South Africa’s need for Community Development Community Development is a term used to emphasize an action plan to develop poor regions within an economically-driven society. For most South Africans, poverty and the struggle to implement jobs to countless of community members within Johannesburg, continue to circulate, with delays and shortcomings. Black Economical Empowerment (BEE) has become a ruling business principle to most corporates and depends on the full compliance thereof to support its entities in business while eliminating unemployment. Nevertheless, our problem with unemployment and poverty derives from our underdeveloped communities.
In our time, children face the vulnerability of a deficiency in community development in South Africa. To date, according to relevant newspapers and online resources, the unemployment rate of our youth stands at over 60%. Children are our future, but unfortunately, they are living under the breadline. Without proper strategies to help underprivileged communities, South Africa will face difficult times ahead. We are in need of skillful socio-economic development programmes that will change the outcome. We cannot afford to let the challenges of social needs to escalate beyond restoration.
Umsizi Sustainable Social Solutions (Pty) Ltd, is a company that specializes in community development programmes. To date, they have been the link between companies who necessitate ‘improved social corporate responsibility services’ and the needy communities in search of their support. Umsizi’s skilled personnel adhere to quality service and astute knowledge in the eradication of poverty and the uplifting of social strategy that surpasses all standards.
One such key community development project that Umsizi designed for community development is:
Household Agricultural Livelihood Improvement Imagine what can be accomplished when we train people across South Africa’s poor communities to start their own farming businesses? Countless informal settlements are nested on fruitful ground, and even though space may be limited, it can be radically changed to a fast crop-producing enterprise. Agricultural opportunity can be expressed equally: the cultivation of fresh produce among the poor by showing, implementing, and mentoring –– Members of the community are opted and supported by thorough assessments done by Umsizi’s experts. Building key relationships with local leaders, practical training, and ongoing mentoring make this programme a concrete, yet innovative success every time.
Umsizi pioneers the area of socio-economic and community development projects. The impact of this programme results in poverty eradication.
Identifying households that are committed to the success of such a programme gets the backing of extra resources e.g., greenhouse tunnels, rainwater harvest tanks, and additional encouragement by Umsizi.
There are many programme opportunities for you and your business to consider, but Umsizi’s strategy stands above the rest. The team is full of compassion for the poor, and they make every effort to accommodate strategies that will impact with long-lasting sustainability.
The agricultural livelihood program is achievable through partnerships. Umsizi offers Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Plans, development, compliance and reporting services.
For more information about Umsizi and the service they offer in community development projects, contact them at info@umsizi.co.za, or visit the website: www.umsizi.co.za
Wikipedia – en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Community policing, or community-oriented policing (COP), is a strategy of policing that focuses on building ties and working closely with members of the community. It is a philosophy of full-service policing that is highly personal, where an officer patrols the same area for a period of time and develops a partnership with citizens to identify and solve problems.
The central goal of community policing is for the police to build relationships with the community,
including through local agencies to reduce social disorder. Although community policing mostly targets low-level crime, the broken windows theory proposes that this can reduce more serious crime as well.
Community policing is related to problem-oriented policing and intelligence-led policing, and contrasts with reactive policing strategies which were predominant in the late 20th century.[10] Many police forces have teams that focus specifically on community policing, such as Neighbourhood Policing Teams in the United Kingdom, which are separate from the more centralized units that respond to emergencies.
What are the strategies of community policing?
The three key components of community policing strategies are organizational transformation, community partnerships, and shared problem solving.
Common methods of community-policing include:
Encouraging the community to help prevent crime by providing advice, talking to students and encouraging neighborhood watch groups Increased use of foot or bicycle patrols. Increased officer accountability to the communities they serve Creating teams of officers to carry out community policing in designated neighborhoods. Clear communication between the police and the communities about their objectives and strategies. Partnerships with other organizations such as government agencies, community members, nonprofit service providers, private businesses and the media. Moving towards some decentralizing of the police authority, allowing more discretion among lower-ranking officers, and more initiative expected from them.
What is an example of community policing?
Neighborhood watches are an example of community policing in action, and these are when residents set up teams to routinely keep an eye out for potential criminal activity. Along these lines are “walk throughs”, which also involve citizens on the alert for crime, and ready to report it.
What to know about community policing?
Community policing stresses prevention, early identification, and timely intervention to deal with issues before they become unwieldy problems. Individual officers tend to function as general-purpose practitioners who bring together both government and private resources to achieve results.
It’s a well-known fact that the resources in the world are unfairly distributed and there are regions who can’t rely on the excellent public services, education, medical care and social security most western citizens are entitled to. Less developed regions simply don’t have access to these services and rely on external projects and aid programs for support.
