There are two sets of common notions about NGOs: one that those working in these organisations are pseudo-intellectual, khadi-jhola-clad people, slightly cranky (for thinking of working for others), short on pennies but long on goodwill; the other that NGOs are just making a lot of money in the name of poverty and population; that they are flush with foreign funds which go not towards social upliftment but the upliftment of a few rich.

There is some truth in both, but they are not true in their entirety. To be motivated enough to think of working for others, some commitment is essential. To say that those working in NGOs are there just to make money is incorrect in most, if not all, cases. There are many NGOs where people take no money and still take time out of their busy schedule to work for a cause they feel for. They don't shout from the rooftops about their work, don't flaunt their `NGO' label. In fact, the money involved in the working of these organisations is often the reason behind the ridicule and criticism they face. A person making Rs 50,000 a month and working on some hunger project among the poorest is viewed as an incongruity and an absurdity of the first order.

But, come to think of it, is it all that absurd? Why can't a young and ambitious person seek a career in working for the poor? Why is drawing a decent salary here a sin?

An NGO getting aid from a foreign agency and using that money on development work is shunned not just by leftists but surprisingly also some `right'-minded people. If the government begs for foreign funds in every field, holds roadshows, organises seminars just so that foreign investors will take notice and come forward with their money then why is foreign money given willingly for social work treated with contempt?

Is it because this money is seen as charity and the other as investment? But then wasn't all foreign money once upon a time seen as charity? Views on that front have changed and it's time now that they changed on this front too. We need this money.

You don't need hungry people to work on hunger projects. What is needed is empathy and compassion and the needs of those working have to be fulfilled before they can think of working for others.

So if the trend of high-end NGOs working on high-end budgets with high-end stationary and high-end professionals continues, it will only do good where the government has been able to do precious little.