Transcript Promoting Community Self-Help

Module 4 –
Promoting Community
Self-Help
Community Participation
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Community participation helps establish
ownership of support or relief initiatives
and may lead to more sustainable
recovery
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Learning Objectives
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Describe the factors that make a
community supportive and healthy for its
members
Give details of how communities can be
helped to use their own resources for
solving problems
Develop ideas and methods to engage
people and achieve participation
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Defining a Community
Common Identity Factors
• Geography
• Language
• Values
• Attitudes
• Behavior
• Interests
• Beliefs
• Culture
• Trauma/disaster
experience
patterns
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Assumptions of Community
Participation
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Recovery projects are based on ideas
developed by the concerned people
themselves
A planned process exists that encourages
community participation
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Promoting Community Self-Help
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Identify and involve community leaders or
influential persons
Establish a sense of ownership by the
community
Identify community resources
Promote psychological well-being
Mobilize resources
Encourage joint decision making and
consensus
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Identify and Involve Community
Leaders
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Involvement of local leaders is an essential
part of community participation
Identify leaders who:
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Are locally accepted, trusted and respected.
Accurately represent their communities.
Will work towards helping the community to achieve its
collective goals.
Have sufficient status to attract other members to be
involved.
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Activity # 14 – Who are your
leaders?
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Break into groups
Using the following list, identify your
community leaders:
• Locally accepted, trusted and respected.
• Accurately represent their communities
• Will work towards helping the community to
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achieve its collective goals
Have sufficient status to attract other members to
be involved
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Establish a Sense of Ownership
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Successful community recovery
programs require a local sense of
ownership
Solutions that come from the community
are more likely to be implemented
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Identify Community Resources
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Knowledge of traditional and cultural
resources in the community is important.
• Roles of social networks, families, traditional
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leaders, etc
Culturally appropriate ways of helping and
supporting those in distress.
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Factors Promoting
Psychological Well-Being
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Belonging to a caring family or
community
Maintaining traditions and cultures
Having a strong religious belief or
political ideology
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Protective Factors for Children
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Stable emotional relationship with adults
Social support both within and from
outside the family
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Strengthening Protective
Factors
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Empower people with a sense of control
and predictability over their lives
Encourage people to do familiar things
together
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Mobilize Resources
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Mobilize resources and strengthen the
communities own capacities
Actively assist with transforming needs
and goals into action
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Steps in Action Planning
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4.
Identify the vision or goal
Brainstorm possible actions
Weigh advantages &
disadvantages
Determine resources needed for
each option
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Steps in Action Planning (cont)
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Choose an acceptable plan of
action
Decide who will do what,
when, where and how
Establish a time frame and
criteria to evaluate success
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Encourage Joint DecisionMaking and Consensus Building
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Differences of opinion may obstruct
achievement of a common goal.
Be aware of conflict or tension.
Find mutually acceptable solutions.
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Activity # 15 - Coordination
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Break into small groups of 4-5 people. Imagine that your
area has had a number of cattle die, and agroterrorism is
suspected but not yet confirmed. You are all meeting to
discuss the situation and to decide on a course of action.
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Appoint a facilitator, then give 10 minutes to discuss
possible courses of action. List your:
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Needs
Resources
A possible course of action
Projected impact of the course of action
In the large group, report your decisions and discuss the
experience with the group.
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