Research shows that the industrialized nations of Europe, Japan and North America consume about 80% of the world’s resources which leaves very little to regions in Africa, Asia and South America.
Community service projects have limited resources and rely heavily on contributions and volunteers to fulfill their purpose, especially in the rural areas of Africa and South America. By volunteering your time, you’ll be helping out these projects in a sustainable way and making a meaningful difference in people’s lives.
You will also be able to combine this with travel within the region your program is located in. Small efforts go a long way and acts of kindness are exactly what our world today needs.
If you are someone who is social, eager to contribute to a greater good and have a strong desire to travel, volunteer for community service programs abroad and you can’t go wrong!
Who can volunteer in community service?
Whether you’re a bubbly social person ready to dive headfirst into the local program and engage in community tasks or you’re a bit more laid back and prefer helping out behind the scenes of a program, it doesn’t really matter. There’s a place for every community volunteer who has a social mindset and wants to contribute to improving the education and medical care in local communities.
Volunteers at work
We made an overview of personality traits that are highly appreciated in volunteers and may help you decide whether these programs are for you:
a social mindset
good communication skills
the ability to be a part of a team
the capacity to think on your feet and stay calm in stressful situations
adaptability
imagination and creativity
problem-solving ability
good organizational and time management skills
enthusiasm
resilience
a non-judgmental approach and respect for diversity
a professional attitude to engage yourself in tasks
a strong regard for health and safety
eagerness to travel
good physical health
Though it’s not required for a community volunteer to tick all the boxes, it’s a good guideline to take into account while considering whether you want to volunteer for a community service project.
Keep in mind that you will be confronted with some difficult situations during your volunteer adventure. Emotionally sensitive volunteers should be aware that this can be challenging at times and should read some reviews from former volunteers. However, rest assured that the positive emotions will far outweigh the negative ones during this once in a lifetime experience!
Not all projects require specific qualifications but some of them may be looking for a person with experience in the field. You will find a short description of qualifications which could be useful when applying for certain community service opportunities, below:
Childcare and Orphanages
Projects focused on childcare will happily welcome volunteers who have a background in psychology, education or counseling. Volunteers at orphanages need to comply with stricter rules as gender may play a role and it is necessary to provide a thorough background check and sometimes a medical statement before being accepted. We advise you to look at the program details on the program page to know exactly which requirements you need to fulfill for the project.
For projects in South America, it would help if you have a basic knowledge of Spanish prior to going as most locals don’t speak any English. Knowing some Spanish words would definitely help kickstart your volunteer adventure in countries like Peru or Costa Rica.
Culture and Arts and Construction
Volunteers for projects in culture and arts will have the most chance if they have a creative streak or a background in the arts. Art and music teachers are widely sought after for culture and art projects while handy volunteers will be very resourceful for projects focused on construction. For these programs, volunteers need to be of good health as they will be doing physically hard jobs.
Social Work and Women Empowerment
For projects in these fields, volunteers with a legal background or experience with social work would be a great match as both parties could benefit greatly. You can add this to your CV as valid experience while the project gets a trained helping hand.
Language requirements
It is required to speak English to become a community volunteer. Knowledge of the English language is important to be able to communicate with other staff and volunteers on your program. In some cases, like South America, it’s necessary to have a basic understanding of Spanish as English is not as common here as it might be in Africa or Asia.
There is a wide range of projects available and many community service projects are in dire need of helping hands. Many of them will warmly welcome enthusiastic volunteers with a sense of responsibility and a social mindset and will not require specific experience.
What will I do as a volunteer for community service?
There are many facets of community services but the main requirement for every program is that you care about people. Let’s take a look at some of the different fields and the types of tasks you may be doing when you volunteer abroad for a community service program:
Childcare
As a volunteer for childcare, you will spend most of your time getting to know the children and giving them lots of love and attention while teaching them some educational basics. Volunteers will engage with the children in a variety of activities aimed at building self-esteem, learning, and just having fun. As a childcare volunteer your main aims will be the following:
provide essential support to marginalized young children
Teach impoverished children important skills such as hygiene practices
Improve the future prospects of children and aid them to break the poverty cycle by supplying quality early childhood teaching
Expose volunteers, children and their families to different people and cultures
Construction
Another pillar of community service is contributing to construction activities. Many regions rely on these projects to provide impoverished families with the homes they deserve. Volunteers will assist in different areas of construction, like:
Laying groundworks for new community and school buildings
Repairing and renovating existing buildings
Renovating homes of underprivileged families
Fixing sanitary facilities in communal buildings
Improving the infrastructure of small communities
The specific tasks will depend on the local project and schedules will vary accordingly. By contributing your time and effort to the local construction activities, you will literally be building a better future for local families in need of a home. Savor the results of your hard work when you see the look of the people who are moving into the home you have helped to build.
