Citation

Sewordor E, Esnard AM, Sapat A, Schwartz L. Disasters 2019; 43(2): 336-354.

Affiliation

Doctoral candidate at the School of Public Administration, Florida Atlantic University, United States.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/disa.12318

PMID

30431177

Abstract

Diasporas and diaspora non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are increasingly important as resource lifelines to their home countries, yet the resources that they mobilise, the types of challenges that they face, and their coping mechanisms are not well explored or understood in the context of disaster recovery. To fill this knowledge gap, this study employed an inductive qualitative methodological approach, using interviews to comprehend the role played by Haitian diaspora NGOs after the catastrophic earthquake in 2010. It found that resources take four common forms: event fundraisers; financial and material donations from supporters; remittances; and volunteer labour. Challenges include an overreliance on diaspora donors, competition among NGOs, and what is perceived as inequitable funding practices towards diaspora NGOs. The findings provide insights centred on better coordination among diaspora NGOs, as well as between diaspora NGOs and other local and international NGOs and local governments and international institutions, to ensure more efficient delivery of services to survivors.

© 2018 The Author(s). Disasters © Overseas Development Institute, 2018.

Language: en

Keywords

Haiti earthquake; diaspora non-governmental organisations (NGOs); post-disaster recovery; resources