| ........... |
,,
...
| The
term, "paper trail," is slang meaning a set of reports and records that
allows us to see what has gone on before. It is important in a mobilization
programme to ensure that reports and records are kept. |
.... |
This is so
that when mobilizers rotate there is continuity and consistency in the
programme, and to avoid duplication and avoid missing lessons learned (making
the same mistakes again). The term is derived from the method of
a hunter in the woods, following footsteps and spoor of hunted animals. |
..
.
...
| "Participation"
is used in several contexts on this web site. "Community
Participation" means that all members of a community participate in
decision making that affects the community (not merely consultation or
contribution). See PAR.
See also
Civic Engagement. |
,,, |
"Participatory
Training" means that the trainees learn by doing,
ie participating as an effective method for learning skills. Participants
do not learn as effectively when they are listening to a lecture or to
a presentation. "Participatory
Management" means that management is not left only to the managers,
but is everybody's business. "Participatory Appraisal" (PRA)
means that the affected community or organization is stimulated to participate
in assessing the situation and determining priority needs. |
.
.
| Participatory
Appraisal or Assessment: |
...
| Before
a project is planned, the situation must be assessed. PAR
or PRA |
. |
For a project
to be "community-based,”
the whole community must participate in observing and analysing, looking
for problems, potentials, resources and constraints. |
...
| A
community and its members do not participate in its own assessment automatically.
A decree, law, project design phrase or statement of intent will not ensure
that the whole community participates. |
. |
Community members
need encouragement, skills, stimulation and guidance in order to participate
in appraisal or assessment. Among the various tasks of the community worker,
mobilizer or facilitator, providing those are among the most important. |
...
|
Providing that
stimulation and training is variously called by the acronyms,
PRA or PAR.
|
...
| (العربيّة:تقييم
الاشتراك, Bahasa Indonesia: penaksiran
partisipator, Deutsch:
particiatory
appraisal, English: participatory
appraisal, Español: evaluación
participativa rural, Filipino/Tagalog:
pakikilahok
na pagtataya, Français: évaluation
rapide/rurale participatoire, Galego: avaliación
ou valoración participativa, Ελληνικά:
Συμμετοχική
Εκτίμηση, 日本語:
参加方式の評価または査定,
Malay:
penilaian
atau penaksiran penglibatan, Nederlands:
participerende
observatie of beoordeling, Português:
avaliação
de participação, Romãnã: estimarea
sau evaluarea participativa, ردو (Urdu): مشترکہ
تجزیہہ) |
...
| Participatory
Evaluation: |
...
| While
a project is being implemented, and after it is completed, the situation
must be re-assessed and evaluated. In a "community-based” project, the
whole community asks if the objectives were realistic. |
. |
Were they reached
(or to what extent)? Who benefited? What lessons were learned?
Where do we go from here? |
.
.
| Participatory
Management: |
...
| The
word “management”
was described above.
Participatory
management in a department or agency means that staff participate (to
varying degrees) in management decision making. |
. |
In a community
based project, the whole community participates in the major decisions
of the executive. (A slogan we often use is, "Management is far too important
to be left only to the managers.") |
...
.
...
| A
"partnership"is a relationship in which there is some equality between
the parties in the agreement. In the key word, "independent,"above, it
was noted that we are all, to some extent, interdependent. While your work
leads to a community breaking out of dependency, it cannot become totally
independent. |
..... |
The realistic
aim, then, is for communities to get into partnerships with municipal or
district authorities, and work towards more equal relationships. |
...
.
.
..
.
...
...
.
...
| Planning
means thinking about and working out what to do in the future. A good plan
has a series of steps leading from the current situation up to the desired
end. See Work Plan. |
...... |
One effective
method is "reverse time thinking," where you start with what you want to
achieve in the end, and look at the immediately prior step to that, then
the one before that, and so on until you get to the present situation. |
...
|
(العربيّة:التخطيط,
Bahasa Indonesia: perencanaan,
Deutsch:
Planung,
English: planning,
Español: planificación,
Filipino/Tagalog:
pagpaplano,
Français:
planification,
Galego: planificación,
Ελληνικά:
Σχεδιασμός,
日本語:
計画,
Malay:
merancang,
Nederlands:
plannen,
Romãnã:
planificarea,
ردو:منصوبہ
بندى)
|
. .
| Political
Dimension of Community: |
...
| The
political dimension of community is its various ways and means of allocating
power and decision making. It is not the same as ideology, which belongs
to the value
dimension. |
. |
It includes,
but is not limited to, types of governments and management systems. It
also includes how people in small bands make decisions when they do not
have a recognized leader. See "Culture." |
...
...
...
| Political
power is one of the sixteen elements of strength, power or capacity of
a community or organization. The degree to which the community can participate
in national and district decision making. Just as individuals have varying
power within a community, so communities have varying power and influence
within the district and nation. |
. |
The more political
power and influence that a community or organization can exercise, the
higher level of capacity it has. When simulating a community to organize
and act, the mobilizer needs to be aware of the role of political power
in empowering that community or organization. See: Elements
of Community Strength. |
..
