Community Development - Peake Estate - Case Study Example

Name : xxxxxxxxxxx Institution : xxxxxxxxxxx Title : Community Development Tutor : xxxxxxxxxxx Course : xxxxxxxxxxx @2010 Community Development Introduction Community is a group of one or more people living within the same locality and sharing common beliefs and practices. People within the same community work together and recognize their needs, exchange ideas, skills, and come up with activities which lead to development and improvement of their living standards. Community A community can be defined as a group of people who are able to transcend and accept their differences in spite of their diversity in social, age, educational, ethnic, national, spiritual, and economic backgrounds. This enables these people to communicate openly and effectively and to work jointly towards achieving goals for the common good of the whole community. A community can also be defined as a self organized group of individuals living within a similar locality with common interest or agenda who collaborate through sharing information, ideas, and several resources. In this case, Paolo the community development worker is carrying out the task of erasing the bad reputation of the Peake Estate and community building that benefits the entire community. Regardless of his economic difference with the residents, Paolo who is employed by the government as a community development worker is able to work with the residents in developing Peake estate. Despite the cultural diversity of the Peake Estate residents, Paolo was able to communicate with almost all residents either in small groups or individually on things that could be done in order to develop the community. He found out that the adults are willing to work jointly across age groups and cultures. The adults identified that by acquiring computer knowledge they could be able to meet the goal of developing their estate. Most of the younger people knew how to use computer and in spite of their educational differences with the older people they taught them how to use computers. One adult who was studying computer was a graphic designer in his original country and he taught himself about web design using the computers. Despite his diversity in national origin, this man passed his expertise to the residents who started producing stylish and professional posters and notices and a webpage for the estate. The residents of Peake estate were able to transcend and accept their diversities and this enabled them to develop the entire community. The residents utilize their personal resources to expand with a business strategy plan and within one year the estate has established a blooming business that provides computer training to groups of the local community and funds leisure activities for the residents of Peake Estate. Development Development can be defined as the act of disclose or developing something which is unknown or a steady process through which something is developed, as a method or plan .Paolo along with young people were able to develop computer skills by teaching older people especially women who did not that these skills. The adult who was a graphic designer in his original country was able to teach himself web design using the computers. He developed web design skills and passed these skills to residents of Peake Estate who used them to develop posters, notices and a web page for the Estate. The residents of Peake Estate used their resources to develop a strategy plan and a plan which enabled them to establish a business which offered computer training to the people of the local community. Development can also be defined as the organized use of technical and scientific know how to meet specific requirements or goals. Residents of Peake Estate used the computer knowledge to develop web design which enabled them to produce posters, notices and a webpage. Other communities came for services which they paid for and this created job opportunities for the unemployed and also generated income for the estate. Development can be defined as the extension of practical or theoretical design, discovery, invention, or discovery. Most adults of Peake estate recognized that by developing knowledge on how to use computers, they could develop skills that could enable them to come with projects which could lead to generation of income and provision of job opportunities. Development can be defined as the process of social and economic transformation that is based on intricate environmental and cultural factors and the interaction of these factors. Social development refers to a procedure which leads to change in social structures in a way which progresses the ability of the community to achieve its aspirations. Social change consists of four stages which include growth, survival, evolution, and development. The quantitative extension of current activities produces horizontal expansion or growth. Development entails a qualitative transformation in the manner in which a community conducts its activities, like through much more progressive behavior and attitudes by the people and the acceptance and adoption of a more efficient social organizations or a much more superior technology which might have been developed in another region. The word evolution can be defined as the original adoption and formulation of structural and qualitative progresses in the type of new social values, behaviors, organizations or attitudes. The Peake Estate was distinguished by cultural differences of the residents, high rates of unemployment, high rates of crimes and high absenteeism from school which gave the Estate a bad reputation. After developing a project of using computers, residents were provided with job opportunities which reduced the rates of unemployment and reduced crime rates as people became busy. The project led to generation of income which led to economic well being of the residents and parents were able to school fees for their children. This wiped out the bad reputation of the estate and residents were able to lead good social lives which were free of crimes. Residents adopted a technology of graphic design which had been developed in another country and they were able to accomplish their project and meet the objectives of the community. Cultural development refers to the evolution or change of culture such as beliefs, norms, arts, behavioral patterns, traditions, and anything else that is connected with human work and thought. Residents disregarded their cultural diversities and worked together for the common good of developing their Estate. Community development principles One of the major principles of community development is values. Community development employees support organizations, groups, and individuals in the process of developing the community on the foundation of particular practices and values principles. The central values of community development include self determination, social justice, learning, and working together, participation, reflective practice, and sustainable communities. The practice principles underpinning these values