Culture and Arts
Being able to enjoy culture and arts is a privilege often reserved for communities which are better off. Fortunately, there are programs in place which teach and introduce arts to communities in Africa, South America and Asia that simply don’t have the resources to indulge in the arts. The projects available will focus on the introduction of following items to the community:
These initiatives allow communities to learn how to express themselves in a different way and in some cases apply these skills to gain an extra source of income. Volunteers eager to contribute to a culture and art project will naturally be creative souls with a passion for teaching.
Orphanage
So many children in developing countries wind up in orphanages due to parents being too poor to take care of them or growing up in abusive surroundings. Resources are limited and there is always a shortage of hands to help out in the orphanages.
In many cases, the orphanages are single-sex meaning only women are allowed to assist at girls orphanages. Volunteers will be supporting the main caretakers at the orphanages and their tasks will vary depending on the orphanage ranging from:
Interacting and engaging with the children
Assisting with hygiene
Teaching English
Doing arts and crafts
Playing games and sports
Supporting the local staff with maintenance
Social Work
With large numbers of less fortunate people falling victim to unfair treatment such as abuse, domestic violence and discrimination, there’s a strong need for volunteers in social work who are eager to facilitate, provide counseling to these parties or provide legal support.
Volunteers with a legal background would be an asset and volunteering for social work could be an excellent opportunity to gain practical knowledge in the field. Some of the tasks you can expect as a community volunteer are the following:
Supporting on research projects or writing articles about current topics
Court trips
Accompanying professionals to family visits
Organizing Seminars and Workshops
Assisting staff members in their day to day activities
Women Empowerment
Although there’s still a long way to go before we reach equality on a global scale, fortunately, there are already a number of women empowerment organizations and projects in place in the world. Women in many developing countries are still victims of human trafficking, domestic violence and physical and/or sexual abuse on a regular basis. Volunteers who choose to assist in this area can make a difference by:
Teaching important topics like health and hygiene
Teaching business skills
Guarding children while they study within a protected environment where they can work Approach an improved future
Best places to volunteer for community service
The best place to volunteer for community service is basically anywhere! There are so many organizations worldwide who are looking for help and support from enthusiastic, socially aware volunteers. Consider all third world and developing countries but also some developed countries in Asia, Africa, South America and Europe.
If you have always wanted to travel to Africa, there are plenty of programs available in South Africa, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda and other interesting African countries. If South America sounds intriguing to you, how about joining community service opportunities in Argentina, Brazil or Peru? Or what about Asia? There are many programs available in India, Cambodia or Nepal.
Select a culture or region that intrigues you and set out to touch the local people’s lives. If traveling to distant places like Africa or Asia is not your thing, you can opt to aid at a program closer to home. There are community service opportunities in developed areas such as Europe as well that also require your support as a volunteer and are equally important.
Top 5 benefits of community service volunteering abroad
Most people will agree that helping other feels great! Let’s take a look at some of the benefits of community service you may enjoy as a volunteer:
1. Happiness
Research shows that the act of contribution makes people feel happier as it gives them a sense of purpose along with a focus beyond themselves. You’ll be contributing to a greater good if you decide to volunteer for community service opportunities. Rest assured that you’ll be touching more lives than you initially thought!
2. Future Opportunities
Volunteers looking to pursue a career in childcare, social work or law can benefit greatly from being a volunteer in community service. The volunteering experience could count as an internship if it is acknowledged by your university or college. Volunteer experiences are always highly appreciated by future employers as it portrays a willingness to contribute along with a strong social awareness and sense of responsibility.
3. People
You’ll be surrounded by other volunteers from your program and locals who are passionate about the same thing you are. The shared experience is bound to forge meaningful relationships that last even after your time in Africa, Asia or South America has ended.
4. Self Empowerment
Getting out of your comfort zone will give you a sense of empowerment which will push you forward in life. The new experiences will also give you a different perspective on life and you will benefit from them in the long run.
5. Travel
If you’re an adventurer and love to travel, nothing will stop you from discovering your surroundings. Volunteering abroad for services work will lead you to some of the most interesting destinations. Africa, Asia or South America? You decide!
How do I get started?
