges between national, regional, and local stakeholders from the different Member States. Its main objective is "to promote a harmonious economic, social and territorial development of the union as a whole" [2].

Concerning the historical and legal background of the ESI funds, it can be stated that one of the primary objectives of the EU is to assure equal income standards and economic development among the Member States and regions. Under this objective, the Union introduced in several stages its Regional and Cohesion Policy, implemented through the EU Structural Funds. In 1975, following the first EU enlargement, the main instrument of EU Regional Policy was established with the creation of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), which was meant to address the increasing problem of regional imbalances. In 1986, a common Regional Policy was created in the context of the Single Market Program and enshrined in the Community treaties with the Single European Act (SEA). The reform of the Structural Funds in 1988 established the main policy guidelines of EU Regional Policy, which are still valid today [3].

Article 174 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) defines strengthening the economic, social, and territorial cohesion, reducing disparities between the levels of development of the various regions, and supporting the least favored regions (e.g., rural areas, areas affected by industrial transition, regions that suffer from severe and permanent natural or demographic handicaps). Article 175 requires that the Union is to support the achievements of these objectives through special funds [4].

*The Role of NGOs in Protecting and Preserving Cultural Heritage in the EU: The Case… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.108138*

There are still high regional economic disparities at the EU level. The highest value of GDP per head is five times the EU average, and the lowest value is about one-third of the EU average. More than a quarter of the EU regions are less developed ones (especially the Eastern-European Member States), where the GDP per head is below 75% of the EU average [5].

Particularly noteworthy is that information about the beneficiaries of EU funding is public. The Financial Transparency System (FTS) website can be found under the link http://ec.europa.eu/budget/fts/index\_en.htm and provides search mechanisms and lists the names of the beneficiaries of the funds managed directly by the EC and their amounts received.

For funding managed by the Member States, publication of the names of beneficiaries is also mandatory and must be published on national websites. Equal treatment, equal access, and transparency are basic principles of EU funding. A listing of the transparency websites of the Austrian ESI Fund beneficiaries can be found on the ÖROK website [6]:


Traditional handicraft skills are a critically endangered intangible cultural heritage asset and therefore need safeguarding for future generations. The Austrian Commission for UNESCO warns in there in 2016 published study on "Traditional craftsmanship as an ICH and economic factor in Austria" that traditional crafts need more public awareness to be preserved. Entire professions and the associated knowledge and skills are threatened with disappearance. The Commission demands that it is time to counteract these negative tendencies. Not only as a sustainable response to the mass production of global markets and overflowing consumption but also to provide meaningful and promising education and training for future generations [7]. The CP also underlines the importance of safeguarding cultural heritage as a fundamental pillar for the improved regional tourist offer and sees a clear intervention need [8].

The focus of the project will be on former crafts directly linked to the mountain farming regions of Carinthia and Upper Slovenia. The thematic categorization of the traditional skills is based on the book "The forgotten Arts" [9]. For the selected project, the following crafts form a selection base:


This chapter aims to embed the project into EU cultural heritage policies, EU crossborder cooperation, and the role NGOs could play in the realization of this project.

#### **2. Cultural heritage in the EU policies**

The EC's survey in 2007 on the importance of cultural values among EU citizens has shown that 40–50% declare to visit historical monuments and museums [10]. Another noteworthy fact is that nearly half of the cultural heritage sites are situated in Europe. Italy comes first, followed by France, Germany, and Spain. Furthermore, nearly a quarter of UNESCO's intangible cultural heritage is "located" in the EU [10].

The EP states that cultural heritage has multiple positive effects such as economic effects (e.g., positive impact on job creation, tourist attraction), social effects (e.g., as an identity factor favoring integration, cohesion, and participation), and also environmental effects (e.g., sustainable development of landscapes) [10].

Although the European Parliament points to the fact that cultural policy and care for cultural heritage are the sole responsibility of the Member States, Article 3(3) of the Treaty on EU states that the Union "shall ensure that Europe's cultural heritage is safeguarded and enhanced." Furthermore, the importance of cultural heritage is mentioned in the TFEU under Article 167, where it is stated that the EU "should encourage cooperation between the Member States" and support (i) the improvement of knowledge and dissemination of culture and history of European people and (ii) the conservation and safeguarding of cultural heritage of European significance [10].

The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe issued a recommendation for a European Cultural Heritage Strategy for the twenty-first century, which is based on the following three components: promotion of social participation and good governance, territorial and economic development on a sustainable basis, and knowledge and education with the contribution of research and training [11].

The European Commission stated in the press release on December 7th, 2018 that during the European Year of Cultural Heritage in 2018, over 6.2 million people took part in more than 11,700 events organized across 37 countries. To ensure a sustainable impact beyond 2018, the Commission introduced five new actions, prepared through exchanges with the Member States, the European Parliament, civil society, cultural operators, and international organizations such as the Council of Europe and UNESCO to protect and promote Europe's rich cultural heritage [12]:


*The Role of NGOs in Protecting and Preserving Cultural Heritage in the EU: The Case… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.108138*


The EU supports numerous cultural heritage actions and networks. The EU initiative European Capitals of Culture, for example, was launched already in 1985. European cities can apply under the Creative Europe Program to promote their cultural heritage and benefit from 1.5 million Euros funding (e.g., Melina Mercouri Prize). Another initiative is the European Heritage Label, which was launched in 2013. So far it has been awarded to 38 sites in the EU for their value as symbols of European ideas, history, and integration. The European digital library Europeana, which is funded through the Connecting Europe Facility Program, counts over 51 million items from across all Member States and is searchable in all EU official languages [10].

The European Heritage Days are a joint action of the Council of Europe and the European Commission. It is the most widely celebrated participatory cultural event in Europe with over 50,000 events organized every year in 50 European States with 30 million visitors. Furthermore, the Call for European Stories, which was launched as an activity of the European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018, will continue to support the European Framework for Action on Cultural Heritage, adopted in December 2018 to secure the long-term impact of the European Year of Cultural Heritage [13].

Through the European Cultural Routes program, the Council of Europe offers a model for transnational networks working on European heritage promotion. The Cultural Routes bring together heritage sites, universities, national, and regional authorities, SMEs, and tour operators. The European Cultural Routes counted 38 routes in 2019, for example, European Route of Historic Thermal Towns, Santiago de Compostela Pilgrim Routes, European Route of Industrial Heritage, European Route of Ceramics, Viking Route [14].

The EU Prize for Cultural Heritage better known as Europa Nostra Awards was launched in 2002 by the EC and promotes best practices related to heritage conservation, management, research, education, and communication. Furthermore, the European Cultural Tourism Network (ECTN) 2019 has announced the award for destinations of sustainable cultural tourism under the special theme "Culture and Heritage for Responsible Innovative and Sustainable Tourism Actions" [15].

Supporting culture initiatives can bring many benefits to cities and regions, as demonstrated, for example, through the European Capital of Culture Label. Cultural events create significant social and economic impact, particularly if they are embedded into a long-term culture- and creativity-led development strategy. Moreover, cultural initiatives may contribute to social inclusion and poverty reduction. It is, however, stressed by the EC that ESI Funds cannot replace national budgets in terms of maintenance of cultural heritage [16].

Culture is not directly mentioned among the Thematic Objectives of the Europe 2020 Strategy as they constitute means rather than objectives. However, there is one slight reference under the flagship initiative "A Digital Agenda for Europe" where it is stated that the European Commission will work to create a single market for online content to support the digitalization of Europe's rich cultural heritage [17].

Investments in the renovation of historical buildings or building/renovation of cultural institutions are stated to be eligible if they are part of an overall economic development strategy for a specific territory and/or foster the socioeconomic integration of minorities through valorizing their cultural background. Cultural projects could also be a part of the ERDF support if they contribute to creating and safeguarding sustainable jobs through investments in SMEs [16].

#### **3. Cultural heritage in the Slovenia-Austria Interreg V Program**

#### **3.1 The multi-annual financial framework 2014–2020**

While cultural and creative industries are somewhat implicit to the Thematic Objectives regarding innovation and SME competitiveness, the conservation, protection, promotion, and development of cultural heritage are referred to under investment priority 6(c) under Thematic Objective 6 [16].

