Imagine a family where the totality of the work load is left to the hands of the father or mother alone. Providing for the house, cleaning the house, cooking for the house, representing the house and so on.
Sounds impossible right?
That is a practical example of how impossible it is for the government to be the only body driving social and economic growth in Nigeria, there is an impending need for the government to be assisted as much as possible. One of those helping hands are Non-profit Organizations, popularly known as NGO’s or Foundations. They all refer to the same surname which is “non-profit”.
A nonprofit organization is an entity that is created and operated for charitable or socially beneficial purposes rather than to make a profit. A nonprofit might serve religious, scientific, charitable, educational, literary, health, or animal welfare purposes. Non-profits perform a wide range of services aimed towards human wellbeing and social welfare. Non-profits also facilitate government policies to reach remote areas and enhance the overall effectiveness of social welfare schemes. These organizations relentlessly work towards development and bringing a positive change in the society. However, these non-profits may have different structures, activities and policies, but they are all committed towards their cause and perform their functions to achieve their respective goals.
The true activities of non-profits in the role of development cannot be contained in a single document, however, this article shall attempt to briefly highlight 5 major roles that non-profits play in the social and economic development in Nigeria.
Poverty Alleviation and Economic Empowerment: To many on the road, to those in the real slums, they recognize the efforts of non-profits beyond the government. This is because unlike the government, we have non-profits who have the sole aim of helping those who are too poor to be seen. A prominent example would be the popular Chess in slums Africa by Tunde Onakoya, a non-profit that went deep into the slums of Lagos to give a brighter future for young mind where it can be said that there is no government impact. The effect of non-profits attending to such poverty ridden places cannot be quantified. It has led to thousands of dollars in funding that has substantially helped these areas develop beyond their capacity.
Health Sector Interventions: Non-profits contribute significantly to improving the public health sector in Nigeria, especially in rural areas where government services are often inadequate or nonexistent. They provide essential healthcare services, including the fight against HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other communicable diseases. Non-profits also engage in health education campaigns to raise awareness about preventive healthcare practices. A very resounding non-profit that seeks to help those in need of health care is HACEY Health Africa, they have constantly provided healthcare to those in need of healthcare in places where there is no government reach and low access to healthcare.
Environmental Conservation and Sustainability: One major societal issue that is not talked about enough in Africa. We have climate issues that bother on the subject of environmental care, however, this seems not to be a priority for the Nigerian government. Over the years non-profits have helped to adequately mitigate this issue through periodical environmental cleaning and environmental sanitations, cleaning of public places filled with dirt.
These activities not only make the society more livable for us, it also allows for foreign attraction as it is known that a clean country is one which people would want to visit, just like visiting a friend with a clean room.
Education and Literacy Programs: Non-profits are involved in promoting education and functional literacy, particularly among disadvantaged groups such as women and children. They support initiatives to improve access to quality education, provide educational materials, and run adult literacy programs that help reduce illiteracy rates in the country. Non-profits like Naza agape Foundation have dedicated years to the promotion of SDG 4 which bothers on access to education for all. These non-profit serve as the reason why many children in slums have access to education and the chance at a better and brighter future.
Although we have said that non-profits are here to assist the government, it is only but necessary that we point out that the government also has a duty to assist these non-profits and recognize their impact in the development of Nigeria. There needs to financial and public support from the government. It is popularly said that if someone helps you do your duty the least you can do is to acknowledge them. Therefore, it is only but necessary that there is a helping hand from the government by way of financial aid and also public support such that the credibility of these non-profits is further established not just locally but also internationally.
In resting my wig, non-profits are a standing and necessary part of our development wheel. While many sit to enjoy, criticize or ignore, non-profits are fueled by a passion to solve a societal problem. This passion burning under the unending fire of Genuity is the reason why these organizations make so much impact with very little resources and time, they aren’t motivated by money nor are they motivated by selfish goals. It is however important that we all join hands and help these organizations, the government should enable strategic partnerships with these non-profits so as to enable a more efficient growth, also, the general public should be willing to volunteer and donate to the cause of a better tomorrow for us all.
Therefore, non-profits aren’t made to gain profits but they are here to give to us all the profit of a better society.
