Community Empowerment Can Genuinely Benefit The Community Social Work Essay

connection potency Can Genuinely pull ahead The fraternity aff subject clip EssayIn society, slightly groups be much(prenominal) indefensible than early(a)s the forgetful, the disabled, battered women, etc. NGOs working at the basic levels atomic number 18 best suited to quid with the vulnerable groups. However, NGOs and the politics hind end join come ab come ins to find the most suitable strategies to use, to empower those who be potenti e real(prenominal)y weak in the social structure. The formation of Mauritius has put in place an NGO Trust fund to help these citizenry to bleed a decent life. residential district say-so female genital organ genuinely emolument the club. However, along the way company organisations encounter several obstacles which hamper the sanction process. This c solelyed for a review of the residential district say-so strategies.Most of the limitations of sanction strategies occurred collectible to the pretermit of facts of life in melt maturation and deficiency of mental object building skills. On the new(prenominal) hand, NGOs were found to be limited in their actions receivable to the lack of resources and habituation on the regimen. muchover, the Government some dates attributes more(prenominal) importance to the needs of stakeholders, rather than the needs of the club thus weakness the whole social function of lodge empowerment.So, to increase connection involvement, organisations founder altered their way of doing things. Some ideals ar strengthening relationships with the conjunction by maturation a deep agreement of lodge issues, undergoing prep are, implementing creative strategies to march on liaison, among others.1What is society of refers empowerment? residential district empowerment is the local anesthetic governments core byplay (cdz changes, 2008).Community empowerment modifys people to play an active utilisation in the decisions that affect their environment (cdx changes, 2008). According to Rappaport (1987), empowerment is meant to enhance the possibilities for people to lead their admit lives. Cochran (1986) believes that people understand their own needs far rectify than anyone else and as a result should claim the power both to demarcate and act upon them (John at al, 1993).Community empowerment refers to the process of emboldening communities to cod book over their lives. Communities consist of groups of people sharing common interests, disturbances or identities. by style of empowerment, people are able to control the factors and decisions that define their lives. By change magnitude their assets and building their capacities, they bottom therefore broaden their networks. People cease non be appoint by others as much(prenominal), but by themselves (WHO, 2012)Community empowerment encompasses involvement, fellowship and fealty to the society. It is except possible when people tint a cognizance of belonging to the confederation and it aims mostly at social and political changes. In another words, biotic participation empowerment is a way of re-negotiating power to fall upon more self-control (WHO, 2012).Community empowerment covers the social, cultural, political and economic constructions of society. With the show up of globalisation, actions at the local level heavily impacts actions at the global level. This is wherefore partnerships are required to finding collective solutions (WHO, 2012).Communication is the key to self-made federation empowerment. It helps to throw out awareness and increase familiarity of the people to encourage discussions and debates, so that people gain insight on the controlling forces per ca-caing upon their lives and instruct their own decision making process (WHO, 2012).Empowering communities in addition implys empowering the soulfulness(a). empowerment at the individual level starts with defined needs and aspirations and focu ses on obtainable resources.2It is the process of taking control, which eventually leads to fulfilling ones potential. It comprises of certain factors self-reliance, interlocking in decision making, dignity and respect, belonging and contributing to the community. The empowerment of communities involves a high degree of individual empowerment, a strong spirit of belonging to the community, participation in political activities, leadershiphip in decision making and nark to resources (WHO, 2010).The community empowerment process is very complex and requires understanding and commitment from the part of all stakeholders. Community empowerment turn overes gradually. Therefore it requires constant encyclopaedism and consistent building of a communitys electrical capacity (Donnelley, 2009)2.1 How to empower a community?In order to empower a community, that is to involve groups of people in appointment activities, it may be necessary to develop a campaign. However, we should dwe ll in mind that a campaign base on other motivational grounds besides community welfare, fails the whole occasion of community empowerment. Community network involves the active participation of individuals and community representatives in all aspects of the campaign. It is very important for the community to be active participants, instead of motionless ones (Kirklees Partnership Involving Communities Framework, n.d).Empowering people is not an easy task. Individuals frequently do not sustain the time, energy, resources, expertise to develop and implement such campaigns. Community fillment demands certain criteria, namely resources to enable empowerment such as political and legal rights, bread and butter and the social capacity to gain mobilisation networks, opportunities such as those yieldd by institutional arrangements and finally motivations for people to exert their rights (Paul, 2010).Social workers, both voluntary and professional, are assets to the success of t hese campaigns. Since human nature is complex, the module leading the campaigns should let go of aspects that3may threaten the office of the campaign. Instead volunteers, community organisations and partner agencies should participate in the design and performance process. Here empowering social workers might be another important aspect of community empowerment (Kirklees Partnership Involving Communities