Community Organizing

Concept: COMMUNITY ORGANIZING Approaches to Community Development:

1. Welfare / Dole-out Approach – the immediate and/or spontaneous response to ameliorate the manifestation of poverty, especially on the personal level – assumes that poverty is God-given, destined, hence the poor should accept their condition since they will receive their just reward in heaven – believes that poverty is caused by bad luck, natural disasters and certain circumstances which are beyond the control of people

2. Modernization / Project Development Approach – introduces whatever resources are lacking in a given community – also considered a national strategy which adopts the Western mode of technological development – assumes that development consists of abandoning the traditional methods of doing things and must adopt the technology of industrial countries – believes that poverty is due to lack of education, lack of resources such as capital and technology

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3. Transformatory/Participatory Approach – the process of empowering/transforming the poor and the oppressed sectors of society so that they can pursue a more just and humane society – assumes that poverty is not God-given, rather it is rooted in the historical past and is maintained by the oppressive structures in society – believes that poverty is caused by prevalence of exploitation, oppression, domination and other unjust structures Community Organizing-Participatory Action Research (COPAR) Concepts Community Organizing-Participatory Action Research (COPAR) is the strategy used by the Health Resource Development Program (HRDP) in implementing primary health care delivery in depressed and underserved communities for them to become self-reliant. The HRDP describes community organizing as a continuous and sustained process of educating the people to let them understand and develop their critical awareness of the existing conditions. It is working with the people collectively and efficiently, discovering their immediate and long-term problems and mobilizing them to develop their capabilities and readiness to respond and take action on their immediate needs toward the solution to their long-term problems. Definition of COPAR: COPAR is a social development approach that aims to transform the apathetic, individualistic and voiceless poor into dynamic, participatory and politically responsive community. COPAR is a collective, participatory, transformative, liberative, sustained and systematic process of building peoples organization by mobilizing and enhancing the capabilities and resources of the people for the resolution of their issues and concerns towards effecting change in their existing oppressive and exploitative conditions. Importance of COPAR: COPAR is an important tool for community development and people empowerment as this helps the community workers to generate community participation in developmental activities. COPAR prepares people/clients to eventually take over the management of a development program in the future. It maximizes community participation and involvement; community resources are mobilized for community services. Principles of COPAR: People, especially the most oppressed, exploited and deprived sectors are open to change, have the capacity to change, and are able to bring about change. COPAR should be based on the interests of the poorest sectors of society. COPAR should lead to self-reliant community and society. Processes/Methods Used: A Progressive Cycle of Action-Reflection-Action which begins with small, local and concrete issues identified by the people and the evaluation and reflection of and on the action taken by them. Consciousness-Raising through Experiential Learning is central to the COPAR process because it places emphasis on learning that emerges from concrete action and which…; Concept: COMMUNITY ORGANIZING Approaches to Community Development: 1. Welfare / Dole-out Approach – the immediate and/or spontaneous response to ameliorate the manifestation of poverty, especially on the personal level – assumes that poverty is God-given, destined, hence the poor should accept their condition since they will receive their just reward in heaven – believes that poverty is caused by bad luck, natural disasters and certain circumstances which are beyond the control of people 2. Modernization / Project Development Approach – introduces whatever resources are lacking in a given community – also considered a national strategy which adopts the Western mode of technological development – assumes that development consists of abandoning the traditional methods of doing things and must adopt the technology of industrial countries – believes that poverty is due to lack of education, lack of resources such as capital and technology 3. Transformatory/Participatory Approach – the process of empowering/transforming the poor and the oppressed sectors of society so that they can pursue a more just and humane society – assumes that poverty is not God-given, rather it is rooted in the historical past and is maintained by the oppressive structures in society – believes that poverty is caused by prevalence of exploitation, oppression, domination and other unjust structures Community Organizing-Participatory Action Research (COPAR) Concepts Community Organizing-Participatory Action Research (COPAR) is the strategy used by the Health Resource Development Program (HRDP) in implementing primary health care delivery in depressed and underserved communities for them to become self-reliant. The HRDP describes community organizing as a continuous and sustained process of educating the people to let them understand and develop their critical awareness of the existing conditions. It is working with the people collectively and efficiently, discovering their immediate and long-term problems and mobilizing them to develop their capabilities and readiness to respond and take action on their immediate needs toward the solution to their long-term problems. Definition of COPAR: COPAR is a social development approach that aims to transform the apathetic, individualistic and voiceless poor into dynamic, participatory and politically responsive community. COPAR is a collective, participatory, transformative, liberative, sustained and systematic process of building peoples organization by mobilizing and enhancing the capabilities and resources of the people for the resolution of their issues and concerns towards effecting change in their existing oppressive and exploitative conditions. Importance of COPAR: COPAR is an important tool for community development and people empowerment as this helps the community workers to generate community participation in developmental activities. COPAR prepares people/clients to eventually take over the management of a development program in the future. It maximizes community participation and involvement; community resources are mobilized for community services. Principles of COPAR: People, especially the most oppressed, exploited and deprived sectors are open to change, have the capacity to change, and are able to bring about change. COPAR should be based on the interests of the poorest sectors of society. COPAR should lead to self-reliant community and society. Processes/Methods Used: A Progressive Cycle of Action-Reflection-Action which begins with small, local and concrete issues identified by the people and the evaluation and reflection of and on the action taken by them. Consciousness-Raising through Experiential Learning is central to the COPAR process because it places emphasis on learning that emerges from concrete action and which…

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