Experiences When Working With The Community - Report Example

WORKING WITH THE COMMUNITY Student’s Name Institutional Affiliation Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 2 Introduction 3 Understanding Communities 4 Comments on the Community Understanding 4 Reflections on Community Understanding 5 Summary of Community Understanding 5 Approaches to Working with Communities 6 Comments on the Approaches to Communities 6 Reflection on the community Approaches 7 Brief summary Conclusion on the Approaches 8 Skills Needed in Working with Community 8 Comments on the Community Skills 9 Reflection on Community Skills 9 A Brief Summary on Community Skills 10 Conclusion 10 References 11 Introduction The following report discuses experiences when working with a community. This includes understanding a community, approaches used in development initiatives, as well as skills required when dealing with community members (Tesoriero, 2010). The definition of a community has attracted different views over time. This is because a community can be defined depending on various aspects such as the geographical coverage of community members, roles, values, beliefs, occupation among other considerations. It is not simple to understand a community as an outsider. It requires a deeper assessment of various actors (Lynam et al, 2007). These include the roles and responsibilities played by different members of this community (Taylor et al, 2008). It also involves understanding the social structures that prevails in a community and how work is divided among institutions (Somerville, 2011). Besides this, one should analyze values, beliefs, skills and many other characteristics that define a community. Further, there are different approaches that developments initiatives can be started in a community. However, these depend on the kind of projects being carried out. Some of these methods include community action, community organization, community development, social planning and service extension. These techniques have also been discussed extensively. Finally, as a development agent, one needs to have some vital skills which should as well be applied in dealing with community members. They help one to have good working relationship with other stakeholders. These skills have also been discussed in the paper. Understanding Communities As stated above, it is always challenging for development agent to carry out any project in a county without first understanding its basic characteristics. The first aspect to consider is the type of the community. This is because there are different types of communities such as public community, personal, social, communities within communities, and so on. This information offers the foundation with which one should analyze a given community. The next step is to understand the members of the community, institutions established, roles, responsibilities and values that they hold. Community values are important as they provide one with specific boundaries with which he should or should not cross while interacting with community members. Another important factor is the needs of the community. It’s incredible to start a project in a community without carrying out needs assessment. This involves assessing the available resources, how they are utilized and what need to be done to empower the community. Further, there are different ways one can gather information from the community members. This includes use of informants, surveys and questionnaires, focus group discussions among others. Comments on the Community Understanding The above discussion gives some of the most basic requirements needed by any development agent when initiating a project in a community. Failure to establish good working relationship with community members makes a project to fail. Despite the fact that community people share common goals and beliefs, there are other restraining forces within that hinder the progress of a given society (Gamble at al, 2010). These forces should also be known in order to unlock community’s capacity. Assessing the above issues of a community may take longer than the project. Gathering information from individuals of a community must be carried out in a professional way (Tesoriero, 2010). This is because some members may feel that one is overstepping his mandate or asking too much from the community. There is therefore need to ensure that community members are cooperative in the whole process. Reflections on Community Understanding The amount of time and other resources that are invested in ensuring that one has the correct information about every aspect of a community is enormous. It means that a lot of patience is required in the process. At the same time, some areas are hostile and this could pose a threat to development agents (Combat Poverty Agency 2000). One aspect that comes out clear is that this process can go smoothly if one establishes a good relationship with the community members before making any step. Summary of Community Understanding If one is to work with community members in a more effective manner, the first steps of gathering information from the community are crucial (Somerville, 2011).Gathering information requires concerted effort from various stakeholders (Combat Poverty Agency 2000). It makes work easier and enjoyable. Finally, though this process is involving, it is advisable to be skilful enough in order to have proper interpersonal skills and avoid clashing with other members. Approaches to Working with Communities There are various approaches used in initiating projects in a community. These include community development, community organizations, social planning, and services extension and community action (McDonald, 2005). Community development involves members coming together to ensure they collectively initiate some projects. It includes self-empowerment, where there is an integration of self-representation, development of capacities and promoting collective action to benefit every member (In Mayo et al, 2013). The main aim of these initiatives is to create attention among policy makers when they are making decisions. Community action involves those groups affected by some decisions or lack of decisions on specific matters. These groups come together to raise their voices regarding an issue in order to change the status quo. A good example is the young people who may oppose some policies that go against their interests in the community. Service extension involves spreading development initiatives of services to cover a wider region in the community. Development agents may feel that some people are not accessing services and therefore they need to extend the same to respective groups. Further, social planning involves coming up with strategic assessment plans of community problems and needs. It is a process that takes the consideration of available resources and how they should be distributed in the community (McDonald, 2005). Finally, community organization involves coming together of different groups or agents in order to join efforts and establish projects in a community. Comments on the Approaches to Communities The above approaches are very crucial in knowing in which way one can start or enter a community when commencing a project. However, it is worth noting that these community interventions programs are hijacked by