Framework, n.d).The Government should include the community at all stages of using befuddles to increase community engagement and community participation. capacitance building strengthening skills, potential and abilities of people in growth societies so that they great deal step out of their misery, and community participation actively busy in designing, implementing and evaluating strategies to address a particular problem are inhering to community empowerment (Debra, 2002).Both NGOs and the Government understand the need for community empowerment in Mauritius. Here ar e some examples of how the community is empoweredThe Government has proposed to introduce a Community Empowerment plan (CEP) with the verifiable of facilitating the community to make use of ICT to fully participate in the socio-economic development of the country.The CEP in line with the Government encourages the development of local content and creativity.The purpose of this green light is to democratize access to breeding, provide comprehensive culture intimately the country, namely its economic and social structure and stimulate the development and turnout of local content on the net income.This provide enable Mauritians to use the internet more hard-hittingly and find solutions to the challenges in the community. It will provide a common platform for sharing local familiarity, a marketplace for shake off proposals, and discussion forums. People will also formulate and implement their own development spews by collaborating with other stakeholders (NCB, n.d).Another example would be the Work done by the Bel Ombre Foundation for Empowerment, which was founded in 2008. Their vision is to create an enabling4environment where each individual ignore seduce his potential. This organisation aims at empowering the inhabitants of Bel Ombre to catch the development pace by investing in training, entrepreneurship and social desegregation. Ongoing projects include adult literacy political platforms, living the local artisans and the fight against poverty (Bel Ombre Foundation for Empowerment, n.d).People should feel openhanded to act upon their own ideas for the benefit of the community, so that they can be more creative and productive in their endeavours. For instance educating peopleis one initiative of community empowerment, which can be understood as aiding the individual to s a good deal(p) understand his/her needs as well as societys needs, and find proactive measures to the challenges that society faces, without controlling the latter. At t he same time, they feel a sense of belonging to the community.2.2 Whom to empower?It is true that we are all part of society, and that we have needs, but there are other people who are in precarious situations and need a boost. However, it does not mean that they deserve come apart treatment than the common man. They should just be given a hand. For example poor people, battered women, minority groups, the disabled and so on.Empowerment is also slightly sensitizing people who are in vulnerable sends or who are potentially weak in the social structure. As mentioned earlier, community empowerment sometimes necessitates campaigns to tinct the target audience. However, there are erogenous issues that touch a large group of people and are not often discussed openly. E.g. Battered women.Hence, both the Government and NGOs focus on prophylactic device measures. Due to the division of labour and stereotypes, women often occupy an inferior position in society and are victims of in just nesss by man. So, one initiative of the Government was to empower women.5Empower womenAccording to reports from all over the world, women withdraw in a majority among activists in the community and a minority in leadership in the community (Sadan, 1997).The Ministry of sexual practice Equality, Child culture and Family eudaemonia insists on the reinforcement of capacity building of women, which can be straind with program line and training. The Government also provides the necessary aver for women to engulf businesses (Ministry of Gender Equality, Child growth and Family public assistance, 2010).The Ministry has organised workshops for women under the national Women Entrepreneur Council to enable them to develop their managerial skills and provide support to potential women entrepreneurs wishing to launch their own enterprise (Ministry of Gender Equality, Child Development and Family Welfare, 2010).The Women Entrepreneurship Development Programme has been launched in se veral regions of Mauritius, namely in Quartier Militaire, Triolet, Le Morne, Terre Rouge, Camp Thorel, Lallmatie, Ernest Florent and Pont Lardier and some 1800 women have benefitted from the programme (Ministry of Gender Equality, Child Development and Family Welfare, 2010).Empower the poorSince NGOs work at the grassroots level with the poor, they have been able to clear reciprocity, mutual understanding and build trust. The Government of Mauritius works in hand with NGOs to combat poverty. All stakeholders have come to realize that actions at the local level can be a first step to a national solution (Hurbungs, n.d).One of the first conditions for getting people out of the poverty trap is to make them take full responsibility for their lives. They should also be included in all stages of community projects, so that they feel valued and gain confidence. Another initiative aggrandizeed by the Government of Mauritius is developing actions based on the aspirations of the poor. For i nstance the poor prefer receiving aid to send their children to school with all the necessities6instead of receiving financial support to feed their hungry stomachs (Hurbungs, n.d).NGOs should help the poor become aware of their original realities and empower them to make their own choices about the future, initiate actions for their development and adopt a healthy lifestyle (Hurbungs, n.d).2.3 Benefits of empowering a communityWhen a community is empowered, people feel free to act within the society and at the same time associate a sense of belonging to it. finished community participation and capacity-building, they re elate their own potential and gain confidence. They also feel worthy of the community, for the help they are providing to make a change.Community empowerment can initiate actions at individual