Despite the fact that since the early years of the revolution in Iran, numerous government institutions and organizations have been established with the aim of helping the underprivileged and needy, and have started their work, after several decades, the task of providing relief and alleviating poverty among the weaker sections of society in Iran is still faced with numerous challenges. Some also believe that the institutions and organizations that were initially established for this purpose have deviated from their inherent goal and are now entering commercial phases, and are less likely to help the underprivileged.

Among these, some who were concerned with solving problems and addressing the needs of vulnerable groups in society, sought to fill these gaps by establishing associations and grassroots organizations. However, these individuals have faced opposition and even had their licenses revoked in recent years. One of these foundations is the “Children’s Foundation” in Iran. This foundation was officially registered in Iran in 1378 and with a completely humanitarian approach, aimed to ensure that “no talented student would be deprived of education and opportunities due to economic problems.” With a national license from the Ministry of Interior, the Children’s Foundation was able to expand its activities to many provinces and currently has 36 branches throughout the country, including one in Kermanshah province.

In this issue of “Peace Line”, we had a conversation with Erfan Ghaderi, the director of this foundation in Kermanshah province, and asked him about the problems of organizations and grassroots institutions in the country.

You are known as a social-environmental activist and also the manager of the “Children’s Foundation” in Kermanshah province. At the beginning of our conversation, I want to ask you, in your opinion, with several supportive institutions working alongside each other, what is the need for associations and people’s organizations in society?

Nowadays, with the strong presence of people in all political, social, and cultural fields around the world and in fact, the increasing role of people in government activities, the importance of the existence of non-governmental organizations or NGOs has grown day by day. These organizations have been established with the aim of emphasizing human-friendly issues, helping sustainable development, and preserving the environment.

In Iran, the executive regulations for the establishment and operation of non-governmental organizations and associations were approved by the Cabinet in 2005 (1384 in the Iranian calendar). However, the main difference between non-governmental organizations in Iran and other countries is in their areas of activity. In fact, all social responsibilities of the government and its affiliated organizations, such as relief committees, welfare organizations, and the Foundation for the Oppressed, are included in the work of non-governmental organizations. These activities include scientific, cultural, social, sports, artistic, charitable and philanthropic work, as well as activities related to human rights, women, social welfare, support, health and treatment, rehabilitation, environment, urban development, and similar areas.

Given the poor economic conditions, severe budget shortages in recent years, and the impact of economic and oil sanctions, as well as the devaluation of the national currency compared to foreign currencies, especially the dollar, the government practically lacks the ability to provide the necessary financial resources for supportive activities. As a result, in supportive organizations, activities are carried out in a routine manner and according to the organizational chart, and effective field activities are completely delegated to non-governmental organizations.

You have experienced being in the region after the earthquake in Sarpol-e Zahab and several other crises in Kermanshah province. Based on your observations, how successful have support organizations such as “Relief Committee” and “Mastaeefan Foundation” been in providing assistance during times of crisis? In your opinion, have they had a positive performance?

According to the definition of crisis management, relevant organizations must have the ability to manage and provide assistance to victims in the affected area for up to 72 hours after a natural disaster occurs. If the situation is beyond the control of local managers, the management of the crisis is handed over to the Ministry of Interior and immediate assistance is requested from neighboring provinces. Therefore, the timely presence of support organizations is the most important need in addressing the problems caused by natural disasters. Unfortunately, in the earthquake in Sarpol-e Zahab, specifically, government support organizations were negligent. However, due to the presence of non-governmental organizations and the activity of local grassroots organizations on social media and the declaration of needs through campaigns and hashtags, relief efforts were initiated. Even influential individuals were personally involved and tried to address the problems of the victims. This shows that the level of trust and public perception of support organizations has significantly decreased and the people themselves have taken action. They were willing to travel long distances to deliver goods

During the occurrence of these events, most senior managers of these organizations start quick interviews accompanied by almost unattainable promises and threats – such as building temporary homes for the affected individuals – and instead of recognizing the usefulness of non-governmental organizations, they consider these humanitarian activities as temporary and hinder their work, becoming an obstacle in the progress of these organizations.

Your perspective is that lack of trust in government support organizations causes this issue?

See, in fact, there is no trust in government support organizations because there is no transparent and accurate accountability of their economic and financial situation; because there is no specific plan and strategy for the implementation of their activities.

Basically, these organizations do not consider themselves responsible towards the people and their aid; as a result, they are not accountable and this process has been accumulating for years. The result is that in an earthquake like the Sarpol-e Zahab earthquake, there is a kilometer-long traffic jam at the entrance of the city and surrounding villages of the affected areas, so that people can safely deliver aid to the victims.

As the manager of the “Children’s Foundation”, how do you evaluate the performance of government support institutions such as the “Relief Committee” and Welfare in relation to children and their problems?

When discussing children and their problems, it is important to keep in mind that all support organizations implicitly shirk their responsibility towards children and each one throws the ball to the other side of the field. It can be said that all government organizations and agencies are involved in this issue, although this involvement only happens during meetings and brainstorming sessions and does not materialize in practice.

Given the widespread of coronavirus in Iran and the start of virtual education, the biggest problem and challenge facing the education system is the severe drop in academic performance of students and children. This problem is more intense in children from low and middle-income families, and less severe in children from more affluent families. In families with average or low income, due to lack of resources to purchase a phone or tablet for their children, they are forced to consider dropping out of school and engaging in activities to earn income, which adds to their existing problems. Some families have tried to address these issues through support organizations, but they have been met with responses such as “we don’t have the budget”, “we are not capable”, or “we are struggling to pay our employees’ salaries”.

