Chapter VII Introduction to community organizing By PhD. Ponh OUDAM

Contents What is Community Organizing? Why Focus on Communities? Five Key Elements of the Community Organizing Process. The Role of the Community Organizer (CO)

1. What is Community Organizing? Community Organizing is the process of establishing or supporting sustainable groups and associations of people with common needs. Community Organizing seeks to enhance people’s potential for action in directing their own development. Through this initiative, people are able to take control of community resources, utilize them for their own benefit, and make decisions on matters affecting their lives.

2. Why Focus on Communities? Real change happens when people take responsibility for and take control of the institutions that affect their lives. When we work on change at the community level, we change things for everyone who is in the same situation. This means that in helping people, we don’t help them one by one. If one person is coming to you with a problem, chances are that other people who are in a similar situation are also likely to be experiencing the same problems.

2. Why Focus on Communities? cont. When you find a way to make a change that permanently helps everyone who is in similar situation, then you are working on community change. Changes in people’s day to day life, is experienced in communities. Real change often starts at the grass roots level.

3. Five Key Elements of the Community Organizing Process. A. PEOPLE Each individual is a potential resource to the community. People have the creative capacity to change their situation. Establishing good relationship and trust building are important foundations in community organizing. B. PROBLEM Problem solving is one of the important goals of community organizing. Problems can be used to motivate and challenge people to organize themselves towards the desired change. Change can only be achieved if people plan and carry out appropriate actions together.

3. Five Key Elements of the Community Organizing Process Cont. C. PARTICITPATION People’s participation is the heart of community organizing. It is the right of all people to participate in decision making on issues affecting them. D. PROCESS In community organizing, process and relationships are as important as the solutions to the problems. People learn best by working together and learning from their concrete experiences. E. POWER People empowerment is the goal of community organizing. There is strength in number only when people are organized. If people work together, they become stronger.

4. The Role of the Community Organizer (CO) Entry and immersion into the community. Formation of the Core Group. Facilitating the formation of the “Community Based Organization (CBO)”. Guiding the participatory research process Facilitating community Planning. Facilitating Community Decision Making. Overseeing project implementation. Coordinating community mobilization. Motivating community to accomplish goals. Guiding the monitoring and evaluation process. Documentation of the “Community Organizing (CO)” process.

? Questions 1. What is community organizing mean to your organization? 2. What is the roles of field staff working with the community?