WHO SAYS clubs are the preserve of the rich and famous?  If the efforts of a group of people from non-government organisations (NGOs) bear fruit, Delhi may have another first to its credit an NGO Club.

The NGO Club Association plans  to “form an NGO club along the lines of the Press Club or it could be an association, like association of professional bodies,” clearly reflecting its orientation.

According to a prominent NGO personality, Mr. Gautam Vohra, who has taken the lead in initiating the process of its formation, “there are quite a few of us who have worked and are working in different parts of the country.  Our interaction has been limited to meeting at seminars and workshops.  All this has been at a formal level.  The need was felt for an informal forum to meet and exchange views.”

He says the NGOs do not have something like the Press Club for people from a common background and the Club would fill the lacunae.  He feels that since the range of NGO activities has expanded vastly since the mid-70s, the Club will provide an ideal forum not  only for networking, but also to exchange professional inputs and much more.

Since the Association has not found a place for their club so far, it has decided to initially hold Club meetings in their houses.

“A Club?  What do activists have to do with a club?”  was the incredulous query of an NGO worker.  Perhaps the answer lies partly in the metamorphosis of voluntary organisations into the NGO.

According to Ms. Jaya, who prefers to call herself an activist, “The change of nomenclature is more than ephemeral.  It reflects the changing profile of the nature of work a well  as the people who are entering these organisations.  In the first place, it is a profession for them and secondly, they are entering the business of social work.”

However, she hastens to add, this is not to belittle their contribution.  “It is only to highlight that they have brought in a different perspective regarding work and their needs are different”-a view with which many agree.

However, the reaction to the NGO Club is varied.  The parallel drawn with the Press Club has prompted many to suggest that “projects will be discussed over a couple of pegs of whiskey or scotch.”

Mr. Anil Singh of the Voluntary Action Network of India says the proposal has drawn a mixed response.  There are some grassroots organisations which have expressed apprehension that it may become a club of the elite.  However, Mr. Vohra says: “Our objective is not to become an elite club.  It is just to bring the people together.”  And as he put it, they have already started receiving good response.

However, some people do not see it in that light.  According to Mr. G. John of the Delhi forum, “Since there is no apex body of NGOs, there is a danger that it will slip into a sate where they protect each other’s interests.”

A view which finds echo in Ms. Indu Kohli’s statement.  According to her, “The interaction will be limited to just the heads of organisations and it may become an exercise in promoting each other.”  She also feels NGOs are very inward looking and the club may only intensify the phenomenon.

“Most people who work do not have the time and those who have, are planners who do not do much grass-root level work, but have to mobilise funds” a middle-ranking NGO official said.

Will revolution be discussed over cocktails or a professional body emerge, remains to be seen.