Of course, in some cases, it is commendable for support organizations to undertake tasks such as repairing children’s homes or purchasing household items, and if they have complete information about the family’s situation, they may also take action to pay interest-free loans with long-term repayment.

To what extent do non-governmental organizations engage in discussions about children?

Non-governmental organizations do not hesitate to help as much as they are capable and allowed. For example, the “Children’s Foundation” in the past nine months of this year, in addition to providing monthly scholarships to talented students in Kermanshah province, has also donated at least fifteen laptops, twenty tablets, and six smartphones to gifted students. They have also covered emergency medical expenses for students or their mothers, tried to solve students’ problems by holding remedial classes, or bought household items to prevent students from thinking about anything other than studying and creating a bright future for themselves.

However, limited resources and the inability to send foreign capital from offices outside the country due to banking sanctions have multiplied the problems of the foundation. But with the help of our allies and the kind and compassionate people of our dear Iran, we are still steadfast on the path we are taking.

Also consider that the basis of the work of non-governmental organizations is the lack of reliance on government institutions and support organizations, and they carry out and provide all of their budgets through public activities. Many non-governmental organizations even face obstacles from government organizations, despite their completely transparent financial and economic activities. For example, when government support organizations realize that families under their protection are receiving scholarships or monthly allowances from other non-governmental foundations or organizations, they remove them from their coverage. They are also not willing to provide logistical and physical support, such as libraries, sports halls, or community halls that they have access to, to non-governmental organizations.

It seems that there are many people in need who cannot even be covered by these institutions. Apparently, there are strict laws in place that allow them to receive assistance from these institutions. In your opinion, where is the problem and how can this issue be solved?

Due to the increase in economic problems and lack of sufficient income for needy families, as well as lack of experience and necessary skills for the job market, and the rise in prices of essential goods, the desire to cover vulnerable groups in society is increasing. Support organizations, relying on government budget, are facing budget deficits and are unable to accept needy families. They are forced to make the acceptance process more difficult and consider multiple filters. Therefore, despite the worsening economic situation, the number of families under coverage does not increase, and as a result, the statistics presented contradict the reality of society and keep the problems hidden.

In order to solve these problems, a comprehensive system must be designed that identifies the real information of individuals, their income level, and their level of access to social facilities, and properly allocate support in the appropriate place. This requires extensive cooperation and collaboration among support organizations, where all support organizations have access to a unified database and become a unified bank.

In addition, the discussion of verification should also be applicable to other organizations and non-governmental organizations, so that needy families can be properly identified and assistance can be provided to them with high accuracy.

We have seen that many civil institutions, such as the “Imam Ali Society”, have recently faced a lot of problems and some have even lost their license to continue their activities. Considering the state of society and the economic and livelihood pressures that have been imposed on the lower and even middle class, what do you think is the reason for this?

Civil institutions, as their name suggests, are the source of people’s thoughts and ideas. And since the people of Iran, or better to say, Iranian society, is a complete package of a politicized society – because it lacks political thinking, political parties, and a proper method for presenting policies – all discussions inevitably take on a political tone. As a result, judicial and security institutions deal with the issue and in the end, civil organizations are faced with the revocation of their license. The result is that families from lower classes, who have their hopes pinned on the help of these non-governmental organizations, become even more vulnerable. In the absence of these organizations, the class divide, which has turned into a chasm, grows bigger and bigger every day.

It seems that government support institutions have somehow forgotten their inherent duty and have turned into commercial and investment entities, such as “Bonyad-e Mostazafan” or “Komite-ye Emdad”, which in reality do not benefit the weaker segments of society who are under the protection of these organizations. How do you evaluate this situation?

In my opinion, the problem starts when this entry into the commercial phase and the resulting expenses are used elsewhere and in another pocket, and the reality is in conflict with the organization’s ideology; because according to Iranian tax law, charitable organizations, whether government or private, are exempt from paying taxes, and there is practically no supervision or inspection of their financial documents and records, which in itself leads to financial corruption, embezzlement, and payment of exorbitant salaries.

How much do government support organizations empower the individuals under their coverage?

Work is being done, reaching the stage of support, but it is abandoned. In the discussion of empowering families under coverage, it must be said that there are significant differences between organizations and support institutions. For example, the “Imam Khomeini Relief Committee” in collaboration with the Technical and Vocational Organization, through holding sewing and handicraft classes and other discussions, aims to provide employment opportunities for female heads of households and strives to educate beneficiaries.

In fact, the “Relief Committee” is trying to teach fishing to these individuals, but the main problem of these households is actually the lack of sufficient information about personal creativity and changing production patterns, and ultimately the lack of suitable conditions and market for their products. Here, the missing link and the missing piece of the puzzle is marketing training for the products of these individuals, which needs to be planned but has been forgotten.

Keep in mind that many women become the head of household at a young age due to poverty and the financial struggles of their father’s family. A high percentage of these early marriages end in divorce, and as a result, these women often return to their father’s home with emotional distress and the pressure of life, sometimes with one or two children. They have no desire to continue their education and are only looking for a way to feed themselves. Due to lack of sufficient information and proper marketing, they are unable to establish good relationships with their customers, leading to failure.

Thank you for the opportunity you have given us to use the peace line.