.
...
| There
is political corruption all over the world. It may not be appropriate,
therefore, to use a local slang expression from the USA to describe one
common form of it, but we do. |
.... |
The city
of Chicago, Illinois, is well known as the home of the prohibition era's
most famous and fearsome form of organized crime, the mob (mafia). |
...
| It
is also an important place for the slaughtering and butchering of animals.
Both stink. |
. |
Many settlers
stopped in Chicago on the way west to pick up barrels of salted pork which
could last through the winter because the salt preserved the meat. |
...
| Chicago
also had an infamously corrupt city government, not to mention corrupt
unions. |
. |
Politicians
were expected to pay off their supporters, or at least the leaders of groups
who voted for them: union leaders, leaders of ethic organization,
even church leaders. |
...
| When
they won an election, they dispensed favours, a contract here, a piece
of legislation there, a job here, a "fixed" (castrated) arrest or fine
there, and on and on. |
. |
This dispensing
of favours was referred to as if the politician were dipping into a barrel
of salted pork and handing out this and that to various supporters. |
...
|
Since then, "to
pork barrel" has become used as a verb, and "pork barrelling" became a
recognized methodology. It is all slang.
|
...
..
...
| The word "positivism"
in social science and philosophy means the application of the scientific
method to social phenomena. |
.. |
As a mobiliser, you are not necessarily
using the scientific method to discover new knowledge, but you are an applied
scientist using existing knowledge to stimulate and guide social change
in a community. |
...
..
...
| In the social sciences,
"Postmodernism" is a framework which emphasises the complex patterns of
culture and society in contemporary societies. |
. |
Your job, as a community mobiliser,
is to observe and understand social patterns of a community in a practical
way, rather than to test sophisticated theories. |
...
.
...
| Poverty
is more than a lack of money and income, more than lack of access to facilities
and services such as water, roads, education or clinics. It is the result
of “poverty of spirit” ie an attitude of hopelessness, an ignorance
of available resources, a dependence upon others, lack of confidence, discouragement,
lack of skills, lack of trust, lack of integrity and lack of effective
sustainable organization; in short, lack of good management. See
Factors
of Poverty. |
..... |
Poverty is
a social problem, and calls for a social solution; poverty is not merely
the lack of income among a collection of individuals. Poverty can be reduced
by organizing and guiding poor people towards helping themselves, and by
getting stronger (empowerment)
as a result of engaging in struggles and meeting challenges. The eradication
of poverty, therefore, calls upon a sustainable improvement in management. |
.
| (Deutsch:
Armut,
English:
poverty,
Español:
pobreza,
Filipino/Tagalog:
Kahirapan,
Français:
pauvreté,
Galego:
pobreza,
日本語:
貧困,
Malay:
kemiskinan,
Português:
pobreza,
Romãnã: saracie,
Somali:
faqri,
Tiên Việt: sự
nghèo đói) |
.
...
| The
word “alleviation,” means to temporarily take away pain and discomfort.
Giving money to poor people does not end poverty. |
. |
As mobilizers
dedicated to fighting the causes not the symptoms of poverty, we avoid
this approach (mere alleviation by transferring money). |
...
|
(Deutsch:
Armutslinderung,
English:
poverty
alleviation, Español:
alivio
de la pobreza, Filipino/Tagalog: pagpapawi
sa kahirapan, Français: allégement
de pauvreté, Galego: alivio
da pobreza, Italiano:
alleviare
la povertà, 日本語: 貧困の軽減,
Malay:
peringanan kemiskinan,
Português:
alívio
de pobreza, Romãnã: alinarea
saraciei, Somali:
yareynta
faqriga, Tiên Việt: xoá
đói giảm nghèo)
|
.
...
| As
mobilizers, we work towards the elimination of the social problem of poverty
by analysing its causes, and taking steps to oppose and remove those causes.
Since poverty is a social problem, the solution to that problem is
social. |
. |
Two complementary
approaches to poverty elimination (communal and private) are found in two
complementary modules here: Community
Mobilization Cycle, and Income
Generation Scheme. |
.
| (Deutsch:
Armutsbeseitigung,
English:
poverty
eradication, Español: erradicación
de la pobreza, Filipino/Tagalog: pagpuksa
sa kahirapan, Français: extirpation
de pauvreté, Galego: erradicación
da pobreza, Italiano:
alleviare
la povertà, 日本語: 貧困の撲滅,
Malay:
penghapusan
kemiskinan, Português:
erradicação
de pobreza, Romãnã: eradicarea
saraciei, Somali:
ciribtirka
faqriga, Tiên Việt: xoá
triệt để cái nghèo) |
.
...
| The
word "reduction" means to make something smaller. See
Principles
of Community Empowerment. |
. |
In contrast
to “alleviation” which temporarily treats the symptoms of
poverty,
reduction is seen as on the right pathway towards eradication. |
...
|
(Deutsch:
Armutsreduzierung,
English: poverty
reduction, Español:
reducción
de la pobreza, Filipino/Tagalog: Pagbabawas
sa Kahirapan, Français: réduction
de pauvreté, Galego: redución
da pobreza, 日本語: 貧困の減少,
Malay:
pengurangan
kemiskinan, Português:
redução
de pobreza, Romãnã: reducerea
saracie, Tiên Việt: giảm
bớt nghèo đói)
|
. .
