- Celebrating its 75th anniversary, World Neighbors promotes self-reliance through long-term, community-led development rather than short-term handouts or dependency.
- The organization addresses climate change and food insecurity by combining traditional local knowledge with modern training to ensure sustainable rural livelihoods.
- World Neighbors employs clear exit strategies, ensuring local partners gain the leadership and financial skills to thrive independently after technical support ends.
- Despite declining international funding, the NGO maintains impact through lean operations and deep-rooted community trust across Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
As World Neighbors marks its 75th anniversary, the international development sector faces an unprecedented convergence of systemic challenges. Reductions in traditional Official Development Assistance (ODA), shifting geopolitical alignments, accelerating climate disruption, persistent food insecurity, and increasing forced migration have created a complex operating environment for civil society. Concurrently, heightened public and academic scrutiny regarding the efficacy, governance, and neo-colonial dynamics of international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) has intensified calls for structural reform, placing the principles of localization, community sovereignty, and institutional self-reliance at the center of contemporary development discourse.
In this context, ReviewNepal conducted an in-depth interview with Kate Schecter, Chief Executive Officer of World Neighbors, to examine the organization's three-quarters-of-a-century history and its operational model of long-term, community-led development. Drawing on extensive field operations across rural Asia, Africa, and Latin America, the conversation addresses the shifting architecture of global aid, the imperative of local ownership, and the pragmatic strategies required to foster sustainable livelihoods. Furthermore, the interview highlights World Neighbors’ historical engagement within Nepal, evaluating the evolving role and accountability framework of INGOs operating within increasingly complex national and global environments.
1. World Neighbors is celebrating 75 years. When you look at the world today, do you think the organization's original mission is more relevant than ever—or does it need to change?
The mission is more relevant and urgent than ever. At its heart, World Neighbors’ mission rests on a simple but powerful belief: people recognize the value of helping their neighbors. In today’s political environment, that principle is increasingly under pressure.
We need to return to those basic principles and continue sharing the message that we are all interconnected. Helping one another is not just an act of generosity; it is essential to how communities survive, adapt, and thrive together.
2. The world is becoming more divided, and foreign aid is under pressure. How has that changed the way World Neighbors works?
The pressure to get our message out is more urgent than ever. The collapse of USAID and the retrenchment of aid from Western European donors have created a stressful environment for all NGOs, which are now competing for fewer dollars.
3. You've worked in many parts of the world over the years. What's the biggest lesson you've learned about what truly helps communities move out of poverty?
The biggest lesson I have learned is that lasting change must be owned by the community itself. When outsiders impose a program, it may appear to make a difference at first, but if local people do not feel responsible for and invested in that change, it will not endure. The same is true of handouts. Cash or goods can meet an immediate need, but they do not create a lasting impact or self-reliance.
A man in India who received World Neighbors training many years ago once told me: “If you had given me $5,000 in 1990, I would not be standing here today as a successful farmer. It was the training that gave me decades of success.”
4. World Neighbors has always believed that local people should lead their own development. Why do you think that approach still matters today?
Self-reliance is central to our work. We want communities to use what they learn to thrive independently, which is why we enter every community with an exit strategy. At the same time, we recognize our shared interdependence and aim to help people move beyond subsistence by building pride, confidence, and the ability to improve their lives without outside assistance. This approach matters more than ever as communities face sudden crises and ongoing challenges. By educating people and helping them prepare, we strengthen their resilience, readiness, and hope for a better future.
5. Communities are now dealing with climate change, food insecurity, migration, and conflict all at once. What gives you hope that local people can still drive solutions?
What gives me hope is the strength already present in local communities. We have learned a great deal from the communities we work with. People living in rural and isolated areas carry deep knowledge and practical skills passed down through generations. Our role is to build on that capacity, not replace it.
One example is the revival of traditional agricultural practices that helped communities survive for generations. By combining that knowledge with new training and support, communities can adapt to today’s challenges while staying rooted in what already works.
The momentum we have seen and the sustained growth that follows give me confidence that local people can continue to drive their own solutions.
6. Trust in NGOs and INGOs isn't what it used to be. Why do you think so many people have become skeptical, and do NGOs share some of the blame?
