3.2. Corporate Agency Models

So, the moment when these NGOs when these agencies come into the picture, many at times what they do is they perceive the local knowledge, they perceive that this system, this particular social system has failed to receive the expected conditions of life from the system.

When NGOs enter a community affected by a disaster, they often view the existing local systems as inadequate. This perception stems from the NGOs’ understanding that the local knowledge and practices have not provided the expected quality of life or resilience in the face of challenges. Essentially, they see evidence of failure in the local social structures.

Imagine a student who has struggled with math for years. If a new tutor arrives and only focuses on what the student does wrong without acknowledging previous efforts or successes, the student may feel frustrated or misunderstood. Similarly, NGOs might overlook local systems that have helped communities survive by labeling them as failures.

But then the many of the relief operations, when they come into the rescue or the rehabilitation projects, they try to reject and in favour of the systems familiar to an exercised by the relief culture.

Relief operations often impose pre-existing, familiar methods and practices without integrating local traditions. This approach can undermine the existing local systems, causing communities to depend heavily on external support rather than utilizing their own resources and knowledge.

Consider a neighborhood that has its own community garden, where families grow food together. If a charity comes in and replaces the garden with a pre-packaged food distribution, the community may lose not only sustenance but also the social connections and pride that came from gardening together.

And a victim culture is always being made aware of the failure of the local, traditional and indigenous systems to either anticipate the disaster or be able to cope up when it happens.

The notion of a 'victim culture' is where communities are constantly reminded of their failures to prepare for or respond to disasters. This focus fosters a sense of dependency on external help and diminishes the local community's confidence in their own resilience and abilities.

Think of a person who always tells you about their mistakes without highlighting their accomplishments. Over time, that focus on failures can affect how they view themselves, leading them to believe they cannot succeed without help from others.

So, basically the moment you, the institution comes in working to serve you and that is where they see that this whole system has failed, they never see that how this has survived all these years.

External institutions often fail to recognize how local systems have persisted and adapted over time. This lack of understanding creates a significant divide between the communities and the support organizations, leaving important local knowledge unutilized.

Imagine an old tree in your backyard that has weathered storms and droughts for decades. If someone new moves in and decides to replace it with a sapling without understanding its history and resilience, they may miss the lessons the old tree could offer about surviving tough conditions.

That is where such kind of situations you know when they were made aware that your system have failed that is where they leads to the loss of faith in the traditional leadership and hierarchies of the social and the religious order making the distressed community still more prone to the external influence.

When communities are told their traditional systems are ineffective, they may lose trust in their local leaders and social structures. This loss of faith can make them more susceptible to outside influences and interventions rather than relying on their indigenous knowledge and practices.

Think of a team that regularly wins games and is proud of their tactics. If a coach comes in and continually tells them they can’t win with their old strategies, members may start to doubt themselves and become overly reliant on the coach's new methods, losing confidence in their abilities.

many of these reports whether we talk about the damage statistics, how much loss of life is damaged, how much property has been damaged, they are narrowed down to the numericals, they are narrowed down to the surface structures of the society...

The analysis of disaster impacts often focuses solely on numerical data—like casualty counts and property damage—while ignoring the deeper, qualitative aspects of community life. This approach can create a skewed understanding of needs and priorities for rehabilitation.

In a hospital, if staff only track how many patients are treated without considering patient care quality, they may miss important issues. Patients might feel neglected and not receive the holistic care they need, just as communities can feel undervalued when their social fabrics are ignored in disaster assessments.

That is where the house is a denotative whereas, a home is a connotative. The house or a small dwelling describes the structure whereas, the home is symbolic of the life spent within it.

There is a critical distinction between a house as a physical structure and a home as a space filled with meaning and relationships. Understanding this difference is essential for NGOs and agencies when designing housing solutions that resonate with the community's cultural identity and social needs.

Consider a family who moves into a new house. If it is merely a structure without personal touches or community ties, it feels less like a home. It is comparable to a factory-made doll compared to a handmade one; the handmade doll carries the love and stories of its creator, just as a true home carries the stories of its inhabitants.

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