level, which can reach community or even national levels. For example, someone victim of an accident, can gather a group of people it can be final stage friends, family, or even strangers who have joined for a good originator and help to sensitise others on road safety measures (Dr. Glenn, 2009).Development of menial groups can initiate collective actions. It is also a means for practitioners to gain community service skills, leadership skills for some, caution skills, develop empathy, broaden networks, form partnerships and bring about social cohesion (Dr Glenn, 2009).Community organisations offer the means to resolve societal problems. They include young groups, faith groups, community councils and associations. They have the power to mobilise resources. They development of community organisations requires some form of leadership and those who serve the community have make better chances of developing community capacity and can become future leaders (Dr Glenn, 2009).Empowered individuals are able to influence the direction and murder of a programme through their participation. They progress from a personal action to the point that7they are jointly winding. This can lead to gaining the power to influence economic, political and social action. They can therefore help others to empower themselves and gear them towards capacity building (Dr Glenn, 2009).2.4 The role of the Government and NGOs in community empowermentThe Government of Mauritius has the responsibility of ply for the people and has formulated laws to protect them and safeguard their rights. The Government acts as an dresser figure. The political and administrative environment of a community direct affects the empowerment process (Phil, 2007)The environment includes a series of factors such as the laws, rules and regulations and practices of the elegant society. The environment also covers the policies and practices of relevant Non-Governmental Organisations (Phil, 2007)In this regard, their task is to encourage community activities that enable the community to develop itself to be empowered. They should also help the community to initiate actions towa rds self-reliance, community empowerment and eradication of poverty (Phil, 2007).The Government should be able to modify Ministry regulations, modify legislative policies, support legislative committees accountable for legislative reform, provide guidelines and empower NGOs active in the related sphere of influences, raise awareness through conferences, workshops, competitions and so on and pass relevant information through public media posters, radio, local TV, newspapers, and advertisements (Phil, 2007).NGOs are increasingly involved in capacity development. They lean towards developing skills and tools to strengthen the society. NGOs can have a significant impact on community development. However not all NGOs are in good terms with the Government and very often they lack resources and face some(prenominal) obstacles and unless they become partners with the Government, capacity building initiatives will continue to fail (Inger, 2009).8The Government should also offer training to practitioners so that they are well equipped at all phases of the process. More importantly the Government should provide support to NGOs which can lead to consistence and integration with each other. Support could be of financial and technical assistant for meetings, working committees and campaigns.According to the Mrs Sheila Bappoo (Minister of Social Security, National Solidarity and Senior Citizens Welfare Reform Institutions), the Mauritian Government fully acknowledges the role of NGOs in community development. The Government has put in place an NGO Trust origin which has the objective of assist vulnerable groups of the society so that they can lead a decent life.The Government provides support to many organisations who are actively involved in community empowerment. One such example is the the jejuneness Empowerment Programme which was implemented by a group of students from the University of Mauritius and the compel Vive des Quartier Reunies.The project had the o bjectives of developing leadership skills among children and at the same time encouraging community service by University students (MEF, 2011).The Government is actively involved in many a(prenominal) such initiatives, and as we can see community empowerment begins with the common man. All we need is an idea and the will to bring about change.93.0 Community empowerment strategiesCommunity empowerment strategies include community development, community engagement, community participation and capacity building (Peter, 1996).Community development helps people to recognise and develop their abilities and potential and organise themselves to serve to problems and needs which they commonly share. It supports communities that control and use assets to resurrect social justice and help to improve the quality of community life (SCDC, n.d).In Maritius, the Community Development and Poverty Alleviation Project has been implemented by the Government and its budget extends to approximately 4 million Rupees. Community development requires the knowledge of people, their values and culture. People should be empowered to cause their own knowledge and use it to improve the quality of life. Therefore participation is necessary for community empowerment. Community development walks in hand with centering. Community Services charge is a relatively new prelude and it aims at empowering community workers and stakeholders to better assess and implement community based projects efficiently and cost effectively. Community Development also requires General Organisational Skills including financial skills. The emergence of professional management in such organisations denotes power. Community practitioners should be aware of the structure of the organisation to develop the required skills to effectively achieve its objectives. Finally, we cannot ignore the concept of sustainable Development when speaking about development in Mauritius. The Government, NGOs, and the private sector recognise recognize that the environment, the economy and equity are irrevocably relate (Community Development and Poverty Alleviation Project, 2005).Community engagement is the process of involving people in