According to the "EC Guidance for desk officers: Support to culture-related investments" [16], particularly the following Thematic Objectives (TO) apply:


#### **3.2 The multi-annual financial framework 2021–2027**

The Cohesion Policy for the current period 2021–2027 focuses only on five Thematic Objectives. Regional development investments strongly focus on two objectives, where 65–85% of the resources will be allocated to. The first objective is a smarter Europe through innovation, digitalization, economic transformation, and

#### *The Role of NGOs in Protecting and Preserving Cultural Heritage in the EU: The Case… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.108138*

support to SMEs, the second one is a greener, carbon-free Europe through investing in energy transition, renewables, and climate change actions. Further objectives are a more connected Europe with strategic transport and digital networks, a more social Europe supporting quality employment, education, skills, social inclusion, and equal access to healthcare, and a Europe closer to citizens by supporting locally led development strategies and sustainable urban development (EU Budget for the future. European Commission, 2018a). The European Commission stated in the press release on May 29th, 2018 that the overall goal of the modernized Cohesion Policy is to "drive up economic and social convergence while helping regions harness fully globalization and equipping them with the right tools for robust and lasting growth" [12].

The allocation method for the funds is still based on the GDP per head, whereas new criteria, for example, youth unemployment or integration of migrants are added. The new Cohesion Policy still follows the principle of shared management and is calculated based on three categories (less-developed, transition, and more-developed regions). The European Commission also announced administrative simplifications, for example, more flexibility to cope with unforeseen events and a single rule book for seven funds (ERDF, CF, ESF+, EMFF, the Asylum and Migration Fund, the Internal Security Fund, and the Border Management and Visa Instrument). Interregional Innovation Investments supports pan-European smart specialization strategies. The Seal of Excellence allows projects successfully evaluated under Horizon Europe to be funded by Cohesion Policy without having to pass another selection process. The centrally managed InvestEU fund addresses investment gaps using combining grants and financial instruments. This fund includes also special provisions to attract more private capital [18].

Support to Cultural Heritage beyond 2020 can be allocated especially to the fifth objective—Europe closer to citizens by supporting community-led local development strategies and sustainable urban development.

The new generation of interregional and cross-border cooperation Interreg VI removes cross-border obstacles and supports interregional innovation cooperation projects in the Multi-annual Financial Framework 2021–2027. This means regions can collaborate with other regions anywhere in Europe. This new approach aims to facilitate joint services and harmonize legal frameworks. The Commission proposes moreover to create Interregional Innovative Investments and states "Regions with matching 'smart specialization' assets will be given more support to build pan-European clusters in priority sectors such as big data, circular economy, advanced manufacturing or cybersecurity" (European Commission, 2020c). But there is one negative news to report. The opinion paper of the European Committee of the regions on the new ETC beyond 2020 states with regret that EU co-financing rates will decrease from 85–70% [19].

The European Council's new strategic Agenda 2019–2024 focuses on four main priorities: (i) protecting citizens and freedom; (ii) developing a strong and vibrant economic base; and (iii) building a climate-neutral, green, fair, and social Europe; and (iv) promoting European interests and values on the global stage [20].

The authors aim to submit the HEGIRA project proposal (or parts of it) in this funding period. To enhance the competitiveness of the potential future project proposal, the authors suggest considering the following strategical adaptions [21]:


Without the facilitation of knowledge transfer and safeguarding measures, the valuable intangible cultural heritage of traditional craftsmanship will get lost in the region of Unterkärnten. There are no similar projects in this area addressing this challenge, thus there is an urgent need for initiatives—HEGIRA can be one of them.

Safeguarding intangible cultural heritage for future generations and transmitting the knowledge of traditional handicraft skills will not be an easy mission, but the following quote gives hope that EU funding will continue for initiatives in this area: "We will invest in culture and our cultural heritage, which is at the heart of our European identity" [20]**.**

#### **4. The role of NGOs in protecting and preserving cultural heritage: the Case of Slovenia**

The Cultural Heritage Protection Act [22] stipulates that a non-governmental organization whose activities make an important contribution to the protection, the development of heritage awareness, the expansion of knowledge and skills related to heritage, and training and lifelong learning may acquire the status of a non-governmental organization, in the field of cultural heritage for the public benefit. The status is acquired based on the law governing the realization of the public interest in culture and with the reasonable application of regulations governing the operation of associations.

Under the same conditions, a church or other religious community may acquire the status of a non-governmental organization working in the field of cultural heritage for the public benefit if it has its legal personality.

A person who has the status of a non-governmental organization working in the field of heritage protection for the public benefit has the right to:


*The Role of NGOs in Protecting and Preserving Cultural Heritage in the EU: The Case… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.108138*

• performing other tasks in the field of protection based on public tenders.

A person who is also the owner of inheritance has the right to participate in matters of protection concerning that particular heritage, provided that there is no conflict of interest between his role as owner and the non-governmental organization.

The Strategy of cultural heritage mentions the following areas among development orientations and measures, where it determines the role of NGOs [23]:

	- Public calls and tenders coordinated between stakeholders aimed at media promotion of heritage in public. Public tenders for non-governmental organizations in the field of heritage and informal heritage communities, promote new approaches to the recognition of heritage values.
	- Complement public calls for public protection service providers by giving priority to joint and innovative promotional projects on selected heritage themes.
	- Define in the media strategy the promotion of quality and continuous presentations of heritage content in the media.
	- Preparation of a recommendation to improve different forms of accessibility for individual target groups.
	- Complement public calls for public care providers by promoting access to heritage for vulnerable groups.
	- Extend public calls for scholarships to allow more integration of scarce professions in the field of heritage protection into international training programs to improve heritage accessibility.
	- Audit of physical accessibility in buildings and premises in the field of heritage and development of improvement plans.
	- Preparation of recommendations for the interpretation of heritage for tourism and other purposes.
	- Agreement on a cross-sectoral program of education in the field of interpretation and transmission of heritage values.

*The Role of NGOs in Protecting and Preserving Cultural Heritage in the EU: The Case… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.108138*


In the calls for financing from the cross-border cooperation program till November 2020 [24]: 82 successful applicants were from business organizations of different kinds, 76 successful applicants were from municipalities and regional administration, 71 successful applicants were from development agencies, 68 successful applicants were knowledge institutions, 33 successful applicants were chambers, unions, and similar associations, 28 successful applicants were national authorities, ministries with agencies and similar institutions, 25 successful applicants were clusters and business support institutions, 14 successful applicants were NGOs, 15 successful applicants were nature parks and their organizations, 15 successful applicants were tourism organizations and museums, 6 successful applicants were hospitals.

Types of beneficiaries supported under the investment priority are among others institutions, organizations, associations, and NGOs in the field of nature protection and conservation, environment, spatial planning, public transport, culture, and tourism.

#### **5. An example of a project idea titled HEGIRA: heritage in Your Hands**

Numerous private efforts have been undertaken to renovate and revitalize the over 300-year-old forge in the center of the small village of Bad Eisenkappel in the South of Carinthia. It is one of the last surviving examples of local history there, and the first recorded mention of it is in 1727 [25]. One coauthor's family and a family friend saved the forge from demolition and purchased it by auction in 2008. All machines in the forge are driven by waterpower, the Francis Turbine, built-in 1920, was put back into operation and supplies also energy for the adjacent residential area. The forge was first publicly accessible on the September 26th in 2010 on the "Day of the Monument," which is an initiative embedded within the "European Heritage Days." In this yearly event, privately owned monuments can participate and are accessible to the public free of admission. The event is organized in Austria by the Austrian Federal Monuments Office (BDA). Furthermore, the historic forge has already been declared particularly worthy of protection by the BDA.

Over the last 10 years, a large amount of private money has been invested into the site, and no further progress is possible without public support. From the authors' perspective, the cultural value of this historic object needs to be preserved for future generations. The project vision of the authors is to transform the spacious property

of the old forge into a "Centre for Forgotten Arts," where old traditional handicrafts can be experienced in an authentic environment. The garden area would be suitable for events, and the old farmstead could accommodate craftsmen. Moreover, an exhibition area and seminar facilities could be constructed in the old stable. For the implementation of this project vision, a nonprofit association or a foundation must be established, and the necessity of transferring the property to it must be examined.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) defines cultural heritage as "the legacy of physical artifacts and intangible attributes of a group or society that are inherited from past generations, maintained in the present, and bestowed for the benefit of future generations" and sub-categorizes into [10]:


It can be stated that the project thus addresses two cultural heritage aspects. On the one hand, the traditional handicrafts (intangible cultural heritage), and on the other hand, it embeds the implementation idea in the authentic environment of the forge (tangible heritage monument).

