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| Answerable to the use of public money, Arnold knows what it means to use every dollar donated to the World Vision to the optimum when it comes to helping the destitute the world over.
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| Arnold takes over as vice-president, Asia Pacific region of World Vision, one of the leading international relief and development agencies. He has been the chief executive officer of World Vision, Australia.
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| Arnold was in India recently to inaugurate the first of the 17 schools in the earthquake-ravaged Gujarat. Relief workers belonging to World Vision were the first on the scene to distribute aid after disaster struck the state on January 26, 2000.
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| Today this international non-government organisation (NGO) -- affiliated to the United Nations' agencies like WHO, UNICEF, and others -- is engaged in a 15-year development programme to build back Gujarat and empower the communities affected by the quake.
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| "My past role as a politician has helped me impart skills to World Vision in the way the organisation deals with government bodies and corporates," said Arnold.
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| He has been the chief executive officer of World Vision Australia for over six years, after he retired from his stint in politics. Arnold was the chief minister of the state of South Australia.
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| As a politician, Arnold used to regularly deal with multi-lateral agencies and the corporate sector. Today, he is trying to build stronger ties with corporates, moving away from the original 'knocking on their doors hoping to get them to write out a cheque or two'.
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| The idea now is to engage corporates to participate in the relief and development activity. This has been reflected in the first project of its kind, not only in India, but also perhaps across the world.
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| Tying up with BHP Steels of Australia, World Vision is reconstructing 85 classrooms in the earthquake-ravaged towns of Anjar, Bachau and Rapar districts in Gujarat.
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| BHP Biliton (a global resources company) and BHP Steel not only donated steel-building solutions worth over $200,000 for the use of reconstruction of schools, but also were involved in the construction process.
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| "Every rupee counts and we invite corporates to participate to see how their donations have been best utilised," said Arnold.
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| The challenge is always there to do things as cost-effectively as possible since public money is involved, he added.
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| Strengthening corporate relationships have just started yielding results. Majority of donations continue to come by way of child sponsorship programmes.
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| "Sixty per cent of World Vision funding is through child sponsorship programmes, which is the single largest means of raising funds to help communities," said World Vision India director Joseph Mathai.
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| Interested parties sponsor children selected from various communities. Part of the monthly donation goes towards meeting the child's day-to-day needs as well as looking after the needs of the community where the child lives.
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| "It acts like a window for the sponsor to see how the community is improving through the child sponsorship programme," said Mathai.
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| In India, it is possible to sponsor a child for as little as Rs 450 a month.
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| World Vision plays a larger role of being involved in the development of communities, as it takes a 15-year view. Unlike most other international relief organisations, World Vision, as a result of its long-term view, believes in having greater board representation from developing nations.
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| "Of the 24 board members, 15 are from developing nations," said Arnold.
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| He stated that many other similar relief and development organisations have greater number of expatriates since they believe that countries from where financial aid comes ought to greater say.
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| At World Vision, of its 1,700-strong staff, 95 per cent are 'inpatriates' and only five per cent expatriates, said Arnold, coning the new phrase himself.
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| "Nationals from developing countries best know what their communities need and want," he added.
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| Every year World Vision gives $1 billion in financial aid to 90 countries. Ninety per cent of the aid comes from developed countries such as the US, Canada, Australia, UK, New Zealand, Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan, Singapore and Malaysia.
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| Increasingly, developing nations are raising resources from within the country. Thailand raised as much as 50 per cent of its funds from among its own people.
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| In contrast, however, India has managed to raise less than 10 per cent of its own funding so far as World Vision is concerned, said Arnold.
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| "This works out to about Rs 6-7 crore annually," he added. |
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