Dastkar’s Nature Bazaar always wears a festive look with flags fluttering bright in the sun, colourful tents, folk music and handicrafts galore. That’s why I was disconcerted by my friend Veena’s somber face inside Karm Marg stall. She was busy on the phone, and before I knew what was wrong, she had slipped away to not return for the rest of the day. “What’s up?” I queried the next morning. She rubbed her eyes tiredly: “We’re having funding issues. The financial meltdown in the West has been quite tough on organisations like ours that have benefited greatly from foreign aid...”
For over a decade now, Karm Marg has provided a loving home to a variety of children and young adults from disadvantaged backgrounds.
The NGO provides infrastructure that not only enables children to learn vocational skills, but also acts as a strong support system for them. “We have a great income generation programme, which has contributed partially to the running of Karm Marg,” said Veena, the president of the NGO, pointing to her buzzing stall managed by “her” children. Under the brand “Jugaad”, Karm Marg markets ingenuous recycled, eco-friendly products which clearly had quite a following in Nature Bazaar. Until the recession, Jugaad’s domestic and export income used to go into the organisation’s savings. Today, however, reduced export earnings have made the NGO more dependent on funding than ever.
Until last year, the NGO received aid from the US, the Netherlands and the UK. But with the recession, funding was squeezed. “To be fair to our backers, they had warned us last year that this might happen, and we weren’t unprepared for the crunch,” said Veena. However, what the NGO is now finding hard to deal with is the fact that the funding it is now getting has far too many strings attached. “While most of our backers are still willing to give money to fund our children’s education and healthcare, few seem willing to pitch in for administration costs and salaries of carers,” said she.
Karm Marg, as a result, is in the peculiar situation of having just enough money to meet only the physical needs of its inmates and not for the nurturing which is equally important for them. Karm Marg is running short of money to buy raw materials to keep its production facilities running smoothly. “Of the 54 children staying with us, half are under 12,” said Veena, adding, “We should ideally have a minimum of five care workers for them, but can’t afford more than two.” The older inmates pitch in, but the situation isn’t ideal. In happier times, Karm Marg’s children went camping, trekking and volunteering with other NGOs. Some attended dance classes, others learnt soccer, music and art. The construction of new toilet facilities at Karm Marg was to start this year. “But today, since the funds we receive are all tied up and can be used only for paying school fees and medical bills, such activities have been stalled for the moment,” said Veena.
As we looked at the “Jugaad” stall, where bright silk patchwork bags and recycled newspaper baskets were selling briskly, Veena said, “Today, this income is all we have to pay the salaries of the 17 staff members we have.” So, as Veena went back to preparing reports for prospective financial backers, I sat in the sun reflecting that to give an NGO like Karm Marg funds only for education and health — and not for staff salaries and its income generation programme — will ensure that it will not become self-reliant in a hurry. Such is the irony of selective benevolence…