According to the Cooperation Program INTERREG V-A Austria-Slovenia, it can be stated that the project location Bad Eisenkappel (in Slovenian Železna Kapla) is within the eligible Program area and belongs to the territorial unit NUTS 3 Unterkärnten [8]. Not far from Bad Eisenkappel there are two routes (border crossings) to Slovenia. The pass Seebergsattel (in Slovenian Jezerski vrh) is 16 kilometers away and leads to the Slovenian region Savinjska, and the pass Paulitschsattel (in Slovenian Pavličevo sedlo) is 17 kilometers distance and leads to the Slovenian region of Gorenjska. In early times, the Seebergsattel was an important trade route for iron transport from Eisenkappel to Kranj in Slovenia. Records show that the roars of the hammer mills in Eisenkappel, which were built on the shore of the river Vellach (in Slovenian Bela), were heard from afar. Columns of smoke from the lead smelters rose, their ores being extracted below the summit of the Obir. The much younger Paulitschsattel was constructed during the nineteenth century and the nearby historical border crossing above the Leonhard Church fell into oblivion. Due to the common history and the geographical proximity, these two regions are selected as locations for the project partners with the premise of having a clear background in local cultural heritage. Moreover, it is an essential precondition that these partners operate established museums to enable knowledge transfer to the planned "Centre for Forgotten Arts." As outlined in the Cooperation Program, both Slovenian regions are within the eligible Program area [8].

The data of Statistic Austria show that population development is decreasing in Bad Eisenkappel [26]. Also, the Cooperation Program [8] refers on page 9 to statistical data of EUROSTAT 2014 and a population decrease in Unterkärnten of minus 3%. Additionally, the number of overnight stays is significantly lower in comparison to

*The Role of NGOs in Protecting and Preserving Cultural Heritage in the EU: The Case… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.108138*

the years before 2013. It can also be seen that the overnight stays in Bad Eisenkappel remain low during the summer months, whereas the average number in the province (Bezirk) rises remarkably [27].

Similar territorial challenges can be observed in the Slovenian regions. The Cooperation Program [8] states on page 9 that all regions show employment rates of elderly people (aged 55–64) below the EU-28 average of 50.1% in 2013. It is furthermore mentioned that the need for network activities and knowledge transfer among the actors is getting more and more important.

Traditional handicraft skills are a critically endangered ICH asset and therefore need safeguarding for future generations. The Austrian Commission for UNESCO warns in there in 2016 published study on "Traditional craftsmanship as an ICH and economic factor in Austria" that traditional crafts need more public awareness to be preserved. Entire professions and the associated knowledge and skills are threatened with disappearance. The Commission demands that it is time to counteract these negative tendencies. Not only as a sustainable response to the mass production of global markets and overflowing consumption but also to provide meaningful and promising education and training for future generations [28]. The Cooperation Program [8] also underlines the importance of safeguarding cultural heritage as a fundamental pillar for the improved regional tourist offer and sees a clear intervention need.

The focus of the project will be on former crafts directly linked to the mountain farming regions of Carinthia and Upper Slovenia. The thematic categorization of the traditional skills is based on the book "The forgotten Arts" [9]. For the present project, the following crafts form a selection base:


It is necessary here to clarify exactly what is meant by Intangible Cultural heritage. This chapter uses the following definition of Intangible Cultural heritage suggested by UNESCO [28]: "Intangible cultural heritage" means the practices, representations, expressions, knowledge, and skills – as well as the instruments, objects, artifacts, and cultural spaces associated therewith – that communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals recognize as part of their cultural heritage. This intangible cultural heritage, transmitted from generation to generation, is constantly recreated by communities and groups in response to their environment, their interaction with nature, and their history, and provides them with a sense of identity and continuity, thus promoting respect for cultural diversity and human creativity."

Intangible Cultural heritage as defined above is manifested in the following domains [29]: (i) oral traditions and expressions, including language as a vehicle of the intangible cultural heritage; (ii) performing arts; (iii) social practices, rituals, and festive events; (iv) knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe; and (v) traditional craftsmanship.

This chapter uses the following definition of "safeguarding" suggested by UNESCO [29]: "Safeguarding means measures aimed at ensuring the viability of the intangible cultural heritage, including the identification, documentation, research, preservation, protection, promotion, enhancement, transmission, particularly through formal and non-formal education, as well as the revitalization of the various aspects of such heritage."

Former case-relevant EU projects with synergies to the present project idea exist. Learnings will be taken from their outcomes and potential future partnerships might be established.


*The Role of NGOs in Protecting and Preserving Cultural Heritage in the EU: The Case… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.108138*

• FORGET HERITAGE (2016–2019, Interreg Central Europe) identified innovative replicable sustainable private-public cooperation management models of abandoned historical sites. The development of management tools to influence national policies, develop human resources, and strengthen local systems including an analysis of transferable elements in good practices of cultural heritage management were key assets of the project [37].

#### **6. Conclusion**

Cultural heritage is recognized to have a high value for individuals, communities, and societies. As an identity factor, it fosters social cohesion, and as an economic driver, it contributes to job creation in the cultural sector as well as in related sectors such as gastronomy and hotel businesses. Moreover, regions with a rich cultural heritage can benefit from various environmental effects, such as the enhancement of the uniqueness of the place.

The EC's survey in 2007 on the importance of cultural values among EU citizens has shown that 40–50% declare to visit historical monuments and museums [10]. The European Year of Cultural Heritage, which was launched in 2018, illustrates the valorization of cultural heritage on a high policy level. The creation of the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, signed in 2003, underscores the necessity for the preservation of i.a. oral expressions such as languages, performing arts, festive events, practices concerning nature, and traditional craftsmanship [38]. Safeguarding ICH is a shared responsibility between different actors ranging from policymakers to stakeholders and other societal actors. Although Culture is not directly mentioned among the Thematic objectives of the Europe 2020 Strategy, there is one slight reference under the flagship initiative "A Digital Agenda for Europe" where it is stated that the EC will work to create a single market for online content to support the digitalization of Europe's rich cultural heritage [17]. The most obvious finding to emerge from the "EC Guidance for desk officers: Support to culture-related investments" [16] is that it is indispensable to embed the project proposal in a wide regional development strategy with a broad network of regional cooperation partners. This is a crucial factor for eligibility and increases the opportunities for a positive EU funding commitment.

Such contribution to safeguarding and preserving cultural heritage is a project proposal within the ETC Program Interreg V-A Slovenia-Austria titled HEGIRA – HEritaGe In youR Hands where NGOs in the field of cultural heritage are accepted as project partners. The 3-year project will safeguard the rich tangible and intangible cultural heritage of the cross-border regions and contribute to sustainable tourism development across borders, which is one of the Program objectives.

A historic forge in Bad Eisenkappel serves as an authentic location to establish a "Centre for Forgotten Arts" facilitated by a co-creation process with the involvement of key stakeholders. Due to its strategically beneficial position, the center will serve as a gateway to Slovenia and bundle cross-border and cross-regional intangible cultural heritage offers, thus enabling capacity building and the enhanced use of synergies. The joint development and implementation of the Craftsmen in Residence workshop series aimed at schools, tourists, and interested citizens (knowledge seekers) will facilitate know-how transfer between knowledge providers (craftsmen) and the knowledge seekers. This will increase the recognition and contribute to the knowledge transfer of traditional handicraft skills and their safeguarding for future generations. The creation of innovative digital learning material and events such as the Forgotten

Arts Summer Festival and Christmas Markets are further core aspects of the project and will enhance the visibility of traditional craftsmanship. Unique about HEGIRA is the combination of the abovementioned measures and activities while revitalizing the last surviving example of local history in Bad Eisenkappel. HEGIRA builds capacity by connecting Intangible cultural heritage actors and institutions to develop an integrated CROSS-BORDER tourist product, which will serve as a role model and can be transferred to other regions with similar territorial challenges and opportunities.

This approach is especially relevant for rural regions, which on the one hand are often the last resort for endangered traditional handicrafts and their related build artifacts and on the other hand face territorial challenges, such as unemployment of elderly people or rural depopulation. The preservation of tangible and intangible cultural heritage can serve as a nucleus to address and transform the challenges into opportunities for these rural regions.

