From Josh Dysart's blog:
http://www.joshuadysart.com/journal/archives/2007_07.html

"Acholiland, particularly in the Gulu/Kitgum area is home to more NGO's than any other place in the world. I was given varying numbers by varying sources, with between 400 and 600 actual registered NGO's being sited. Most of these non-profit organizations have moved in during the last year as the the rumors of war began to die down and the perception of safety (years after actual safety had returned, many say) has finally been spread by President General Museveni. The mass proliferation of NGO's has exploded the Gulu economy, pushing prices higher than they are even in Kampala, the developed capital. The problem is that most people in the area, many, many of them war affected, cannot financially afford the sudden shift in economy. Meaning that an army of do-gooders has moved in and raised the standard of living beyond the reaches of the population they intend on assisting. The seriousness of this issue remains to be seen."

"Also, there seem to be three types of non-profits operating in the area. Ones who do good and necessary work, ones who come with well-meaning hearts but implement programs that do nothing to heal the cultural damage done to the Acholi way of life and in many cases perpetuate the welfare state mentality, and the ones called the "Invisible NGO's" by a journalist I met who is working for two months in the area. The invisible NGO's are organizations collecting grants and various government and private funds, yet have no locatable offices or evidence of applied services. These are the non-profit pirates, stealing money and goods the world has deemed belongs to the needy. The implications of too many NGO's in one area are staggering and a whole paper could be written on the philosophical problems of good intentions and the global response to crises.

In fact, it's my opinion that one of the obstructions to a lasting peace in the area is too many god damned professional do-gooders and not enough locally minded non-prof visionaries."

www.actionheronetwork.net