Strengthening community resilience by providing proactive helping to NGOs

By Mimi Ming

In critical times such as the outbreak of COVID-19, we have experienced various breakdowns. For example, we observed that many NGOs are put into a very fragile position as their original funding source suffered from this economic downturn. Some NGOs are not sustaining financially, which in turn put the beneficiaries in an even more vulnerable place as they failed to receive timely assistance when they most needed it.

More and more are identifying the importance of building community resilience. Community resilience refers to the capacity to respond and adapt to adversities. One critical component of enhancing community resilience rests on our ability in identifying the risk factors, as well as our capacity in strategizing a priority plan in order to mitigate loss and facilitates speedy recovery.

As a member from 180DC HKU, I am more than grateful for being part of this meaningful contribution in strengthening resilience of NGOs. The true value of proactive helping cannot be underestimated, especially in such a critical time. Instead of reacting to unfortunate events and provide one-off assistance, what 180DC is providing is to proactively identify the organizational deficiency, and to help NGOs achieving a more effective and sustainable operation in the long run.

As I joined my first-ever initial client meeting with my co-workmates and the staff from the NGO, a fact truly dawned on me: what we are doing is really more than a piece of proposal for a single organization. Instead, it has the real potential in creating real social impact and serving the interests of the entire community in a long run. All these unscalable future social benefits all just boil down to one cause — that we intended to give a helping hand proactively today.

One proactive step forward is never a step too small. As future leaders-to-be, it’s time for us to plan ahead for our desirable future with other stakeholders in the society, so that we may build a more resilient community for our future generation.

This article is part of our new series that gives our consultants the voice to share social issues that they are most passionate about. Follow our LinkedIn for more updates!