#### **Author details**

Vito Bobek1 \*, Manuela Slanovc2 and Tatjana Horvat<sup>3</sup>

1 Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia


\*Address all correspondence to: vito.bobek@guest.arnes.si

© 2022 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

*The Role of NGOs in Protecting and Preserving Cultural Heritage in the EU: The Case… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.108138*

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#### **Chapter 7**

### Tracing the Roots of Anti-Chinese Sentiments in US History

*Mimi Yang*

#### **Abstract**

To understand and confront the ongoing Asian/Chinese hate in the USA as another pandemic virus, this article digs into the root cause in history, as anti-Chinese sentiments are nothing new but invariably in a new context and with a new trigger. A close examination of how a racial hierarchy was constructed by the dominant group sets the stage for the study. The paradoxical relationship between the American ideal of equality and the racial hierarchy is discussed in depth. In doing so, we focus on the Chinese experience in the nineteenth century—the construction of the Transcontinental Rails and the Chinese Exclusion Act (1882–1943)—to argue that the roots of anti-Chinese sentiments rest in the racial hierarchy as well as its coexistence with the lofty ideal of freedom and equality.

**Keywords:** anti-Chinese, the WASPs, a city upon a hill, the Empire of Liberty, racial hierarchy, freedom and equality, transcontinental rails, the Chinese Exclusion Act, pandemic

#### **1. Introduction**

Chinese hate in a macro context: This is a study in the field of cultural and historical studies and squarely fits in the NGO category. The intended audience is historians, cultural studies scholars, students, teachers, researchers, and citizens in general. They are independent of government organizations. As an NGO project, the article is expected to reach out to an across-the-board audience and achieve its goal to contribute to the Asian/Chinese-American platform.

Studying the past is to understand the present and prepare for the future. The ideal of "E Pluribus Unum" (from Many, one) shakes and shapes an immigrant, multiracial, and multicultural America. Since the inception of the nation, at different historical moments and with different immigration waves, individuals across racial and ethnic backgrounds from the four corners of the world have gravitated to the American Dream that was born from "E Pluribus Unum." As we approach the 250th anniversary of the USA, the questions are still hanging in the air: by now, is every American included and accepted equally in the land of the free and at the home of the brave? As a nation, have we achieved oneness from many and unity from diversity?

Over the past 3 years, the global-scaled pandemic has unleashed coronavirus in its original version and in its vicious variants; it has killed more than 6 million deaths, paralyzed the economy, and wreaked havoc with many aspects of our daily life. While the world is facing and dealing with the pandemic-caused damage and destruction, the pandemic has brought upon the Asian-American community another type of virus, that is, anti-Asian virus. In the United States, hatred, discrimination, and violence particularly against Chinese immigrants and East-Asian looking individuals have been on the rise and spiked. Once again, the Chinese are perceived as "Yellow Peril," a threat mixed of the health with the politics. Fueled by President Trump's racially charged epithets "China Virus" or "Kung flu," from the West to East coasts, hate crimes have been become daily news. Fellow Americans assault Chinese/East Asian Americans just because of physical looks and racial profiling. The words of the leader of the free world do matter. When Trump spews the lie that the Chinese have created and spread the virus, certain groups of the population are incited to commit hate crimes. Restaurants in China Towns are vandalized, East-Asian looking frontline doctors and nurses are harassed, children of Chinese descent are bullied at school, and passengers in public transportation are verbally abused and, in some instances, physically attacked. This reopens historical wounds, lacerated by the blade of the "Yellow Peril," and adds the latest chapter to a long anti-Chinese/Asian history.

The repeatedly wounded experience of Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders, aka, the AAPI, is one of many racially charged phenomena throughout US history. The result? In 2022, the Chinese-Americans, and AAPI citizens in general still do not wield enough political presence to stop fellow citizens from deploying racist ideas and practices. Their invisibility and silence render the AAPI individuals unimportant and even non-existent, and at the same time, perpetuate the portrayal of foreignness, and peddle the myth of Asian-Americans' unassimilatedness in the American Melting Pot.

Addressing the current cultural landscape that conceals some minefields for Asians and particularly for Chinese-Americans, this essay traces the historical roots of discrimination against Chinese Americans. It focuses on two aspects: one is the historical and cultural context of a racial hierarchy, and the other, the hurdles for the Chinese-Americans, like other marginalized races, to move up on such a racial and power hierarchy. We revisit the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad, the Chinese Exclusion Act. These events coincide with the timeframe of the formation of the nation, thus drawing a blueprint of anti-Chinese sentiments.

#### **2. Tracing the roots of anti-Chinese sentiments in US history**

In the American Melting Pot dwell people from the four corners of the world. Asians were not exempt from being "properly" placed where they "belong." The term "Asian" can "spark a full range of reactions in the USA, from being represented or misrepresented to being celebrated or denigrated" [1]. Immigrants of Asian descent can trace back their origins in "more than twenty countries in East, Southeast, and South Asia, across the Pacific and Indian Oceans" [1]. They are the largest Asian origin group, "making up 24% of the Asian population, or 5.4 million people" (According to the 2021 Census Bureau population estimate. My quote is from https:// www.google.com/search?q=the+percentage+of+Chinese+Americans+in+Asian+A mericans&rlz=1C1CHBF\_enUS715US715&oq=the+percentage+of+Chinese+Ameri cans+in+Asian+Americans&aqs=chrome..69i57.13264j0j9&sourceid=chrome&ie= UTF-8) and bearing the brunt of shared racism and discrimination. For an in-depth understanding of how the notion of Asian racial inferiority was constructed in US

history, this article focuses on the Chinese-Americans, instead of covering the vast inner-Asian-group diversity.

With the slowly increased visibility of the AAPI community in US society and the progress of civil rights, anti-Asian sentiments have taken up less crude and less institutionalized forms when compared with the ones during the Chinese Exclusion Era, 1882–1943. However, the twenty-first century US still perpetuates these sentiments on multiple fronts, and Asian hate oozes from wherever there is a porous surface. Like discrimination and racism experienced by other racial and ethnic groups, anti-Asian sentiments are multi-dimensional, interweaving historical, cultural, and social origins with a myriad of covert and overt acts in the present day. First, we take a close look at the historical and cultural context that conceives the seed and grows a racial hierarchy. Then, we locate where the Chinese have been situated on the racial hierarchy. Navigating through historical knowledge and cultural understanding, we underscore that the Chinese-American experience is an inherent and integral part of the American experience, and for the Chinese-Americans, the road to equality and inalienable rights has been longer and more treacherous than the one for the White and some non-White Americans.

#### **2.1 A racial hierarchy built in "the city upon a hill" and "the Empire of Liberty"**

This notion of racial inferiority has hit Chinese Americans throughout history. It speaks of the cultural roots of anti-Asianism in the USA. The global-scaled pandemic has unleashed coronavirus but also anti-Asian virus. In recent years, we have been witnessing a steep surge of hate crimes and violence in the USA, correlating with the Asian American Pacific Islander group in ways that reinforce the effects of past, then-lawful discrimination. Anti-Asian sentiments are nothing new in US history since the mid-nineteenth century with the first wave of East Asian immigrants and the notorious Chinese Exclusion Act (1882–1943). At a time when historical wounds are cut (re)open, and the lingering pandemic continues to expose the racial profiling of the "Yellow Peril," Asian-Americans, particularly those who look like Chinese, find themselves as a perennial target for hatred, distrust, and violence. Race relation in the US often refers to a Black-and-White binary. The pandemic-related racial profiling however reminds us once again that race relation goes beyond a binary; it stretches to and intersects with what surfaces nearby the black-and-white binary. The Chinese, not black and not white, are interwoven into a colossal racial web that, at a given moment, includes while excluding, elevates certain racial groups while lowering or simply stepping on other ones, and protects freedom and equality of some while depriving these unalienable rights form others. The paradoxical duality struggles to define patriotism and nationalism, so much so that American cultural values since the inception conceived a vertical racial hierarchy inextricably associated with the lofty ideals of freedom and equality.

