Why do NGOs exist today?
Two reasons: the retreat of centralized government and the keen interest of donors. In the era of governance reform, one of the NGO’s key mandates is to advance social, political, and economic development. To succeed at this, NGOs must reassess their operations. NGOs in the South ought to shift from implementing their own programs to building the community’s capacity to achieve sustainable livelihoods. And NGOs in the North ought to concentrate on helping Southern ones achieve their goals. 1.0 What Are NGOs? Turner and Hulme (1997, p. 200) define NGOs as “associations formed from within civil society bringing together individuals who share some common purpose.” Hulme (2001, p. 130) characterizes them (as well as civil society) as “peopled organizations [that] are both not part of the state structures, are not primarily motivated by commercial considerations or profit maximization, are largely self-governing, and rely on voluntary contributions (of finance, labour or materials) to a sig