...
| Power
is the ability to move or do things. Amount of strength. |
. |
In the political
dimension
of culture,
power means political
power, the ability to control, influence or change things in society. |
...
|
(Deutsch:
Macht,
empowerment,
die
stärkung, leistungsfähigkeit,
English:
capacity,
power,
strength,
Español:
capacidad,
potenciación,
poder,
Filipino/Tagalog:
kakayahan,
pagpapalakas,
Français:
capacité,
empowerment,
pouvoir,
Italiano:
empowerment,
日本語:
強くする,
Kiswahili:
uwezo,
Português:
capacidade,
fortalecendo,
Romãnã: capacitate,
Pyccкий:
paзвития,
Somali: awooda,
Tiên Việt: tăng
cường)
|
..
..
..
| (Deutsch:
Lob,
English: praise,
Español: ~, Français: ~, Português: elogio) |
.
...
| The
concept of primary health care, promoted and supported by WHO, is a package
of policies and practices that are of particular interest to poor people
and to people in low income nations. |
. |
The principles
in that package include putting an emphasis onto spending on low cost health
care for the common diseases, which affect the majority of the population,
rather than putting scarce resources into high-cost, sophisticated (eg
high tech) curative practices that benefit only the rich. |
...
| It
also recognizes that prevention is much cheaper than cure, that it results
in lower mortality (death rate) and morbidity (illness rate) which put
strains on the economy, and is more humane. |
. |
It includes
the notion that many persons can be trained to low levels of medical skills
who can reach more remote areas of the country, and who can refer difficult
cases to more highly trained professional in urban areas. |
...
| The
notion of PHC is important to mobilizers in poor countries, as it needs
to be understood by all people, and it is a more efficient way of allocating
limited resources. |
... |
The principles
lying behind PHC are also applicable to other community based activities,
such as community based social work. See the acronym PHC. |
...
|
(Deutsch:
Primäre
Gesundheitsversorgung, English:
primary
health care, Español:
atención
sanitaria primaria, Filipino/Tagalog: pangunahing
kalingang pangkalusugan, Français:santé
primaire, Galego: atención
sanitaria primaria, Italiano:
assistenza
sanitaria primaria, 日本語: プライマリー・ヘルス・ケア,
Malay:
penjagaan
kesihatan utama, Português: cuidado
médico primário, Romãnã: ingrijirea
medicala primara, Tiên Việt: chăm
sóc sức khoẻ sơ cấp)
|
.
...
| A
progress report reports progress. What are the results of your
activities? How far have you gone to reach your objectives? Donors want
to know what was achieved with their donated money. |
. |
Donors are
less interested in your activities; they are more interested in the results
of your activities; have you reached, or partially reached, the objectives
you stated when you asked for the donation? Resource acquisition (eg fund
raising) and report writing are not independent activities. see
Report
Writing. |
...
.
...
| A
project
is a logical series of related activities (investments) aimed at solving
specific problems with a specific time and in a specific location. Project
stages include assessing, planning, implementing (doing), monitoring (observing),
and evaluating. |
. |
A community-based
project is one in which the whole community chooses, plans implements and
monitors it, and owns and controls the project. |
...
.
...
|
Executive, Development
Committee or CIC
(Community Implementing Committee) of the community, chosen by the community
as a whole, responsible for carrying out the wishes of the whole community.
|
...
.
...
| Karl Marx used the word,
"Proletariat" to identify the exploited class –
workers in factories who did not own capital, and who depended upon their
labour for their survival. Français: le prolétariat. |
. |
In your work in communities, you
may find that the equivalent groups are peasants who do not work for factory
owners, or tenants who do not own the land or property on which they live
or make a living. |
...
.
...
| A
"proposal" is a suggestion or invitation. In our work, a "proposal"
is a document that requests money and/or seeks approval for a project.
The most effective format for a proposal is a project
design. |
. |
It defines
a problem, a solution, and a strategy for using potential resources, overcoming
constraints, to reach finite and measurable objectives. See
Proposals. |
.
.
...
| A
"provider" takes the "provision" approach, and provides resources in return
for votes, popularity or career advance. Provision is not sustainable
and does not lead to self reliance as the "enablement"
approach can. The old patronistic (or "pork
barrelling") system, where politicians and officials handed out contracts
and community services to those who supported them in staying in power,
is promoted by the "provision" approach to facilities and services. |
. |
Those leaders
must change or be replaced by genuinely democratic public servants who
engage in facilitating community self help. |
..
..
...
| Pure sociology is contrasted
with applied sociology (in which community mobilisation is categorised).
Same as Basic Sociology. |
. |
Pure sociology seeks to make discoveries
through observation and analysis of social groups, without attempting to
make changes in those groups. |
.
....
––»«––
|