These cultural paradoxes, once built into the very foundation of the nation, can be traced to the very beginning when the British explored and settled in North America in the seventeenth century, and throughout the heyday of the first British empire in the eighteenth century across the Atlantic. America exerted fascination and idealization in such a way that puritan settlers regarded it as a promised land where they were destined to build a model city for the world to see. As a self-proclaimed builder, John Winthrop preached a sermon "A Model City of Christian Charity" in 1630 [2]. Since then, "a city upon a hill" has grown out of biblical pages to become a blueprint for a budding culture to grow and for a national psyche to develop. To pursue a life

of freedom, happiness, and equality is thus intimately aligned with the aspirations and nature of "a city upon a hill." Most importantly, the belief in a "beacon of hope" to illuminate the four corners of the world [2] drove the early puritan settlers to view this model city as a providential mission and themselves as chosen builders. Thus, a corresponding historical, religious, and sociopolitical order must be established to carry out such a mission and deliver such a belief. When adhering themselves to the qualities and attributes of the chosen people in the model city, the Anglo-Saxon puritans' sense of superiority and exclusivity immediately sparked and took roots in America; it quickly found its way into the foundation of the culture and the psyche of a nation-to-be. As this happened, the seeds of a racial hierarchy were planted in the "city" and the "beacon of hope" had its light ensconced from a chosen angle by the chosen holders. The ideal of freedom and equality was unwittingly thrown to a test that would write US history.

The racial hierarchy in US history was not erected overnight. Once regarding themselves as builders of a shining and model city upon the hill, as preached by Winthrop, the early puritan settlers took no time to build an Anglo-centered power base in the new world and position themselves as its protagonist. "The shining city" thus encapsulated an inherently Anglo space in the unfolding landscape of race relations and cultural characters. Native Americans bore no relevance to "the shining city," as in the minds of the early Anglo Protestants, the two worlds were not designed to merge. As the original owners and dwellers of American land, the Native Americans on one hand were not accounted for, in fact, entirely discarded from the history-making and culture-shaping project of building a model city. On the other hand, because of the political/religious and economic interests of this shining city project, native territories were encroached on, tribal political sovereignty was violated, and the indigenous way of life was ruined. All this was done to accommodate the building of the model city and to make the builders, aka, the group of the chosen people, possible to carry out their destined American Project of a shining model city.

When it comes to the definition of America and its cultural characteristics, the Anglo builders had no intention to include anyone who looked different from them. The advantage to be the first cross-Atlantic to lay out the rules and set up governing bodies in the new world unapologetically secured the early English-speaking settlers a ruling station at the very top of a hierarchy of power. On the highest tier of the hierarchy, the Anglo Protestants rule over who got included or excluded from the model city. From the very beginning, the power to shape American culture and institutions has rested in the White-Anglo-Saxon Protestants' (the WASP) hands—an explicit WASP power base and an implicit WASP-dominated racial hierarchy. The early colonists, as chosen and superior individuals, inserted themselves on the top of the pecking order in the new world and perpetuated the consistently implied message of their superiority, authority, and power. Further, through successive periods of history, the English language, Christianity (Protestantism), and unbreakable British ties and institutions were inherited and embraced in America. Institutionally and culturally, the WASP values and interests were set up as the standards and the main definer for the new nation. A racial and cultural hierarchy was erected in the psyche of the nation. In fact, this hierarchy "has never been altered, in spite of the challenges of new cultural DNA pooled from the Civil War and the Civil Rights Movement in particular" [2].

In inclusion and exclusion, the model city blueprinted a nation; the power hierarchy evolved into an architecture upon which a Euro-centric culture was sprouted like climbing vines. This is an architecture that supports a power hierarchy as well as a racial hierarchy, with continuous inclusion and exclusion, revolving around the will, the need, and the interests of the WASPs. Behind the noble and humanistic ideal of freedom and equality, an underlying racial hierarchy was taking place, permeating the fabric of the society and infiltrating institutions, organizations, and systems.

The sense of moral superiority and the sense of a divine mission set the early WASPs free from persecution and injustice exercised in the old world. At the same time, these "common senses" tied them to a blithe proprietorship of righteousness and entitlement, dressed with the ideal of freedom and equality. In 1780, Thomas Jefferson used the phrase "Empire of Liberty" to describe the new nation in his letter to George Rogers Clark (http://wiki.monticello.org/mediawiki/index.php/ Empire\_of\_liberty). While the American Revolution was still being fought, Jefferson set his goal to create an imperial America that would extend westwards over the entire American continent. In 1804 right after the Louisiana Purchase 1803, he made his presidential intention explicit to duplicate "a government so free and economical as ours, as a great achievement to the mass of happiness which is to ensue" (Jefferson to Dr. Joseph Priestley, 29 January 1804 https://founders.archives.gov/documents/ Jefferson/01-42-02-0322). As the Empire of Liberty doubled in the territory, the model city in New England sent its builders to the American West and the Pacific shores. The WASP values and Anglo power hierarchy traveled throughout from the Atlantic coast to the Pacific coast. Interventionism and expansionism went hand in hand and were regarded as proactive and benevolent for America's visibility and influence in a new world order as well as for a power hierarchy and control in the newly doubled territory at home. The "Empire of Liberty" envisaged by Jefferson extended "the City upon a hill" Westwards over the American continent.

In the process of achieving happiness for the mass, the triangle slave trade— Africa to West Indies to North America—prospered and African slaves proved to be commodities, laying the economic foundation of "the Empire of Liberty." In the WASP-dominated racial hierarchy, the African slaves were placed on the bottom tier. Yes, they were part of the model city and the Empire of Liberty, dehumanized and exploited with no rights and no upward opportunities. For slave builders of the Empire of Liberty, the pursuit of freedom, happiness, and equality sounded like a cruel irony and a remote fantasy. Clearly, these grand pursuits were only intended for the WASPS, particularly the male WASPS. With the presence of African slaves staggered below Native Americans in social status, the new republic could not help but let a racial hierarchy take roots in its economy, market, and trade. Like Native Americans, African Americans found no dignified place for them in the model city or the Empire liberty, except at the very bottom of the racial hierarchy. As the nation was in the making, especially in the first 100 years of US history, a racial hierarchy was step by step contoured and configured. Skin colors became colors of power, control, access, and social status. Most significantly, the color line was drawn between those who belong to the shining, model city, by extension, the Empire of Liberty, and those who do not. Nation building built the racial hierarchy and the racial hierarchy became part of the nation.

#### **2.2 Immigration and nativism: placing the Chinese on the racial hierarchy**

Nativism stemmed from anti-immigration sentiments. In addition to Native Americans and African slaves, racial diversity encompasses immigrants in an immigrant country. This is particularly true when examining the Asian American experience. The seventeenth and eighteenth centuries saw settlers coming to these shores for personal freedom and relief from political and religious persecution. The nineteenth century witnessed massive immigrants to the USA, fleeing famine and crop failure, seeking land and job opportunities, and avoiding high taxes. The US was perceived as the land of economic opportunity, not unlike the present day. During the period of 1870–1900, the vast majority of immigrants were from Germany, Ireland, and England—the principal sources of immigration before the Civil War. Parallelly starting from the mid-nineteenth century, a relatively large group of Chinese immigrated to the United States. Back in China, the late 1880s can only be described as a chaotic society in the post-Opium War instability, consumed with poverty, famine, displacement and violence. Especially along the southern coastal areas like Guangdong and Hainan provinces and their seaport towns, starvation, destitution, and diseases went rampant. To escape the internal chaos and find a better life was a natural impetus for the southerners; the Chinese from Guangzno had the advantage of being closer to seaports than their inland countrymen. Macao, a southern China seaport colonized by the Portuguese, and Hong Kong, another port colonized by the British, thus became the West Africa in East Asia in recruiting, selling, and shipping Chinese labors, known as "coolies," meaning "heavy-duty" labors.

As a result of these historical circumstances, the mid-nineteenth century exodus of opportunity seekers from China crossed the Pacific with destinations in both North and South Americas. In the USA, the major influx of the Chinese immigrants landed in California during the gold rush 1849–1882, even when federal law stopped their immigration. Before landing in the Americas, the coolies were already second-class citizens at the disposal of their sellers and buyers in the labor market. "Even the willing immigrants did not leave as colonists to a new home. They desired to be sojourners—to earn money and then return to China" [3]. Those who were not recruited by European labor dealers, escaped from the two ports—Macao and Hong Kong—by whatever means. Most of the Chinese who came to the Americas were male farmers and villagers; they typically glued together in an unknown and often hostile environment. Many of them were from the same village or the same extended family. In the USA, they largely congregated in the West around San Francisco area.