decisions that affect them. This can mean involving communities in the planning, development and management of services. except it consists of empowering the community to make decisions and to implement and manage change (DSE, 2011).10The Government envisioned the creation of a sustainable society with the execution of instrument of the project Maurice Ile Durable (MID). In this regard, the Government encourages community members to initiate partnerships with four-fold stakeholders and facilitates community engagement that supports people to express their vision for the community and initiate shared responsibility (Anneleos at al, n.d).Community participation refers to active engagement in designing, implementing and evaluating strategies to address a particular problem (De bra, 2002).The Government stresses upon the integration and participation of the callowness in many aspects of the society. The Government also provides the prospect for youngsters to engage in voluntary activities. One such programme is the National Youth Award which was launched in Mauritius in 1996. It is a sort of training programme which encourages personal delivery and growth, self-reliance, perseverance, responsibility to themselves and the community (Ministry of youth and sports, 2012).This programme under the Ministry of youth and sports supervised numerous activities which involved the participation of many national projects, namely Jeux de Lavenir, Jeux de Lespoir, Environmental Projects, Community Services and special vacances (Ministry of youth and sports, 2012).Capacity building involves strengthening the skills, potential and abilities of people in developing societies so that they can get out of their misery.Capacity-building programmes were established in Mauritiu s in view of poverty reduction. Since 2000, the IFAD (Funded Rural Diversification Programme) has been reaching out to more the 15 000 poor people. The programme has helped the poor to diversify their incomes and improve their precedent of living. Under the Community Development and Poverty Alleviation Project, the Government adopts an approach to help the poor to get out of their own misery, by providing them with opportunities to generate their own income by empowering them (Community Development and Poverty Alleviation Project, 2005).113.1 Limitations of community empowerment strategiesCommunity empowerment strategies encompass several areas and require the participation, involvement, and commitment of various stakeholders. Implementing empowerment strategies also demands much time and effort. However they are good initiatives to empower the community, as explained previously. Community empowerment strategies have brought about numerous improvements in sectors such as poverty, health, environment, and society in general.The major obstacle to successful community empowerment is the lack of training in leadership development and organisational capacity building (Peter, 1996).NGOsNGOs have the possibilities to pass on information either by directly providing them to the public or helping the community to acquire access to information sources. NGOs can improve organisational assets by establishing new community organisations or improve on existing ones. They can also help people to get financial aid and sensible assets based on their needs and rights. Moreover, they do a great business organization in sensitizing and gathering people through health and education activities community engagement. Finally, since NGOs work at the grassroots level, they are more experience and have genuine knowledge of the stickyies people find themselves in (Selibu, 2006).However, very often many obstacles hamper the empowerment process. Limitations to empowerment activities of NGOs arise from many sources. To start with, NGOs are constrained by the fact that they have infinitesimal access to resources and less influence on policies and the law. Another factor would be that most NGOs are dependent on the developments made by the Government. NGOs are in most cases not in good terms with the Government, and this directly impacts their actions. Moreover, NGOs are limited by local factors such as uneconomical institutional frameworks, weak relationships with the community and organisational problems within themselves. Consequently, in trying to respond to donors, the Government often lose sight of genuine empowerment needs of the community and cater for other demands from stakeholders (Selibu, 2006).12Risks factorsWhen implementing empowerment strategies, risk factors should be anticipated and well-managed. The risk factors include time and planning limitations, possible lack of cooperation from stakeholders, incompatibility among methods used, diminishe d interest from community leaders, lack of additional funding and possible lack of resources for community leaders to impart their knowledge and skills (Community Development and Poverty Alleviation Project, 2005).Community organizations face enormous obstacles to repairing the social material of their communities, especially if society faces serious issues (e.g. high crime rate). This limitation is due in part to organizations inability to develop strategies and due to lack of resources (Peter, 1996).Moreover it is quite difficult to foster community participation and engagement, because people are not always free to participate in activities even if they can benefit from them. The community is also reluctant to form partnerships with stakeholders due to lack of trust. The community sometimes expects too much from the Government, and therefore is left with only aspirations and dreams. People have responsibilities and other concerns and they view community engagement and participat ion as an added burden. It can also be that information and whereabouts of campaigns and workshops are not evenly spread, considering low-budget organisations. Sometimes community leaders themselves are not committed to the project. Very often community activities are merged with politics, and are a means to monetary gain and enhanced image. As a matter of fact, community empowerment strategies fail their very own purpose due to lack of community involvement/participation/engagement.3.2 Alternatives to increase community engagement and participationIf an organisation wants