World Neighbors

World Neighbors is a non-profit international development organization that works with some of the most remote and marginalized communities in ecologically fragile areas of Asia, Africa and Latin America. They support the transformation of communities by helping people address hunger, poverty, disease and other challenges that undermine their livelihoods, and by inspiring lasting leadership and collective action for change. The organization is not affiliated with any church or denomination.

World Neighbors was founded by Dr. John L. Peters in 1951, who died in 1992 after being the organization's executive director until 1977 and receiving two nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize. Peters launched the first World Neighbors programs in India, and the organization has now worked with more than 25 million people in 45 nations during its history. Currently, WN has programs in 16 countries located in Central and South America, Africa, and Asia.

Programs

World Neighbors works with partner organizations in approximately 64 programs in 16 countries: Haiti, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Bolivia, Peru, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Kenya, Tanzania, India, Nepal, Indonesia, The Philippines, and Timor Leste.

World Neighbors works with rural communities in remote areas, often with minority or lower-caste people who are excluded from the mainstream of economic development and decision making. Often in such areas the land and forests are degraded, there are few roads, little or no access to clean water or electricity and limited services, such as health care and schools. Infant and maternal death rates in some program areas are among the highest in the world.

The people in the area define their most urgent priorities and set their own agenda. Planning methods are used to ensure that all concerned groups in a community have a voice. World Neighbors program leaders help communities recognize the root causes of their problems and develop appropriate plans of action. The task of World Neighbors, as stated on its website, is "to encourage and empower people to succeed by acting together to solve their problems."

World Neighbors stays in a program area until communities and local organizations become strong enough to maintain their self-help activities. The average time is about eight to 10 years, though it varies greatly from country to country. For instance, World Neighbors had programs in the Dominican Republic from 1972-1974, while it has had programs in India and The Philippines from 1952 to the present.

How It Works

World Neighbors works to help people develop, manage and sustain their own programs. Most programs begin using locally available resources and simple, low-cost technologies. As people gain skills and confidence, local leaders and organizations emerge to carry on the work, multiply results and participate in coalitions advocating for wider change. The role of World Neighbors is to strengthen these basic human and organizational resources for long-term development.

In contrast to development organizations such as Mercy Corps or Feed the Children, World Neighbors does not give away food or material aid. Instead, it provides training so that people gain the skills and leadership to work together for change. The result is self-reliance, rather than dependence on external aid. World Neighbors does not determine the focus of the program, but asks people to set their own agenda. Programs include: food security, farming, literacy, health, family planning, water and sanitation, environmental conservation, savings and credit, non-formal education and income generation activities.

The Process

A seven step process for the World Neighbors programs, according to its website:

1. Select the areas where we work on the basis of need and opportunity.

2. Listen to what they have to say and what limits their success and establish a relationship of trust.

3. Help strengthen their capacity to identify, analyze and solve their own problems using locally available resources and the simplest tools to do the job.

4. Try new ideas on a small scale. Stay practical to generate early enthusiasm and success.

5. Help document the results and apply lessons learned to improve programs.

6. Reinforce their capacity to maintain and multiply results and ongoing problem-solving processes by forming new partnerships and by coordinating with additional villages and local organizations.

7. Widen program impact by documenting and sharing the results and processes with larger-scale organizations, villages, networks, coalitions and governments to influence policies and actions. [ [http://www.wn.org/programs_how.html World Neighbors - How We Work & Where We Work ] ]

Costs

World Neighbors annual budget is $7.5 million. Annually, more than 76 cents of every dollar spent is in support of World Neighbors overseas programs and its U.S. public education initiatives, according to wn.org. Less than 24 cents per dollar is used for fundraising or administrative costs. CharityNavigator.org listed similar figures, estimating that 75 percent of the company's expenses are used toward its programs, while 13 percent goes toward administrative expenses and 12 percent toward fundraising expenses. [ [http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm/bay/search.summary/orgid/4764.htm Charity Navigator Rating - World Neighbors ] ]

Since 1951, World Neighbors has been supported primarily through private donations. Gifts from individuals and charitable foundations represent the largest sources of income. The remainder is provided by income from endowments, donations from churches and civic organizations and grants from development assistance organizations.

Administration and Staff

A team of 41 staff members based in the United States provides support to 140 field staff members, more than 50 local partner organizations and hundreds of rural community-level volunteers throughout Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Most members of World Neighbors international program staff are citizens of the countries in which they work, and they work directly with rural people living in the most remote, ecologically fragile areas of our program areas. World Neighbors partners with existing local organizations already working in the area and supports their promoters to train community-level volunteers and leaders.

A volunteer board of trustees, whose members come from throughout the United States, governs World Neighbors. Melanie Macdonald, president and Chief Executive Officer, leads the organization's operations, and is assisted by a coordinating team composed of senior staff members.

2004 Restructure

In 2004, World Neighbors was facing a shrinking revenue base, inadequate internal communications and an outmoded infrastructure. That year MacDonald was appointed president and CEO of the company and a three-year plan was formed to make changes to the organization's human resources, financial reporting, resource development, marketing, governance and technology systems. World Neighbors has been working since April 2005 with TCC Group to raise the organization's profile, broaden its financial base, reformat accounting and reporting systems, and affirm the international scope of the vice president of HR. In the first year of the plan's implementation, World Neighbors volunteers increased from 100 to 600. [ [http://www.tccgrp.com/results/worldneighbors.php TCC Group | Results | World Neighbors ] ]

Charity information

World Neighbors is approved by the IRS as a 501 (c)(3) not-for-profit organization and is registered in all states that require charity registration. In addition, World Neighbors meets the standards of all significant charity watchdog agencies.

Contact Information

t: 800.242.6387

p: 405.752.9700

f: 405.752.9393

address: 4127 NW 122nd Street | Oklahoma City, OK | 73120 USA

References

External links

* [http://www.wn.org World Neighbors]
* [http://www.workofwomen.org Work of Women]