Happy New Year to all you
readers of this column by me, the son of an African man.
In this first column of 2003, I write about African/Black organisations
providing services in the HIV sector. The reasons are twofold: good
and bad.
Firstly, it is vital that these organisations continue to provide
a service to the community. It is important that the Black/African
organisations provide services to the people, as they are usually
the first points of contact and access with the people.
In doing so, organisations must be seen to be professional and transparent
to win the confidence of the people they serve and the funders who
provide the bulk of the resources.
African organisations exist because they are often in the best position
to understand our situation well and to continue to provide such
services. HIV itself is such a huge issue that despite reading a
lot and trying to come to terms with my own situation, I sometimes
cry and continue to question the origin of HIV and ‘why me?’
But this said, I really would like to see peace and tranquillity
in all organisations this year.
You see, I am writing this article with a heavy heart because of
what transpired at such an organisation’s recent meeting.
It was indeed sad that for such a dynamic, community-inspired African
HIV support group, there was such a lot of pushing and pulling,
mud-slinging and bloodletting.
If we are not careful we will all be losers - executives and ordinary
members alike - as organisations sink due to lack of funds. No sensible
funders will inject money into an organisation that is not stable.
The funders fear and hate infighting as they cannot be sure that
their ‘dosh’ will be properly used, knowing that during
a fight, combatants pick anything to try and destroy.
To the management of these organisations, I say ‘try and find
out what your members’ grievances are’. Also, if you
are a founder member of an organisation, it does not give you a
platinum licence to go to the grave with the organisation. Yes,
you might have started the organisation with your hard-earned money
but the organisation grows tentacles by way of help from other voluntary
and statutory agencies who require |