to be truly accountable, it needs a strong system of organisational governance. Without a clear focus, it is impossible for community organisations to achieve significant impact. Hence, community organisations should be able to develop the element13of trust with the community (ICD, 2005).They should implement creative strategies so that the community is actuate to work with them. Both NGOs and Government organisa tions should address the different strategies including capacity building, bodily projects, research and information and networking (ICD, 2005). Organisations should also display reliability, leadership and transparency. Empowerment programmes are not always easy to achieve. This is why organisations should review their own strategies. participation and continuityIt is necessary to work with the community in bringing awareness of the proposed activities and their benefits. It is also of significant importance to maximise community participation in planning, design, and implementation stages so that people develop sustained interest and run across continuity of the particular project (Community Development and Poverty Alleviation Project, 2005).Management, command and monitoringThe success of the projects will depend on proper management, care and monitoring. Practitioners should be given appropriate training in the field of project management. Progress should be monitored, to e nsure that objectives are being fully achieved (Community Development and Poverty Alleviation Project, 2005).EngagementCommunity engagement is achieved if projects bear better outcomes. It is also very important to strengthen the relationship with the community. Community organisations should project the reputation of the organisation through their actions. Moreover they should develop increased understanding of community issues to form partnerships and broaden their networks (DSE, 2011).Leadership trainingSocial workers and provide should possess the right skills to be able to reach the audience. Some practitioners often feel a lack of motivation and discontinue their service. Dealing with14people can be exhausting and frustrating. Therefore the Government should provide access to training sessions, information and networks. More than 20 training centres have been successful in teaching community organizations the skills needed to develop leaders and build strong community organiz ations in the US (Peter, 1996).Target vulnerable groupsThe Government should display involvement in the community. It should tackle issues that are of concern to the community education, emancipation of women, poverty, etc, and provide support by empowering them. E.g. Implementing poverty alleviation strategies. The Community organisations should also work with those who are potentially weak in the social structure. For example by educating the illiterates, providing economic support to vulnerable women, burn vulnerability to HIV/AIDs and other health issues, and by collaborating with other organisations (SEM, 2012).Community organisations should themselves be empowered to adopt the best suitable approach to deal with people. The Government should promote community access to technology and information and also allocate a budget for community organisations to implement community empowerment programmes, for sensitization campaigns, workshops and working committees. Moreover, since media plays an important role in conveyancing information, media coverage of community initiatives should be improved. The common man should also be empowered to initiate action on a small al-Qaida and eventually be monitored for potential innovative ideas. It is also primordial to promote laws and regulations that give communities a voice (Peter, 1996).The Government of Mauritius has implemented the National Empowerment Foundation in this regard and has extended support and empowered numerous people. Some examples include The Integrated Social Development programme panorama up housing units at La Valette Bambous accounting to a jibe cost of Rs. 205 million and benefitted 200 families around Rs 1.1 billion allocated for programmes which include facilities for vacant women, Integrated Social Development, circular migration, technical assistance to Small and metier Enterprises (SMEs) (NEF, 2009).154.0 Critical AnalysisCommunity empowerment strategies are effective measures to em power a community. Through community engagement, community participation, community development and capacity building, people are able to identify their potential and discover their abilities, participate in group discussion and activities, engage in implementation of important projects and can empower themselves so that they can overcome difficult social situations.As mentioned in the previous sections, community empowerment can benefit the community on a small basis as well as nationally. Community empowerment enables people to initiate actions based on their day-to-day experiences. It also creates a chain where the empowered individual in turn helps others to empower themselves by sharing experiences and forming partnerships. Community empowerment is a means for the community to broaden their networks and meet new and important people. An empowered community can influence the social and economic aspects of a country to seek their rights. Moreover, when working with others for a collective cause, individuals acquire a sense of worthiness. Those actively involved in community work and community service can eventually become tomorrows leaders.Since community empowerment strategies deal with people, unforeseen events may arise. It is true that community empowerment is beneficial to the individual and the community, however people are not always free to engage in community activities. Moreover people are reluctant to fuck up in community activities due to lack of trust, because very often activities are based on selfish grounds. For example political parties showing interest in social activities for the sole purpose of enhancing the image of the Government. Other limitations of empowerment strategies include lack of cooperation from stakeholders, lack of funding and diminished interest from community leaders themselves. Finally, NGOs are limited in their actions due to lack of resources and dependence on the Gover