Abstract:
Since the late 1970s, NGOs have played an increasingly prominent role in the development sector, widely praised for their strengths as innovative and grassroots-driven organizations with the desire and capacity to pursue participatory and people-centered forms of development and to fill gaps left by the failure. This study investigates the challenges and opportunities of NGOs in improving the livelihood of households in pre-urban kebeles of Ambo district, Oromia region, Ethiopia. The study uses both quantitative and qualitative types of data collected from both primary and secondary sources using questionnaires, interviews, and documents analysis. The data were analyzed using both descriptive and explanatory survey design with the help of SPSS software (version 26) was used. Purposive and random sampling methods to select the respondents and key informants of the study. A total number of 131 respondents from two kebeles and 10 key formants were selected. To analysis qualitative, using thematic analysis to triangulate the data and was presented in a pair-wise matrix of Likert scale practices, livelihood challenges of local community, challenges and opportunities for non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The findings revealed that even though almost all those NGOs had good practices, they lacked sufficient and timely credit support for their petty trade and micro enterprises, limited integration of local and national markets, and irregularity of daily work. HH challenges were insufficient funds and uncertainty about future funding, corruption and embezzlement, government interference and regulation, poor coordination and cooperation of NGOs with users & governmental bodies, and increasing politicization. NGOs listed legal and administrative barriers, poor networking and cooperation among NGOs, lack of capacity, lack of information, and a lack of clear roles on policy issues as constraints for influencing policies to improve household livelihood. Thus, this study provided recommendations for the improvement of the practice and challenges of NGOs and suggested that anybody who has an interest in the topic use it as base line information for the next research to do an in-depth study