From White American establishments' viewpoint, the Chinese was out of place and incongruent with the racial make-up in the American soil. The arrival of the Chinese stirred up a similar racial resentment. Historian Erica Lee points out, "American xenophobia came to focus more on race rather than on religion during the anti-Chinese movement" [4]. Immediately placed on one of the lowest tiers on the racial hierarchy, "the Chinese immigrants were a distinct people […] whom nature has marked as inferior" [5]. At the same time, the Chinese immigration "was described as an invasion" [6]. San Francisco mayor Frank McCoppin described the Chinese as: "'[…] thoroughly antagonistic in every particular, in race, color, language, religion, civilization, and habits of life all together from our people.' Should Chinese immigration continue unchecked, he dramatically claimed, they would simply run over our land" [7].

It was a clearly anti-Chinese climate. As mentioned previously, in the nineteenth century and especially the second half, there was an unprecedented surge of immigration waves. Irish and German immigrants in the mid and late nineteenth century drove the statics. "Between 1800 and 1930, more than 4.5 million Irish immigrants came to the USA, including 1.5 million in the 1840s and 1850s" (https://www.google. com/search?q=immigration+in+the+19th+century+in+the+united+states&rlz=1C 1CHBF\_enUS715US715&oq=immigration+in+the+19th+century+in+&aqs=chrom e.2.69i57j33i160l5j33i299j33i22i29i30l3.12031j0j9&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8).

#### *Tracing the Roots of Anti-Chinese Sentiments in US History DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.107016*

While the Chinese started to find their way into the USA during the second half of the nineteenth century, Northern and Western Europeans including Great Britain never stopped their entries, and in fact, they accelerated immigration in numbers and frequency, overwhelming the number of the Chinese. Nearly 12 million immigrants arrived in the USA between 1870 and 1900. The absolute number of immigrants in the country rose from less than 2.5 million in 1850 to more than 13.5 million in 1910 [8]. That boosted immigrants as a share of the population to 15%, from 10%, over the period [8]. The anti-Chinese climate was well situated in the massive immigration backdrop. In the face of the "threat" of increased Catholic and other non-Protestant presence, the fear to take away native-born Americans' jobs and "pollute" American values overshadowed the sociopolitical and cultural landscape. In terms of the Chinese presence, fear towards them is an understatement. Because of the nonwhite race of the Chinese, their non-Christian way of life, and their non-alphabetic language, the Chinese experienced a multiply charged hatred and discrimination in comparison with their White European immigrant counterparts. Bearing no relevance to Native Americans, WAST-centered nativism subjugated all immigrants, whether of Euro-descent or Asian descent, to a racial and cultural hierarchy.

Nativism was the signature of the Know Nothing Party in the mid-1885, which was also known as the American Party, a significant third party in US history. At its height in the 1850s, "the Know Nothing party, included more than 100 elected congressmen, eight governors, a controlling share of half-a-dozen state legislatures from Massachusetts to California, and thousands of local politicians" [9]. The Know Nothing Party had its origin in the secret society, known as the Order of the Star Spangled Banner or OSSB [9]. The OSSB was:

*… a pureblooded pedigree of Protestant Anglo-Saxon stock and the rejection of all Catholics. And above all, members of the secret society weren't allowed to talk about the secret society. If asked anything by outsiders, they would respond with, "I know nothing." [9].*

"Party members supported deportation of foreign beggars and criminals; a 21-year naturalization period for immigrants; mandatory Bible reading in schools; and the elimination of all Catholics from public office" [9]. The Know Nothing party eventually pushed forward a nativist movement in defense of the exclusiveness and purity of the Anglo-Saxon and Protestant. In doing so, as Lorraine Boissoneault argues, the party members "wanted to restore their vision of what America should look like with temperance, Protestantism, self-reliance, with American nationality and work ethic enshrined as the nation's highest values" [9]. More than that, the nativist movement conveniently aligned the WASP core values with the sacred Star Spangled Banner and dictated that the WASPs were the only and pure Americans in blood and in faith. Anyone who deviated from the WASP version of America would be deemed undesirable and must be regarded as un-American and unfit for the Republic. Thus, inflamed xenophobia, conspiracy theories, and anti-immigration, coupled with racism and discrimination, erupted in tandem at the height of immigration waves in the midnineteenth century. All this created an intolerant, exclusive, and vertical culture as well as a power order, where the racial hierarchy took its firm hold.

To address nativism, historian John Higham (1920–2003) in his landmark book *Strangers in the land: patterns of American nativism, 1860–1925* [10] "makes clear in his account that he feels nativism was basically a variant of nationalism" especially during the period that he studied [11]. In his view, nativism acts "as a defensive type of nationalism or an intense opposition to an internal minority on the grounds of the group's foreign connections" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nativism\_(politics)). We argue that the intense nationalism adheres to the WASP values, associated with the model city upon a hill, its chosen builders, and ultimately, the Empire of Liberty; it became a racial nationalism. Higham also defines nativism as a set of attitudes or a state of mind and sets his work to "trace an emotionally charged impulse" rather than "an actual social process or condition" [12]. Whether socially and psychologically, it is the racial nationalism derived from nativism effectively situates the Chinese on one of the lowest tiers of the racial hierarchy. Further, it sparked and fueled anti-Chinese and anti-Asian sentiments at the early stage of the Republic.

#### **2.3 The railroad construction and the Chinese exclusion act: constitutionalizing the racial hierarchy**

In the second half of the nineteenth century, America, as an emerging world power about to enter the "Gilded Age." The country was in need of a lifeline linking the country from east to west; that lifeline was the Transcontinental Railroad. At the cheapest possible cost, who would be the hardworking and life-risking workers to construct America's lifeline through the most treacherous terrain on the West coast? The answer was clear, the Chinese. On one hand, the Yellow Peril disrupted the harmony of "the model city on the hill," and threatened its purity. Then, on the other hand, the cheap Chinese workers were much in need for the construction of the Union Pacific portion of the transcontinental railroad. They were needed in the building of an America that would become a superpower in the world.

Since the early nineteenth century, the arrival of the Chinese consistently stirred up racial resentment. They came first as merchants and sailors and then were bought or brought to American soil to construct railroads as cooli from the 1850s to 1860s. Racially inferior in American racial hierarchy, the work ethic, endurance, and irreplaceable contributions of the Chinese were unjustly erased from history. Instead, their physical attributes and the perceived threat to the "pure blood" of those on the top tier stood out as a national issue. "The Chinese immigrants were a distinct people […] whom nature has marked as inferior" [5]. The Chinese immigration "was described as an invasion" [6]. The previous section discussed the then San Francisco mayor Frank McCoppin's unvarnished racist, derisive, and threatened views on the Chinese; he represented the institutionalized mindset of the White establishment. To coexist with the Chinese posed the Yellow Peril to the White norms and Christian ways of life. The Chinese culture, with a foundation in Taoism, stresses the balance between the Yin and the Yang to maintain the Tao in the cycle of life and in harmony with nature's laws in any surroundings. However, their presence in the WASP's model city upon a hill certainly disrupted the WASP's order and disharmonized the White purity. The cultural and racial distance made the Chinese "unassimilable," "disharmonious," and perilous to the model city as well as to the Empire of Liberty.

In the 1860s, the Chinese were employed to build the Central Pacific portion of the First Transcontinental Railroad. It was when the joint forces of xenophobia and racism openly identified the Chinese as the Yellow Peril and fueled the creation of the federal Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. This only race-based law in the USA effectively banned further Chinese immigration as well as naturalization. The anti-Chinese line extended through the McCarthy era, the Cold War, and in the last four decades, the trade war and the competition in the global market. Not surprisingly, the anti-Chinese sentiments once again are of the closet in the present pandemic and post-pandemic time.

The racial element in the Sinophobia throughout American history and nation building sets it apart from other anti-immigration laws and policies. In the midnineteenth century, the Know Nothing Party waged an anti-Catholic, anti-Irish and anti-immigration movement. Scrutinizing the xenophobic framework of nativism, Lee discusses the particular Chinese racial element in Ref. to the Irish and Catholic "inferiority": "Although the Know Nothings had claimed that Irish belonged to the socalled Celtic race, the Irish had always remained white. The Chinese were different. They were unquestionably not white and would never be able to become 'American,' anti-Chinese activists argued" [13]. Once again, the racial hierarchy embraced by nativists reminded us that citizenship was based on one's religion, skin color and physical attributes.

