Harnessing the Resources of the Diaspora • 161
scale. Organizations have been created in Europe, the United States, and some African countries, based on religion, ethnicity, and geographic ties.15 These groups include hometown associations, ethnic associations, alumni associations, religious associations, professional associations, nongovernmental organizations, investment groups, national development groups, welfare/refugee groups, and Internet-based virtual organizations. The number of associations appears to be roughly correlated with the size of the diaspora in each country.16 In contrast to similar groups of Asian (particularly Filipino) and Latin American diasporas, little is known about the scope, scale, patterns, and impact of African diaspora associations.17 Data are not collected on contributions sent by formal migrant associations, and there is no information on collective remittances by undocumented immigrants. Hometown associations and other voluntary associations of migrants from the same geographical area have provided substantial funds to some African communities. This financing is often equal to or greater than the municipal budget for public works, particularly in towns with small populations (Orozco 2003). Some twinning projects have also been established. Burundians in a town in France, for example, have partnered with a town in Burundi (Turner and Mossin 2008). Interviews conducted for this study provide insight into collective remittances from the African diaspora:18 • Networks of families and friends pool resources and support their villages or friends. In some cases they send funds for development purposes, such as constructing a school, providing supplies to schools or hospitals, supporting orphans, or training new migrants arriving in the destination country. In other instances they send funds to support funerals or weddings. These transactions are not documented. • Diaspora organizations rely on the skills of members, volunteers’ time, donations, and fundraising events for project financing. • Collective remittances appear to be motivated by migrants’ sense of identity and feeling of solidarity with their home countries, as well as by sociocultural and political bonds and the feeling of being useful and powerful (Guarnizo 2003 reaches similar conclusions). • The most frequent activity of African diaspora organizations in Denmark (where 123 associations covering 22 African countries and 18 associations with regional coverage were surveyed) is the shipment of used equipment in containers, typically destined for schools, universities, orphanages, or hospitals (41 associations), followed by the sending of collective remittances (27 associations) and educational