You’re determined to become a volunteer for a community service project and you’ve found some programs you’re passionate about. What’s next? Let’s take a look at the first 3 steps which will send you on your way to volunteering in a construction program:
Check whether there’s a match between the project and your skills.
Take a look at the location of the project and decide whether it would be a location you are willing to travel to.
Get in touch with the organization and see whether your expectations and the schedule of the program match.
Once you have decided on your project, there are two important steps left:
Make sure you have a valid passport.
Take into account the visa requirements for your destination.
Once this is settled, you are on your way to volunteering for community service programs and ready to embark on a life-changing journey. Travel safe!
Problems and Prospects of Community Development In Nigeria
Courtesy : Info Guide Nigeria
INTRODUCTION
DEFINITION AMD MEANING OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
According to the United Nations (1948) community development is viewed as that practice of coming together by Persons in the community to undertake group action and proffer common resolutions to challenges and difficulties facing the community.
It constitutes the action taken by community leaders, advocates, concerned citizens and experts to elevate the standard of life in the community with a view to building a strong and improved local communities. The process of community development is to foster both social and economic development for the entire people in the community through the community’s active involvement and full initiative.
The International Association for Community Development consisting of international network of scholars and community development experts defines community development, as a profession and academic field which enhances people’s collective participation and right, social justice equality, economic opportunity, and sustainable development by the process of organizing, training and empowering people within their communities, in urban and rural locations.
SIGNIFICANCE
Community development plays a special role in overcoming poverty and poor living standard in the community,
It unites the community at the grass root and enhances a strong democracy.
Community development is used as a technique by Agencies ,NGOs etc. as an approach to reach communities for the implementations of their projects Agendas and Programs for the wellbeing ,progress and development of communities
Community Development Exchange defines community development as:
1 The important purpose of community development is to elevate the standard of living of people in communities fundamentally on equality, justice and mutual respect.
2 Community development creates and enhances good relationships between members of the community such as relationship between ordinary people and people
3 It fosters group participation in proffering solution to problems confronting the community
4 It operate on the premise that within any community lies great potentials which if utilized can help build communities
5 Community development experts collaborate and work with people in communities to build relationships and identify common interests.
6 They provides communities the opportunities to learn new skills through various empowerment initiatives
7 Community development experts facilitates social inclusion and equality through building of teams and group action
Community development approaches are recognized internationally. These methods and approaches have been acknowledged as significant for local social, economic, cultural, environmental and political development by such organizations as the UN, WHO, OECD, World Bank, Council of Europe and EU.
PROBLEMS
1 The mechanistic nature of decision taking and non-involvement of the community in decision making process for project initiation and implementation incapacitates the potentials of the communities. According to Musa (1995) and Adefila (1995) top-down approach of decision making and project initiation typifies not only donor-driven, and limited in nature , but tend to undermine the benefiting communities. Particularly communities are hardly involved at the policy design or implementation stage, thereby excluding them as participants and stakeholders in such plans programs and projects
2 The problem of vandalization and abandonment of projects occurs when communities do not understand the project as a result of non-inclusion in the decision making process of initiation and implementation of projects and programs.
3 Problem of loss of control over development process do occur because of lack of understanding and utilization of the project by the benefiting communities
4 Many community development projects are without adequate planning. They lack the needed proper cost estimate and structural designs.
5 Many communities do not understand the socio-environmental consequences or implications of the projects that they initiate. As such many of such projects do not survive
6 The impact of projects on the community is minimal as a result of poorly implemented projects that do not survive thereby leaving the people in excruciating poverty.
7 The income level of people in many communities is low .As a result the ability of the people to generate funds to sponsor projects is greatly affected. Thus many envisioned community projects remain unattainable.
8 Sometimes Leadership crises exist in certain communities such as, fund misappropriation thereby impeding the progress and further development of community projects.
9 The lack of expertise in maintenance services often renders some community projects diminished in value and dead. Thereby leading to a waste of resources.
10 Political considerations often affect the siting of some public projects and also affect public support for some community projects. The Implementation of the development programs itself is also affected by politics.
11 The problem of implementation. Arising from poor supervision also exists and constitutes one major problem to community project execution. Obot (1989) asserts that many development policies are poorly implemented due to poor supervision. Thus some water taps project in many communities remain unfunctional since after their installation.
12 Armed conflicts in certain communities ranging from ethnic, communal, and religious issues also hinders many community projects .It creates the absence of an enabling environment sustainable development in such communities .
PROSPECT
Community development cannot be achieved in isolation. In view of the importance of the people it is essential that the community be involved in every phase of the project ranging from the initiation, planning, decision and execution phases of the project. They must be deeply involved in their community development.
