Problem Analysis
Lack of parents’ engagement in Development Communities
Introduction
Community development projects are beneficial to help build a stronger society.
Many NGOs aim for a better future for humanity and are willing to help provide
education, but sometimes, they lack a significant factor in their projects, which is
participation. While creating very effective plans to educate and build a stronger
community, NGOs need to understand why many citizens may not be able to
participate. Understanding the problem from different perspectives will help these
projects gain attention and motivate others to sustain a better lifestyle. In order for
NGOs to lure community members to participate, they should understand the concepts
of participation, how participation can lead to empowerment, the barriers that the
community might face, and how to motivate them.
The Approaches of Participation
Participation in community development projects is divided into three different
concepts. The first concept is the top-down approach. The top-down approach is when
governments have full control and authority over the development community, and they
are the ones initiating the activities and curriculum. This approach can be helpful only
because of financial benefits, but it’s not effective for the community. Usually,
government activities and plans are very out of touch with the actual needs of the
community. The top down approach emphasizes central planning, while the community
members are passive with no control over what they help the community with (Nikkhah
& Redzuan, 2009). The second approach is called the bottom-up approach. The bottom
up approach is the complete opposite of the top-down approach. In the bottom up
approach, the development community works for the community, and they are no longer
passive. They are responsible for all the activities and events, and they set their
curriculum based on the needs and wants of the group of people they are helping. The
government can sometimes interfere with consulting, but the community as a whole
becomes an active community. The last approach is the partnership approach. This
approach is a mix between the government’s authority and the development
community’s responsibility. It is always encouraged to prioritize the bottom up approach
because it helps encourage parents and children and makes them feel included. This
approach is the most effective because it can help raise awareness and empower the
community’s participants.
Participation and empowerment
Empowerment is a key concept that motivates participation. The feeling of
empowerment that contributors to the community get helps them stay connected to the
development activities. When these development communities include parents and
make them feel heard and understood, it will help them gain loyal contributors and will
also lead to new contributors joining every once in a while. Parents should feel included
in solving their issues and understand how to solve them. This method will make them
feel empowered and important therefore, the NGOs will be able to have a sustainable
environment and community. As what was mentioned by Samuel Paul (1987), without
empowerment, there will be no efficiency. Parents and children will feel unwanted and
irrelevant to the community and they will start disconnecting themselves from the
NGOs. When Including everyone in the community it is easier to help them solve other
problems and inefficiencies they might face. Empowerment is the secret glitch for
sustainability.
Barriers That could be faced
There are many external reasons that can cause a lack of participation from
communities. One of these barriers is a lack of awareness and self-consciousness.
Because of social norms and cultures, sometimes people from uneducated and rural
areas do not understand that their mindset could affect them negatively. This is why
raising awareness is very important. Lack of awareness can also be caused because
there are not enough locations and advocates that could help. Even if these
communities are aware that some of the practices and cultural beliefs are wrong, it
could be hard for them to reach for help because it limits their ability to do so. This is
why NGOs need to make it easier for them to participate and help them be consistent in
becoming better versions of themselves. In Jules Pretty’s article (1995), he explains that
the main reason women from lower class families find it hard to participate in activities is
because of the lack of availability. With the lack of availability, sustainability and
consistency in the NGO’s community will not exist. Without sustainability and
consistency, there will be a lack of efficiency.
Motivation
Motivation is very important to develop a sustainable community. There is a
major difference between the ability and the motivation of the community that will be
joining the NGO. People who lack ability are willing to change and join the NGO’s
community. They try to voice out their external issues so the community can make it
easier for them to join. When there is no ability, motivation starts to decrease. Motivation
is a different story. Some people can have engaging activities and interactive
communities near them, but they are not motivated to join. This is why NGOs need to
work on the motivation factor. They can do this by creating new activities and giveaways
for kids. Or they can provide free giveaways for parents, too. NGOs can also help adjust
their curriculum based on what their community asked for. Pryam Das (2014) explains
how when having wanted materials and sources and giving the community the freedom
to choose what they need help with could help motivate them to be consistent with the
community and help and provide for their community and society.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is important to consider the participation of the community.
Without participation, all other key aspects will fall. Participation is a much deeper
principle that needs to be studied very well before initiating a developing community. It
is important to consider what could help motivate most people to join in and participate.
This will help build a sustainable and consistent relationship between the community
and the NGO. It will also help in providing new ideas and solutions to problems. New
people can also help open an eye for new problems and barriers that could be faced.
Participation is the key element of efficiency.
References
Das, P. 2014. Women’s participation in community-level water governance in urban
India: The gap between motivation and ability. World Development 64: 206–18.
Nikkhah, H., & Redzuan, M. (2009). Participation as a medium of empowerment in
community development. European Journal of Social Sciences, 11(1), 170–176.
Paul, S. (1987). Community Participation in Development Projects: The World Bank
Experience. The World Bank.
Pretty, J. (1995). "Participatory Learning for Sustainable Agriculture." World
Development, 23(8), 1247–1263.
Das, P. 2014. Women’s participation in community-level water governance in urban
India: The gap between motivation and ability. World Development 64: 206–18.
