Goal of the chapter is to:

» explain the concepts of community and change in participatory community practice

Objectives of the chapter are to enable the reader to:

» the concept of community as context and agent for community practice.

» a participatory approach to change as expansion of well-being or reduction of poverty with communities.

3.1 INTRODUCTION:

In the previous chapters, diff erent theories and approaches that inform our view on communities and how we can facilitate change in communities were outlined. In this chapter the concept of community and change related to participatory community practice is summarised according to these theories. In the first section, community as context and agent of change is described. In the second section change, as the expansion of wellbeing or reduction of poverty, is described.:

Community practitioners, whether professionals working for state departments, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) or non-profit organisations (NPOs), are usually expected to render services and make some kind of social change to enhance the well-being of specific communities, i.e. geographic areas or to specific groups of people, for example, migrants and refugees, women and children, the elderly, the disabled, the youth, and men, also referred to as functional communities, experiencing some manifestation of poverty.:

3.2 COMMUNITY:

The term ‘community’ lacks precision and is much debated. It is used diff erently by diff erent disciplines and even diff erently in a specific discipline. So, there is no single correct meaning and we have to be individually aware of what we mean when we use the term ‘community’. The term is elusive, imprecise, contradictory and controversial (Burkitt 2001).:

Goal of the chapter is to:

” describe specific people's contributions to the conceptual framework for participatory community practice

Objectives of the chapter are to enable the reader to:

» appreciate the contribution of Freire that change must result in liberation and that poverty is oppression.

» understand Chambers’ emphasis and understanding of participation as putting people first and that poverty is entrapment in clusters of disadvantages.

» comprehend Sen's capability approach; and that poverty is the deprivation of basic capabilities

» appreciate Max-Neef's multidimensional human scale development approach and understanding of poverty as unsatisfied fundamental human needs

2.1 INTRODUCTION

In addition to the theories discussed in the previous chapter we have selected some ideas from Paulo Freire, Robert Chambers, Amartya Sen and Mannfred Max-Neef to expand our conceptual framework for participatory community practice. These theorists make useful contributions on understanding people, poverty and development.:

2.1.1 Paulo Freire: Development is liberation:

Paulo Freire was a Brazilian educator who revolutionised ideas about poverty by stressing the idea that it was people who were poor and oppressed. Freire's philosophy embraces a deep respect and humility for poor and oppressed people. He has respect for their understanding of the world they inhabit and considers their contributions no less important than the knowledge of dominant groups (Freire calls them the ‘oppressors’). Such respect and humility foster a condition of trust and communication between the teacher (who also learns) and the learner (who also teaches).:

Freire's ideas have been widely used in the field of community development and community education. His approach is that people can be liberated from all that oppresses and holds them back from a full human life.:

The goal of this chapter is to

» explain the process of disconnecting and departing from the community.

Objectives of the chapter are to enable the reader to:

» understand that the process of disconnecting and departing from the community should take place in an ethical manner and retain the sustainability of processes and projects.

» know how to facilitate the disconnecting and departing process.

11.1 INTRODUCTION

Activity

Think of any situation where a relationship ended, e.g. leaving school, home or a group that was meaningful to you.

What did you experience in saying goodbye?

What made this situation difficult or easy?

If you were in this situation again, what would you do differently?

Read this chapter with the awareness of learning about disconnecting and departing from a community and project.

In this chapter it is assumed that project that has been delivered, is continuing and that the community practitioner will be departing from it. A participatory approach requires that this process needs to be planned and managed consciously and proactively, not drifted into or ignored and then abruptly dealt with. Special attention must be paid to how the community practitioner disconnects and departs from the community. It is ethical to have a proper disengagement and departure from the groups or community with which a community practitioner has been involved. If the project is not yet sustainable and another community practitioner is to become involved, a transfer or handing over should take place.

Community practitioners do not just disappear. Besides being unethical, it is very demotivating for the community if they experience abandonment. They are then inclined to become distrustful of another community practitioner's involvement.

Goal of the chapter is to:

» the process of the delivery of the designed project.

Objectives of the chapter are to enable the reader to:

» understand the process and elements of delivery

» understand the process of monitoring and evaluation during the delivery process

10.1 INTRODUCTION

Delivery is a process of putting a design into effect or implementing through action. During the delivery phase, the vision and design that were previously collectively developed, now direct the collective action to implement the designed project plan.