The government should provide Community education holistically for the development of communities rather than concentrate only on rehabilitation of physical structures in such area as agriculture, , health, adult education, environmental , cooperative and enterprise development.
The provision of empowerment to the people is essential through skill acquisition, etc. to enhance the growth in people’s capabilities and productivity.
Government must provide a good communication network with the communities’ .Such as communication channels with town and village unions, women and men groups, youth groups, cooperative societies and other community organizations etc. This will promote fast and effective spread of information regarding community programs and project between it, the community and external agent.
A Bottom –Up Strategy such as Participatory Rural Appraisal should be employed to enhance the full participation of communities in problem identification, solution, planning and implementation in identifying communities‟ problems and proffer appropriate solution to facilitate sustainable development.
For community development to be attained it is essential that community projects generate employment and fair income distribution. Therefore, each project should provide for the effective use of the manpower of the community so as to provide the people the power to earn good living and improve their living standard.
The environment of the community should also be protected from harmful waste and pollutions so as to avoid the degradation of the community as a result of community project implementation.
NOTE : All the contents above are found to be true. The Publisher of this magazine platform has been the Chairman of a Community Development Association in Nigeria for more than five (5) years and knows many of the bottlenecks encountered in carrying out community development projects.
Community-driven development (CDD) programs operate on the principles of transparency, participation, accountability, and enhanced local capacity.
Experience has shown that when given clear and transparent rules, access to information, and appropriate technical and financial support, poor communities can effectively organize to identify community priorities and address local problems by working in partnership with local governments and other institutions to build small-scale infrastructure and deliver basic services.
The World Bank recognizes that CDD approaches and actions are important elements of an effective poverty-reduction and sustainable development strategy.
In many countries, CDD operations are the only safety net available to reach remote and vulnerable groups in a timely and credible manner. They have a strong track record in moving funds quickly and flexibly in response to disasters and global crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic. For instance, as a complement to household cash transfers, community-level (block) grants that are based on community emergency plans can be distributed to rural villages and urban neighborhoods since community leaders often know best what the specific needs are in each community.
The Bank has supported governments in designing, implementing, and evaluating CDD programs across a range of low to middle-income countries, including countries affected by fragility, conflict, and violence. The programs respond to a variety of urgent needs including access to clean water, rural roads, school and health clinic construction, nutrition programs for mothers and infants, and support for micro-enterprises. These programs have consistently shown an ability to deliver an increase in access to quality infrastructure and services in a cost-effective manner, in ways that have broad community support.
Last Updated: Oct 01, 2020 – Courtesy World Bank Website
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), also known as the Global Goals, are a global initiative to end poverty, protect the environment, reduce economic inequality and ensure peace and justice for all.
These 17 Goals build on the successes of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which ended in 2015. Unlike the MDGs, the SDG framework does not distinguish between “developed” and “developing” nations. Instead, the goals apply to all countries. These goals are interconnected and based on the principle of “leaving no one behind”. There are 169 targets for the 17 goals.
On 25 September 2015, the 193 countries of the UN General Assembly adopted the 2030 development agenda for Sustainable Development.
In this article we are publishing the list of 17 the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their prime objectives;
Let’s have a look
Goals
Objective
Description
Goal -1
No Poverty
By 2030, eradicate extreme poverty for all people everywhere.
Goal -2
Zero Hunger
End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition by 2030.
Goal -3
Good Health and Well-being
Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages by 2030.
Goal -4
Quality Education
Ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education by 2030.
Goal -5
Gender Equality
To achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.
Goal -6
Clean Water and Sanitation
Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all by 2030.
Goal -7
Affordable and Clean Energy
Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all by 2030.
Goal -8
Decent Work and Economic Growth
Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth.
Goal -9
Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation by 2030.
Goal -10
Reduced Inequality
Reduce inequality within and among countries by 2030.
Goal -11
Sustainable Cities and Communities
Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.
Goal -12
Responsible Consumption and Production
Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns.
Goal -13
Climate Action
Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.
Goal -14
Life Below Water
Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.
Goal -15
Life on Land
Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, combat desertification and halt biodiversity loss.
Goal -16
Peace and Justice Strong Institutions
Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development; provide access to justice for all.
Goal -17
Partnerships to achieve the Goal
Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development.
So the above mentioned sustainable development goals (SDGs) are covering almost every aspect of the human life. If these goals are achieved within the stipulated time, it’s sure that the life of poor throughout the world will be easier.
The central goal of community policing is for the police to build relationships with the community, 
