The government’s half of the money is pooled into a matching fund controlled by the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development. Development and Peace and other agencies that raised money in response to Typhoon Haiyan have to apply for a share of that money with specific proposals for humanitarian relief and development projects.
Development and Peace has already applied for between $3 million and $4 million in matching funds to help rebuild housing, a project undertaken with its American partner, Catholic Relief Services. The organization is working with its partners in the international Caritas network and in the Philippines on further proposals.
Ottawa did explain that a donor dollar to agency A doesn’t necessarily mean a government dollar to that same agency when it launched the matching fund Nov. 9. Development and Peace was also at pains to explain to donors how the matching fund works. But most people still believe that every dollar they give to the charity of their choice will equal two dollars to their favourite charity, said Nicolas Moyer, executive director of the Humanitarian Coalition.
“There is a matter of perception perhaps about where those funds should be allocated, given where Canadians are giving,” Moyer said.
Often large, multilateral agencies connected to the United Nations rise to the top of the list for government funding.
“That does, perhaps, not reflect the choices Canadians made,” said Moyer.
The government, however, does have to be careful with taxpayer dollars, Moyer said. Even if an organization is good at raising money, that doesn’t necessarily mean it has the capacity, the experience or the contacts to launch a responsible and effective project.
The government has made greater efforts to be clear about how the matching fund works since the Haiti earthquake disaster in 2010. When the Typhoon Haiyan matching fund was announced an explanation of the matching fund was in the last paragraph of a two-page backgrounder given to the press. The explanation is repeated in government web pages concerning Typhoon Haiyan relief.
“We hope the government will continue to engage the public on this issue and correct this misperception, since the public have a very different understanding of how things work,” said Julia Sanchez, Canadian Council for International Co-operation executive director.
Sanchez also worries about the general transparency around how funds are disbursed, how we decide which disasters merit a matching fund and even how much is available. Though the window for Typhoon Haiyan matching funds closed Dec. 23, and the government has announced more than $20 million in spending commitments so far, Ottawa still hasn’t said how much money in total there is in the matching fund.
Nor could Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development say how long it would take to disburse the entire matching fund. As close as the media relations staff could come was to say “funds will be disbursed in a manner to ensure timely provision of assistance in the most effective and efficient manner possible.”
Development and Peace is trying to convince the government it’s in the best position to reach people on the ground with programs and projects that will reach those most in need and produce long-term results, said Development and Peace program officer Jess Agustin.
Its close ties to dioceses, parishes and Caritas Philippines, along with a network of Catholic development agencies in Europe and the United States, means it has a better understanding of the needs.
“We have these resources. We have 20 years of experience in the Philippines,” said Agustin.
The Development and Peace approach of organizing communities first so that they can demand their legal rights and services from their own government yields better, more lasting results, Agustin said.
“We still have to work hard to get those matching funds, based on very careful planning. The planning doesn’t happen just here in Montreal or in Canada. To be consistent with the principles of Development and Peace we need to get the people involved — the partners. The danger is all these experts being parachuted in,” he said. “The good thing about the Philippines is the capacity of the Filipino people... When we were there (Filipinos) were not waiting for government handouts or for experts to come. They were working hard, rebuilding with whatever they have.”