Since the 1980s, Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) have been increasingly funded by international development agencies. A wealth of literature on NGOs accompanies this funding, praising their abilities in the sphere of development work. In contrast, this thesis extends a growing literature more critical of claims that NGOs can increase the standard of living in poor communities. Neoliberal policies, which decrease the government's ability to provide public services and fund public institutions, undermine NGO initiatives to decrease poverty. Through an analysis of interviews and observations of one NGO in Trinidad, I will provide an in-depth look at its development discourse and practices. I argue that this NGO's capacity to alleviate poverty is limited because it evades the structural causes of poverty. Furthermore, by depoliticising poverty and marginalisation this NGO facilitates the neoliberal agenda of the Trinidadian state, an agenda that supports the retreat of the public sector.
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