Thankfully, World Neighbors has not experienced that level of distrust. If anything, we have stronger ties and greater respect from our communities. That is partly due to the fact that we remain in communities for eight to ten years. Working together over such a long period helps communities overcome challenges step by step along the way.
7. After decades of international aid, many people still ask a simple question: Has all this aid really worked? How would you answer them?
I would point to the impact World Neighbors has made over 75 years across 45 countries. Look at the "graduated" partner communities that are thriving—and, in many cases, teaching neighboring communities without our assistance. We have seen our impact in Nepal through enhanced agricultural output, women taking on prominent roles in community leadership, and many new businesses being started and sustained with no ongoing assistance from World Neighbors.
8. One criticism of development work is that it can create dependency instead of self-reliance. How does World Neighbors make sure that doesn't happen?
We take a long-term approach, but long-term does not mean permanent. By establishing an exit strategy right from the start and instilling self-confidence and capacity in the early years of our programming, we avoid dependency. This methodology has proven successful in ensuring sustainability after we stop providing technical support.
9. There's a growing push to put local organizations—not international NGOs—in the driver's seat. Has World Neighbors genuinely shifted power to local partners, or is there still more to do?
We continue to work on enhancing leadership capacities, teaching financial literacy, and helping local partner organizations advocate for government support. This is an ongoing process that will continue as new community-based organizations keep forming.
10. Every organization has setbacks, but we rarely hear about them. Can you share a project that didn't go as planned and what it taught you?
We had just been awarded a very large grant when USAID was suddenly eliminated. Our grant was canceled almost immediately. This was a major setback for the organization, and we had to lay off several people we had just hired. We had always restricted USAID grants to a single region, which helped cushion the shock, but it was still devastating for the regional staff involved.
We are now supporting that region through other funds, though we have had to downsize our programs there. We learned that we can bounce back from this kind of shock and that the most important thing is to maintain a presence in the countries where we work, even if we have to scale back our operations.
11. Beyond the numbers in annual reports, how do you know that your work has made a real and lasting difference in people's lives?
We remain in contact with our partners long after they have graduated from our assistance, and they tell us about their continued progress. We often engage former partners as trainers for new communities.
One such graduated program in Kenya continues to thrive decades after working with World Neighbors. Most of the residents in this particular community are living with HIV. Through participation in our programs, they gained access to medications and capital to maintain their farms and businesses. Decades after our direct involvement ended, the community continues to flourish.
12. Some critics say parts of the aid sector have become more focused on keeping organizations alive than solving problems. Is that a fair criticism?
I don’t think one necessarily excludes the other. While any sector—including the non-profit sector—will try to maintain its institutional role, that doesn’t mean it isn't focused on solving problems. In my experience, people enter the international development sector because they genuinely believe it is a way to make a tangible difference and improve lives.
13. As local organizations and private philanthropy become stronger, where do you see the future role of international NGOs like World Neighbors?
We have always relied on local partners and private donors. In fact, World Neighbors was practicing "localization" long before the term became popular. That is not to say there are no challenges in this changing environment—there always are. However, we have always run our organization with a lean staff and strict fiscal discipline, grounding our programs in what communities tell us they need. In that respect, I think we have a lot of valuable experience to share with other international NGOs.
14. World Neighbors has worked with rural communities in Nepal for many years. What would you say to those who believe Nepal should rely less on NGOs and INGOs and more on its own institutions?
We remain deeply committed to working in rural, isolated communities. These villages can be far off the beaten path and completely "off the radar" of other organizations, including private businesses and the national government.
With little external investment, many of these communities lack banks or access to basic capital. That is why the World Neighbors model—built around local savings and credit groups that enable families to pool their own capital to invest—can be so effective.
15. Finally, when people look back at your leadership of World Neighbors, what do you hope they'll say made the biggest difference?
I hope they see that, together with a deeply committed staff, we were able to build a financially stable organization that continues to serve hundreds of thousands of people around the world despite the volatility of global markets, politics, and the natural environment. World Neighbors has grown and adapted over the past 75 years, and I hope we remain equipped to change and adapt for many more years to come.
