Community Development Overview

Study Notes

Refers to active voluntary involvement in improving a community's life, strengthening human and institutional relationships (Ploch, 1976)
Defined as a planned effort to create assets that improve the quality of life of residents (Green, 2002)

Western Concepts (1960s)
- Philippine government adopted foreign models of development, prioritizing the interests of the elite.
- American model of government and free enterprise was imposed during colonization.
- Private organizations mirrored their Western counterparts in development strategies.

Practice of distributing money, food, or other divisible resources to large numbers of people.
Implemented by organizations like Community Chest, Red Cross, and YWCA.
NGOs were encouraged to distribute aid.

Involved rural and urban communities in harnessing labor for government objectives.
Preparatory step for local governments handling development after independence.
Modified to suit the national government's agenda:
- Facilitating control of remote or marginalized areas.
- Persuading citizens to align with government policies and goals.

Funded by CIA and USAID, aimed to organize communities and coordinate basic services.
Real objective was psychological warfare, aiming to influence public opinion.
Key figures involved: Magsaysay Government, USAID, CIA, and Jose Crisol.

Community development programs intertwined with counterinsurgency strategies beneficial to the U.S.
"Operation Brotherhood" focused on socio-medical activities.
Real objective was training U.S. medical teams for deployment in Laos and Vietnam.
CIA and PACD sponsored the program.
Example organizations employing counterinsurgency strategies:
- Adventist Development and Relief Agency
- International Human Assistance Program
- Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL)
- CAUSA

Initial NGO focus was on addressing "symptoms" of socio-economic problems rather than root causes.
Led to emergency relief operations even in non-disaster situations.
Examples: Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and Cooperative for American Relief (CARE).
Practice of "dole-out" assistance was common during this period.

While private organizations and foundations worked on community development, a mass movement through Peoples' Organizations (POs) aimed for fundamental societal change.
Focus was on addressing wealth inequality.
POs emphasized serving the interests of the marginalized ("oppressed") instead of the elite ("oppressors").
Forms of mobilization included "trade unions" and "armed rebellion".

NGOs and POs became active in resisting political repression under Marcos, creating a large mass movement.
Many NGOs and POs became "cause-oriented" organizations.
The mass movement contributed to the overthrow of the Marcos dictatorship.

Defined as a location ("communities of place"), group of individuals sharing interests, or proximity.
Capital resources:
- Human
- Physical
- Financial
- Environmental

The process of creating wealth by mobilizing human, financial, capital, physical, and natural resources to produce marketable goods and services.
Key aspects:
- Increase in living standards through opportunities and improvements.
- Greater per capita income.
- Increased quality and quantity of employment opportunities.