Community Development
There are many definitions of community development:- “The deliberate attempt by community people to work together to guide the future of their communities, and the development of a corresponding set of techniques for assisting community people in such a process." (Bennett, 1973);
- “The active involvement of people at the level of the local community in resisting or supporting some cause or issue that interests them." (Ravitz, 1982);
- “The capacity of people to work collectively in addressing their common interests.” (Maser, 1997);
- “Community development is an approach to working with communities that emphasises improving and enhancing the conditions and circumstances of community members. It is about helping community groups identify and obtain resources to deal with community problems and aspirations.” http://www.ssh.murdoch.edu.au/comdev/
For WCHM community development is the activities we undertake to increase the strength and effectiveness of local populations and communities, improve local conditions (especially for women in disadvantaged situations) and enable women to participate in public decision-making and to achieve greater long-term control over their circumstances (The Community Development Foundation, 2006).
WCHM uses community development in a way that helps women to learn that they can create changes in their own lives, that their voices can be heard, and that they can contribute to addressing the issues affecting their lives by working together with others to look for solutions to some of the negative factors.
We do this by bringing groups of women together and using participatory methods to help them make informed choices, and to identify solutions to common problems based on their local knowledge and priorities. This also builds women's networks and capacities, enabling them to take action to create opportunities to improve their social, economic, environmental and cultural wellbeing.
Building networks in the community reduces isolation and marginalisation, and contributes to improved awareness of community issues, information sharing, and skills development. And overall this enhances women's health and wellbeing and impacts positively on their mental health.
One of the challenges for community development in the health setting is to ensure that health professionals do not impose their agenda, but rather that the community is assisted to make decisions about what needs to change, what services they need to access, and what support mechanisms are required to maintain the change.
References:
- The Community Development Foundation, What is Community Development, [Online], Available: www.cdf.org.uk/bfora/systems/xmlviewer/default.asp?arg=DS_CDF_ABOUTART_49/_page.xsl/62 [19 Sept 2006]