White European immigrants were fragmented and hierarchized within themselves more in religion and social status than race. In the face of the Chinese presence, all of a sudden, the Euro-immigrants magically became cohesive and united because of the similarity of their skin color. The shared whiteness was too akin to be shattered once a drastically different presence irrupted on the scene—the distant Chinese alien embodying the Yellow Peril and contaminating the American landscape. Lee continues her analysis by quoting the statements made at the San Francisco meeting on the Chinese immigration, recorded in San Francisco Bulletin, April 17, 1876: "Instead, the Chinese" are of a distinct race, of a different and particular civilization,' one anti-Chinese resolution proclaimed at the San Francisco meeting. 'They do not speak our language, do not adopt our manners, customs or habits, are Pagan in belief.' The Chinese immigration, the organization committee, concluded, was "an evil of great present magnitude" [13]. Thus, the Chinese found themselves condemned to an invisible chain hooked tightly to the bottom of the racial hierarchy in the land of the free.

Anti-Chinese politicians and activists gave little thought to "African Americans, Mexican Americans, and the hundreds of indigenous nations who were already present in California" [14]. These individuals were not considered citizens or full citizens in the Republic, therefore, totally irrelevant to the American ideal of freedom and equality. Meanwhile, not without struggles, all European immigrants were successively admitted to the category of "our own people" [14]. In Lee's arguments, a multiple equation can be established: whiteness equals "our own people," "our own people" equals European descendants, European descendants equal good and noble, good and noble equal America, Americas equals the ideal of democracy and freedom. Therefore, whiteness is superior and the definition of America, and anything otherwise would logically be rendered as un-American or anti-American or simply evil. On the flip side, the "evil" of the Yellow Peril consists of the potential to make America impure of whiteness, English language, and Christianity/Protestantism; or even worse, to make America unrecognizable with the presence of a race that is so different in every possible way.

If the Chinese immigration is not curtailed and restricted, "Chinese would occupy the entire Pacific coast, build a colony, and wipe out the white population. The people of California had but one disposition upon this grave subject […] and that is an open and pronounced demand upon the Federal Government for relief" [15]. Therefore, to exclude the Chinese from American society and rid the Chinese from American soil is an act of nationalism and patriotism, defending white men's power base and the "American" values. The passage of the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act "legalized xenophobia on an unprecedented scale" [4]. Sinophobia integrates xenophobia with racism; this gives constitutional green light to virulence and violence towards the Chinese.

In relation to the Chinese, the racial hierarchy was most visible and felt during the 1860s and 1870s, especially during the construction of the First Transcontinental Railroad in the 1860s, coinciding with the Civil War and Reconstruction. Transcontinental railroads were seen as a connecting line that would bring the nation together, economically, politically, and culturally. As lifelines integrating eastern and western markets, the rails were much-needed engines of growth and production but also of uniting a deeply divided nation. The Chinese experience was inserted in the construction of the Transcontinental Rails, which represented endless possibilities for the country's connections and integration. Symbolically, the project would bring Americans together and flatten race relations in the building of a connected nation. Nonetheless, this proved to be a two-decade prelude to the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882.

The promoters of the Central Pacific, Southern Pacific and Union Pacific railroads had lucrative goals in mind before anything else. Chinese immigrants were cheap and handy laborers to be employed for the construction of the western portion of the railroad—the Central Pacific line that began in Sacramento. The transcontinental railroads were built in an environment with limited regulatory capacity. Historian Ronald Takaki addresses the racial inequity in that era, "Chinese laborers were paid thirty-one dollars each month, and while white workers were paid the same, they were also given room and board" [16]. Many of them did not speak English and kept the Chinese village/peasant way of life. The only goal for them was to make some money and send it back home. Poverty and desperation reduced them to endure inhuman conditions and treatments without a voice. Hardworking, handy, disciplined, diligent, and quiet, they made ideal workers in the field.

In time, the railroad construction employers realized the advantages of low waged Chinese workers, "Chinese labor proved to be Central Pacific's salvation" [17], and "was the most vital source for constructing the railroad" [18]. That Central Pacific covers treacherous terrain with the need for both low-skilled and skilled labor. Chinese immigrants proved to be the most vital source in the labor market, as they had exactly what was needed for the job. Fifty Cantonese emigrant workers were hired by the Central Pacific Railroad in February 1865 on a trial basis, and soon more and more Cantonese emigrants were hired [19]. As many as 20,000 Chinese workers helped build the treacherous western portion of the railroad, known as the Central Pacific. The Chinese workers distinguished themselves for obedience to the authority, endurance of hardship, diligence to carry out their duties, dexterity in manual work, inscrutability in their thinking and feelings, and the lack of the ability to command English language, to grasp Western cultural nuances and to file a complaint for unequal pay. All these incongruent characteristics played a double-edged sword in defining Chinese workers' cultural space in relation to the epic project of the Continental Railroad.

On May 10, 1869, the inauguration of the first Transcontinental Railroad in Promontory, Utah should have been a seminal and redeeming page in the history of the Chinese immigrants, but it turned out to be a historical moment of humiliation for the Chinese. When the authorities of the Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads came together to celebrate the joining the tracks, "[…] many of the workers who had built the railroad were all but invisible at the ceremony, and in its retelling for many years afterward. They included about 15,000 Chinese immigrants—up to 90 percent of the work force on the Central Pacific line—who were openly discriminated against, vilified and forgotten" [20].

#### *Tracing the Roots of Anti-Chinese Sentiments in US History DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.107016*

The Transcontinental Railroad was a joint venture, carried out by both Chinese and Irish workers. One laid tracks eastward to build the Central Pacific line, and one created westward the other portion of the nation's lifeline—the Union Pacific line. Both raced to Promontory Summit, Utah to meet. Museums and libraries keep precious pictures from May 10, 1869, only to show Irish workers celebrating the joining of the tracks with the leaders of both lines. The Chinese workers were however conspicuously invisible, not in the picture, because they were "an inferior race," so determined California senator, business tycoon, and founder of Stanford University Mr. Leland Stanford. As a major investor in the Central Pacific line, Mr. Stanford had no intention to include the Chinese laborers in the pictures taken on that glorious day for the nation and thus they were purposefully discarded from history.

Transcontinental Railroad marked a transformation from a months-long journey to a-week travel across the country and re-conceptualized time and space in a revolutionary way. Chang and Fishkin state that "in the United States, the story of the transcontinental railroad is usually rendered within the parameters of the grand rise of the American nation" [21]. It boosted national pride and unity. Chang and Fishkin continue to expand the cultural meaning of the transcontinental railroads:

*Begun in 1862 and completed in 1869, the first transcontinental line is celebrated in mainstream American life as well as in scholarship as one of the signal episodes of national life, elevated by some even to the level of importance of the Declaration of Independence. The railroad is honored as a "marvel" of American engineering and energy, as a "work of giants." It is presented as a physical and metaphoric bind that united the nation politically, economically, and socially. Linked to the recent end of the Civil War, the completion of the first transcontinental railroad is presented as a heroic contribution in over-coming the bloody division and in healing national wounds [22].*

While the nation was on the rise and in celebration, the Chinese sank into its bottom and vanished in obscurity in spite of their vital role in building the nation. To address the "Yellow Peril" and guard the "purity" of American values, on May 6th, 1882, President Chester A. Arthur signed into law the Chinese Exclusion Act. This piece of federal legislation was designed as never before to single out a particular race and nationality for exclusion—the Chinese. Barring those already here from citizenship and making it illegal for them to come to America for work. Only the Chinese who had been born in the USA or who came to the USA as merchants, students and tourists were allowed to enter [23]. Chinese laborers residing in California before 1880 were allowed to remain; once they left the United States, however, they could not return [23]. The Exclusion Act constitutionalized the racial hierarchy and made it clear how the nation defines who an American was and what being an American meant. By the Constitution, it sends the Chinese to the very bottom of the racial hierarchy. The particular exclusion of the Chinese remained intact and practically helpless from 1882 to 1943, when the law was finally repealed by the Magnuson Act.