10.2 THE PROCESS OF DELIVERY

Delivery is a process, it is not a single event but a series of events that include multiple small processes taking place towards reaching the shared vision of ‘what can be’. In practice, these processes cannot be separated and are only separated here to be clarified. The processes include technical aspects that require specific practical skills and knowledge, a relationship process, a learning process and a management process. In each of these processes the community and community practitioner collaborate, and the roles complement one another to achieve the goal, but are different and also change.

10.2.1 Delivery is a technical process

The technical process requires specific practical skills and knowledge related to the goal. For example, the goal to produce vegetables for selling to create income requires gardening skills and knowledge of the production chain – from production to marketing and selling.

The community members should create the garden. For this they need gardening knowledge and skills. The community practitioner does not need these skills but has a role to facilitate the community to acquire these skills.

CASE STUDY 1: DAM-DAM WOMEN SUPPORT GROUP, EASTERN CAPE

A group of women came together in the rural community of Dam-Dam, near the small town of Peddie in the Eastern Cape, to do something about gender-based violence. They realised that many women and their children were abused, financially unstable and dependent on men. They established the “Dam-Dam Women Support Group”.

The community of Dam-Dam has a population of approximately 1,500 people and is about 10km away from Peddie. Poverty is very high in the community, with an unemployment rate of 98%, and the people face many problems. Domestic violence and women abuse as well as alcohol abuse are high. Many people try to make a living by selling goods on the streets such as sweets, fruit and vegetables. There is a high incidence of rape and the nearest police station is 30km away.

NGO's / CBO's active in the community

These women are working well with Family South Africa (FAMSA) and the Eastern Cape NGO Coalition. They both support the group in many ways, providing training to the women on various aspects, such as how to address women abuse. Through asset-mapping exercises the women discovered that there are many bees in the community, and they have started a beekeeping project. The beekeeping project is called “Gcinizwe”, which means supporting the nation. The entire group of 12 women go to the beehives (boxes) every day to see if the bees are doing well and that they are happy, and “see if they are still there and have not left the boxes”.

The figure below illustrates where you are now in the contents of the book. Section B provides the theoretical foundation for people-centred community practice.

Goal of the chapter is to:

» introduce the process of community practice as detailed in chapter 7-11.

As indicated earlier, participatory community practice is a managed change process facilitated with a community to increasingly meet their needs to enhance their wellbeing and the quality of their own lives and those of the wider community of which they are part.

In section A, participatory community practice is introduced and its theoretical heart outlined for practitioners to be able to understand communities and change within the context of engagement with communities. It describes the theory, guiding principles and facilitation to which all action of community practice is aligned.

Section B (chapters 7-11) outlines the progressive, phased process of facilitating change in community practice.

This process includes a series of progressive planned actions or phases (cf. chapters 7-11), facilitated (cf. chapter 5) and managed (cf. chapters 12- 18) to achieve a particular goal. The goal is reached through what is most oft enreferred to as a project, a community initiative eff ort, change process or intervention. These terms are used interchangeably. Planned actions are followed to spark further action, i.e. activities to facilitate awareness often lead to spontaneous responses that follow naturally. Knowledge of the process is like a compass that helps one find one's direction. It is not a map or an existing path that you have to follow. One has to make one's own path as one goes along.

Although the phases are presented linearly, the process is circular and not steps carried out in a set sequence. Some phases may overlap and take place simultaneously, a phase may be stretched out and take long, or be contracted (short) and be returned to.

Goal of the chapter is to:

» provide an overview of the connecting and discovery process in participatory community practice.

Objectives of the chapter are to enable the reader to:

Know and understand the following details of the connecting and discovery process:

» the self-awareness and role of the community practitioner/facilitator.

» the role of the host organisation and its influence on the mandate of the community practitioner.

» the importance of the broader context of the community.

» enabling the community to get to know the community practitioner.

» knowing the people and their context.

» bringing together the community in a discovery process of their situation.

» skills used in the connecting and discovery process.

7.1 INTRODUCTION

Connecting and discovering with the community sets in motion a process of change which should be facilitated to become participatory, engaging the community as soon as possible. Although the initial connection is usually the initiative of practitioners, the focus must be increasingly to engage community members so that they become the drivers of the change process. This engagement is facilitated by the practitioners’ positive approach (assets-based and appreciative) as the practitioner observes, meets and communicates with many different individuals, groups and organisations. Although connecting and discovering are discussed separately and initial connecting action precedes discovering, the community practitioner must facilitate the process for both to take place as simultaneously as possible. As community practitioners become familiar with the people and their context and community members get to know and engage with the practitioner and each other and start building relationships, the way is opened, and the foundation is laid for a participatory change process. This phase is therefore discussed in detail. Much of the detail provided here are also actions that apply to the other phases as well.