Impact of Humanitarian organizations on education in Epworth Harare Province.

Chapter 1

Introduction

This chapter seeks to assess the ways in which material and financial aid which schools in Epworth
have been receiving in a bid to assist educational growth contributes to the educational development
of the schools and provision of education. It will be an in-depth analysis of the impact of
humanitarian aid to schools in marginalized areas.

Background of the study

Humanitarian aid has been controversial in many instances with people having different opinions as
to whether it benefits societies or it actually brings donor syndrome or dependency syndrome.
Having spent almost ten years teaching at Domboramwari High School in Epworth where
humanitarian aid is availed regularly have resulted into many unanswered questions in relation to
the suitability of this aid.

Domboramwari high school receives aid from a number of organizations like Plan International,
Mavambo, FAWEZI, Carpenum Trust, Tariro Trust and FACES among others. These organizations
are either foreign aid funded or locally funded like Carpenum Trust. The organizations have
provided funding for school fees, general upkeep of learners and building of infrastructure at
various levels. According to Casley D.J (1987) Foreign aid expands enrolments especially to basic
education. This study was prompted by a need to assess the contribution to improvements in
educational quality.

Whilst other organizations ask for disadvantaged but mentally gifted learners to assist others just
provide assistance without considering the ability of the learners. Whilst these fulfill the
constitutional requirements of providing education to all citizens without discrimination do they
develop a nation or a society since the pupils will end up in the streets having failed to acquire good
grades. Therefore the research would want to recommend how humanitarian aid can help impact
positively on such learners.

Some organizations like Mavambo once launched a progamme to assist learners with health needs
in a bid to uplift their education, however after detecting those medical needs the organization
failed to get them treated although it had started this programme. This also prompted this research
to have an in-depth investigation on whether humanitarian aid is meant to benefit learners or it
fulfills the needs of the organization at the expense of the poor learners.

According to Cracknell J (1989) the basics of support to education comprise what could be termed
first order educational requirements such as classrooms, teachers and institutional materials.
However educational outcomes are profoundly influenced by a range of critical and less easily
measurable factors such as nature of curriculum, the effectiveness of teacher training the
appropriateness of learning materials, school location, school teacher, supervision and leadership of
heads. Therefore this study seeks also to establish if humanitarian aid offered to Domboramwari
high focuses or contributes to these building blocks to improved learning. It has therefore been
found necessary to carry out an in-depth study of the situation with a view to coming up with
recommendations on how to remedy the situation.

Statement of the problem

Domboramwari High school has witnessed progressive development in recent years due to the fact
that large amounts of financial and material aid have been poured into the school by different
humanitarian organizations. The infrastructure in the school has been refurbished while ‘O’ level
results have improved and continue to get better.

Objectives of the study

The objectives of the study are to

i.Identify the various ways in which donor aid has benefited Domboramwari high
school.

ii.Suggest ways in which donor aid can be made more beneficial to Domboramwari
high school

iii.Help in the creation of improved relations between donors and communities.

iv.Enable marginalized schools to utilize donor funds more efficiently.

v.Contribute to the availability of knowledge on humanitarian aid, neo colonialism and

under development.

The Research Questions

i.In what ways have donor funds been utilized at Domboramwari high School

ii.Do teachers, parents and pupils appreciate the aid they receive?

iii.Are donor agencies satisfied by the way their aid is utilized in schools?

iv.What are the long term effects of humanitarian aid on schools

v.In what ways does the issue of humanitarian aid prove or disprove the theories of
neo colonialism and underdevelopment.

Justification of the study

The study will provide answers and suggestions to the problem of humanitarian funding for schools
and also help address the problem of the general uplift of educational standards and the
infrastructural development in marginalized schools in general. Domboramwari high School in
particular. It will contribute to the growing wealth of knowledge on humanitarian aid, neo
colonialism and under-development.

Hypothesis of the study

There are fundamental flaws in the way humanitarian aid is availed and utilized. These flaws have
made humanitarian aid very ineffective and in some cases the humanitarian aid achieves the effect
of further impoverishing the people yet it is meant to aid.

Assumptions guiding the study

It is assumed that

Respondents in the Epworth area have had exposure to donor activities. Permission will be granted
by the authorities at Domboramwari High School for the research to be conducted. The
humanitarian organizations will make available data which will enable the proposed study to
proceed smoothly.

Delimitations of the study

The study will be conducted in Epworth area of Mabvuku Tafara Epworth district. The focal point
of the study will be Domboramwari high School and its immediate surroundings that is the area
from where the school draws its pupils. This will therefore be the area made up of Overspill,
Domboramwari and Glenwood area. It will also be necessary to visit the offices of the humanitarian
organization involved whose offices are located in Harare.

Limitation of the study

The study will be centred on only one school, this will limit the applicability of the findings to other
schools in other parts of the country because local conditions differ and also because the donor
agencies do not have a uniform way of operating. The amount of time available for the study will be
limited due to the fact that the researcher is a weekend class student and will therefore need to
devote time to her work place.

Definition of terms

Humanitarian aid- The financial and material resources provided to Domboramwari high
school mainly by different organizations.

Infrastructure - The school buildings which make up Domboramwari High School.

Neo-colonialism- A method employed by developed western countries to continue to influence
events in former colonies through economic and technical means without
formal political control or the use of arms.

School administration Those involved in the decision making process in the school. These
include the headmaster, deputy headmaster, senior teachers and all the
members of the school development committee.

Under-development- A situation where the true economic potential of an area is not

realized due to the interference of outsiders.

Conclusion

The study has been carefully chosen after the researcher had conclude that there is really a problem
which needs to be addressed. It is hoped therefore that the findings will be taken seriously by all
parties involved in the further development of this school.