Dependency on external supports: An addition to community vulnerability

Abstract

In developing countries Non-governmental organizations (NGO) often get involved in development activities and provide supports for diminishing vulnerability through improving community capacities. Considering the context of involvement of NGOs, this research through studying two settlements in the Haor region of Bangladesh investigates the community resilience status, more specifically their current expectations from NGOs. Findings indicate that NGOs’ usual projects focus mainly on enhancing food security and eliminating poverty, targeting socio-economic and/or non-structural issues, whereas, communities from flood-prone Haor region prefer to have infrastructure-based development for ensuring permanent protection of their settlement from flood damages. NGOs’ regular projects or programs are small in scale and usually don’t enable communities to act independently now or in the future. Even after receiving external supports for extended periods, communities expect to receive further external supports for further development or improvement which can enhance their flood resilience level. In this way, the ‘incentive-induced development’, as an outcome of organized forms (organizational, technological and financial) of external supports, develops dependency on external supports among these communities. Identifying dependency on external supports is a new addition to community vulnerability. This research contributes to understanding risks and questions the usual practices of providing NGO supports to vulnerable communities.