various stakeholders such as politician. This kind of groups acts as restraining forces in community development (Ledwith, 2011). Therefore a community may take decades to develop due to such kind of unnecessary interventions (Tesoriero, 2010). The vested interests play a great role in this process. Further, the social planning includes coming up with policies that guide resource utilization and other important aspects of a project. The important factor to remember in all these processes is that community members must be involved. Community representatives need to be consulted in such matters. In addition, goals and priorities are set in the social planning. Different interests of various groups in the community are involved in order to avoid any opposition ones the project commences. Over the years, service extensions have been known to be the work of governments. However, these responsibilities have been taken over by many other stakeholders who have joined hands in extending services to rural areas. This is commendable. Reflection on the community Approaches Community participation is one aspect that cannot be ignored in any given approaches. It is incredible when community members ate left behind in decision making. Failure to involve members of a give community show some disrespect and ignorance of the role they play in development projects. At the same time, some organizations and individuals are in need of exploiting the resources available in the community without considering the problems that such communities face. Brief summary Conclusion on the Approaches Development approaches are dependent on several factors such as the community structure, resource availability, security, financial resources, manpower and so on. Development agents should figure out the best method of intervening in order to solve community problems (Tesoriero, 2010). At the same time, all these approaches can be found in a single community. They can all be applied in different levels and degrees. The bottom-line is the participation and consultation of community members. In addition, capacity building cannot be ignored since it helps in ensuring that local residents are able to manage and monitor project after the withdrawal of development agents or donors. It is good to note that community participation should be done at all levels to ensure that members are well represented and informed at all stages of project implementation. Skills Needed in Working with Community Working with community requires a lot of skills. This is because one is dealing with people at different levels. In this respect, it is obvious that social skills are important. Interpersonal skill helps in knowing how to interact with different members of a community. They assist in controlling one’s personality and ensuring he gets crucial information and consequently have the community member’s endorsement (Somerville, 2011). Some local residents may be hostile and thus it is challenging if one does not have enough skills in dealing with such situations. Further, management skills are very important. It is obvious that one will be needed to manage project which include different resources. In this category, he needs to have skills in planning. Therefore, without planning skills, an individual will have difficult time. At the same time, organizing skills are crucial when working with community. One can organize different activities easily. In addition, it is prudent to ensure that one has leadership skills. Leadership skills involve a lot since as a development agent, one will be required to lead different groups which are assigned various tasks. A good leader needs to have excellent communication skills, patience, understanding and so on. These are helpful in making one’s responsibilities easier. Comments on the Community Skills The above list of skills is crucial when working with a community. However, it is important to point out that for this process to be even easier development agents should train community members on leadership skills. This will go a long way in ensuring that the locals as well become responsible at different levels. Further, it makes work easier for processionals since there is division of work. Analytical skills are also important in analyzing different situations and circumstances before making decisions. Reflection on Community Skills It is not possible for one to have all the required when working with community. However, leadership skills carry more weight compared to their skills. This is because all what it is required in dealing with community members is showing direction (Tesoriero, 2010). Some communities have enough resources in their regions but the problem is that they lack good leadership. Despite this, one should be a reliable leader who will be taken by his word. A Brief Summary on Community Skills Acquiring relevant skill needed in working with community is not simple. One needs to undergo training in order to know how to apply the same on the ground. Local residents should be trained on how to manage their own projects (Somerville, 2011). Leadership skills are important at all levels. These skills should also be transferred to community members. Conclusion As mentioned earlier on, working with community is sometimes challenging. However, if proper steps are followed, then it can be the most exciting experience. The first step is ensuring that one understand the basic characteristic of a community. Among the most important factors is assessing the needs of the community. This is because, if it is not effectively done, then one could be solving a problem which does not exist. Therefore, problem defining process should be done first before knowing how to solve the problems in the community. Further, proper approaches should be applied considering the resources available, regulations, needs and other factors. In order to execute this, proper skills are necessary. This calls for training. The skills gained should be transferred to the local residents to make work easier. The most important lessons include the importance of community participation, community invention methods and the relevance of having proper skills working with community. These factors are vital for effective community development. References Combat Poverty Agency. (2000). The role of community development in tackling poverty. Dublin: Combat Poverty Agency. Gamble, D. N., & Weil, M. (2010). Community practice skills: Local to global perspectives. New York: Columbia University Press. In Mayo, M., In Mendiwelso-Bendek, Z., In Packham, C., & Palgrave Connect (Online service). (2013). Community research for community development. Ledwith, M. (2011). Community development: A critical approach. Bristol: Policy. Lynam, S., & Ireland. (2007). Community development and health. Dublin: Combat Poverty Agency. McDonald, A. (2005). Understanding community care: A guide for social workers. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Somerville, P. (2011). Understanding community: Politics, policy and practice. Bristol: Policy Press. Taylor, J., Wilkinson, D., Cheers, B. (2008). Working with communities in Health and Human Services. Sydney: Oxford University Press. Tesoriero, F. (2010). Community development: Community-based alternatives in an age of globalisation. Frenchs Forest, N.S.W: Pearson Australia. Read More