include: Social justice Social justice is based on valuing and respecting differences and diversity, committing to follow human and civil rights for every person. The residents of Peake Estate used their resources to learn about fulfillment of legal requirements success as insurance covers and this enabled them to conduct legal business successfully. They also valued and respected opinions, skills, and ideas coming from different people regardless of their diversities. It also entails challenging discriminatory and oppressive attitudes and actions which may hinder community development. Residents also discouraged discriminatory actions and attitudes which could drag the project. Majority of young people were unwilling to teach the older people on how to use computers. However, at least two young people were willing to teach a group of women on computer skills. Social justice also entails promoting and seeking just practices and policy and enhancing equality while challenging unjust practices. Residents of Peake Estate came up with a project that offered employment opportunities and generation of income to both older and younger people. The project aimed at providing employment opportunities and enabling people to have a source of income which could see a reduction in the number of unemployed individuals, a reduction in the rates of crime and also attendance of school by children. Self determination Self determination includes valuing the issues or concerns that the people within the community recognize as their initial points and raising the awareness of the people on the variety of options available to them and offering chances for debate of proposition of the options. Paolo talked to residents on their aspirations and established that the adults were ready to look for ways which could enable them to work jointly across age groups and cultures. They wanted a revenue source, and being employed. Paolo prepared a listing of interests of the residents and developed an audit of society assets together with identifying projects which arose from these interests. He found out that many adults were interested in knowing how to use computers. He held discussions with young people who were computer literates on how they could teach the older people on computer usage. Self determination promotes the issue that societies are not supposed to repress other communities and are therefore supposed to solve clashes within communities. Residents of Peake Estate established a business that offered computer training to people of the local community. The business offered employment opportunities and income source which led to elimination of crimes in the community. Participation Participation includes promoting participation of communities and individuals especially those who are excluded and supporting people to attain skills which can enable them to fully participate in community development. Residents of Peake Estate included the older people in the project and equipped people who were computer illiterate with computer skills which enable them to participate in the project. Participation entails sharing superior practice so as to learn from one another. Young people shared their computer skills with the older people and one person developed web design and shared the expertise which other residents and this enabled them to take part in the project. The principle of collaboration is not included in this case. Collaboration involves establishment and fostering partnerships with the aim of attaining a rewarding outcome for every member of the community. It also entails developing systems between individuals, endorsing diverse communities to work jointly and building relations between and with these different communities. The younger residents of Peake Estate were not willing to share their computer skills with the older people. They did not collaborate because they felt that their skills could not match up with the computer needs of the older people. The peak Estate community did not include people from different community in their project and remained segregated from other communities. If the youth were willing to teach the older people on computer usage, then they could acquire computer skills faster and lead to the completion of the project within months. Also if the Peake Estate community included different communities in their project, they would have been able to exchange skills, ideas and build business relationships with these communities. Community Development Community development can be defined as the long term procedure where marginalized people or people leading poor lives work mutually to recognize their needs, build exchange, exercise more control in decisions which influence their lives and work together to improve their living standards, the communities they live in and the entire society (Kenny, 2006). Residents of Peake Estate had poor quality with high rates of unemployment, insecurity and high rates of crimes. These residents decided to come up with a project which could offer employment opportunities and they worked together towards achieving their goal of improving the quality of life in the community. Community development tries to empower groups and individuals by providing them with skills they require to effect a change in their individual communities (Tesoriero, 2006). The skills are usually concentrated on building a supporting power by formation of big social groups which work together for a communal agenda. Residents of Peake estate were equipped with computer skills and they worked together towards the accomplishment of their development project. Community development can be defined as a process which involves formation, planning, and execution of activities or projects which produce improvements in the quality of life of people living in a certain community .Residents of Peake Estate came up with a project which improved their living standards through provision of job opportunities and generation of income. Community development can be improved by the government through equal allocation and distribution of resources to ensure that every community is able to access and utilize these resources. The government can also fund community projects and enable the society to develop without much economic constraint. Communities can be empowered with skills through education or training and these skills can be applied in projects or activities involved in developing the community. Conclusion Community development is important as it enables people to come up with communal activities which eliminates poverty, increases social ties, and raises their quality of life. In order to accomplish community development, people are supposed to disregard their diversities and work together towards achievement of goals that are of common good to the entire community. Bibliography Kenny, S., 2006, Developing communities for the future, 3rd edition, Thomas Nelson, Australia Thomas Nelson, Australia. Tesoriero, F., 2006, Community Development, Community-based Alternatives in an Age of Globalization, 4th Edition, Australia. Read More