#### **3. Conclusion: the American experiment**

As an immigrant country, the United States is a constellation of cultures, traditions, and people from the four corners of the world. The African-Americans, the Asian-Americans, the Hispanic-Americans, the Native Americans, and the White

Americans have been interacting with one another for almost 250 years since 1776 if we set the pre-1776 history aside. After a close examination of the Chinese experience and the roots of anti-Chinese sentiments in the USA, the term "melting pot" sounds like a cliché. The making of the USA has shown the "pot" was initially designed by the WASPs and did not necessarily fit everyone. The unavoidable coexistence of the fit and the unfit sparks the paradox of the ideal of equality and the racial hierarchy, both embedded in the Constitution, the sociopolitical systems, the cultural and religious institutions, and above all, in the psyche of the nation. The interactions among different racial groups have never been all roses and blue skies, but full of encounters, confrontations, negotiations, rejections, or at times, assimilations. In some cases, violence and bloodshed are the cost for freedom and racial justice. The Chinese-American experience testifies to how a racial hierarchy was built side by side with the building of the nation, how it can dehumanize and make certain race or ethnicity sink into hopeless darkness in the name of nationalism and patriotism.

Like the good and the evil on the same tree in the Garden of Eden, the WASPs' ideal for freedom and equality has indeed become a beacon to the world. It has and will continue to attract countless immigrants to these shores for the undying American Dream. Nonetheless, along the way, the WASPs and general Whiteestablishments assigned democracy, freedom, and equality exclusively to themselves with no regard to groups and individuals of color. The irreconcilable duality of equality/discrimination, inclusion/exclusion, and acceptance/rejection among others coexisted in the Founding Fathers, White cultural thinkers and architects as well as in non-White communities. The American racial hierarchy was born from a sense of racial and cultural superiority because of the need to control, be in charge, and rule. Although not immediately explicit on the surface, the racial hierarchy permeates the fabric of our society. It has caused the darkest and unforgivable moments in history, traumatized people of color from generation to generation, divided the nation into unbridgeable tribes, and stirred up bitter cultural wars. Clearly, the Chinese-American experience is part of a much bigger American story. The Chinese had and still have to struggle for their place in the American narrative.

America has a destiny. More than three fourths of the world immigrants have ended up in these lands, where people find themselves in a kaleidoscope of races and ethnicities, religious backgrounds, and multi-languages. To achieve an integral and harmonious existence driven by equality, America has to be a colossal and cosmic experiment with a constellation of diversities. The Chinese experience is one test of the colossal American experiment to prove the uttermost ideal of freedom and equality and to overcome the racial hierarchy. Pulitzer prize winning-author Jill Lepore in her recent book *These Truths: A History of the United States* [24] dances back and forth between empirical history and intellectual history when examining the American experiment. To the author, American culture is a process of contested and tested truths (in plural), but to grasp the ultimate truth one has to deal with contradictory truths along the way:

*The American experiment had not ended. A nation born in revolution will forever struggle against chaos. A nation founded on universal rights will wrestle against the forces of particularism. A nation toppled a hierarchy of birth only to erect a hierarchy of wealth will never know tranquility. A nation of immigrants cannot close its borders. And a nation born in contradiction, liberty in a land of slavery, sovereignty in a land of conquest, will fight, forever, over the meaning of history [25].*

#### *Tracing the Roots of Anti-Chinese Sentiments in US History DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.107016*

Equality and racial hierarchy contradict one another. They must be the American Experiment, as history has shown there have always been two forces in competition: one subjects the Chinese to the racial hierarchy and one pushes the Chinese to fight for freedom and equality—the same American Dream embraced by the WASPs and non-WASPs. With the understanding of the anti-Chinese roots in history, the force that pulls the Chinese away from the racial hierarchy continues to do so in the present moment.

### **Author details**

Mimi Yang Carthage College, Kenosha, WI, USA

\*Address all correspondence to: myang@carthage.edu

© 2022 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

### **References**

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[2] Yang M. Trumpism: A disfigured Americanism. Palgrave Communications. 2018;**4**(117):3. DOI: 10.1057/ s41599-018-0170-0

[3] Huesmann, James L. The Chinese in Costa Rica, 1855-1897, The Historian 53, no. 4 (Summer 1991): 713

[4] Lee E. America for Americans: A history of xenophobia in the United States. New York, NY: Basic Books; 2019. p. 79

[5] Lee E. America for Americans: A history of xenophobia in the United States. New York, NY: Basic Books; 2019. p. 84

[6] Lee E. America for Americans: A history of xenophobia in the United States. New York, NY: Basic Books; 2019. p. 88

[7] Stanley G. Frank Pixley and the Heathen Chinese. Phylon. 1979;**40**(3):224-228. Cited in Lee, America for Americans, 88

[8] Kopf, Dan. "Places in the U.S. that took more immigrants in the 19th century still benefit economically from it." The more the merrier. 2022. https://qz.com/989099/ the-places-in-america-that-took-inmore-immigrants-in-the-19th-centuryare-richer-today-because-of-. [Accessed: August 3, 2022]

[9] Boissoneault L. How the 19thcentury know nothing party reshaped American politics. Smithsonian

Magazine. 2017. Available from: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/ history/immigrants-conspiracies-andsecret-society-launched-americannativism-180961915/. [Accessed: August 4, 2022]

[10] Higham J. Strangers in the Land: Patterns of American Nativism, 1860- 1925. 2nd ed. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press; 1988

[11] Bodnar, John. Culture without power: A review of John Higham's Strangers in the Land. Journal of American Ethnic History. 1990, Vol. 10 Issue ½, p. 80

[12] Higham, John. Strangers in the land: Patterns of American nativism, 1860- 1925. Rutgers UP, 1955; new edition, with new epilogue, 2002. These two quotes are from the book review. https:// www.thriftbooks.com/w/strangersin-the-land-patterns-of-americannativism-1860-1925\_john--higham/4833 33/#edition=1873889&idiq=7289262

[13] Lee E. America for Americans: A history of xenophobia in the United States. New York, NY: Basic Books; 2019. p. 76

[14] Lee E. America for Americans: A history of xenophobia in the United States. New York, NY: Basic Books; 2019. p. 78

[15] Lee E. America for Americans: A history of xenophobia in the United States. New York, NY: Basic Books; 2019. p. 77

[16] Takaki R. A History of Asian Americans: Strangers from a different shore. 2nd ed. New York, NY: Little, Brown and Company; 1989. p. 85

*Tracing the Roots of Anti-Chinese Sentiments in US History DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.107016*

[17] White R. Railroaded: The transcontinentals and the making of modern America. New York: W. W. Norton & Co.; 2011. p. 166

[18] Chang GH, Fishkin SF. The Chinese and the Iron Road: Building the Transcontinental Railroad. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press; 2019. p. 238

[19] Chang GH, Fishkin SF. The Chinese and the Iron Road: Building the Transcontinental Railroad. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press; 2019. p. 33

[20] Zraick K. Chinese railroad workers were almost written out of history. Now they're getting their due. The New York Times. 2019. Available from: https:// www.nytimes.com/2019/05/14/us/ golden-spike-utah-railroad-150thanniversary.html. A version of this article appears in print on May 18, 2019, Section A, Page 14 of the New York edition with the headline Looking Back to Human Face of a Monumental Feat

[21] Chang GH, Fishkin SF. The Chinese and the Iron Road: Building the Transcontinental Railroad. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press; 2019. p. 27

[22] Quotations are from Leland Stanford, Statement Made to the President of the United States, and Secretary of the Interior, of Progress of the Work (Sacramento: H. S. Crocker & Co., 1865); cited in Chang and Fishkin, The Chinese and the iron road, 27

[23] Act of May 6, 1882 (22 stat. 58). It was an act to execute certain treaty stipulations relating to the Chinese. https://www.loc.gov/law/help/statutesat-large/47th-congress/session-1/ c47s1ch126.pdf

[24] Lepore J. These truths: A history of the United States. New York and London: Norton and Company Inc; 2018

[25] Truths T. A history of the United States. New York and London: Norton and Company Inc; 2018. p. 786

### *Edited by Vito Bobek and Tatjana Horvat*

This book provides a comprehensive overview of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), including their development, structure, marketing, and challenges. It is divided into two sections: "Management Aspects of NGOs in the Area of Development, Marketing and Sourcing", and "Case Studies of NGOs". Chapters discuss the development of NGOs and present case studies of NGOs in various countries, including Ethiopia, Bangladesh, South Africa, and others. They also address such topics as NGOs in the healthcare sector, the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the humanitarian supply chain, and how NGOs can protect and preserve cultural heritage.

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