Understanding Communities

Community

• Community is a social unit larger than a small village that shares common values and help each other
• The term can refer to a national or international group
• Intent, belief, resources, preferences, needs, and risks are common in human communities, affecting participants' identity and cohesiveness

Essential elements of a community

• A community is a group of human beings

• social relations cannot evolve without a definite locality

• Community sentiment means a feeling of belonging together

• Members tend to speak the same language, conform to the same mores, and possess the same sentiment and attitudes

• People share a common way of life including customs, traditions, and language

• A community is relatively stable and includes a permanent life in a definite place

• Communities are not deliberately created, but have a natural growth

• Every community has a particular name that points out individuality

• Communities can vary in size

• People in community share several common interests and work together to fulfill wider ends

• Every community develops a system of traditions, customs, and morals

Criteria in Identifying Community Problems

• How often the problem occurs (frequency)
• How long the problem has lasted (duration)
• How many people are affected (scope)
• The intensity of the problem (severity)
• How many are deprived of legal or moral rights (equity)
• How the problem is perceived (perception)

Reasons to Analyse Community Problems

• Better understand the problem or issue
• Identify the root cause of the problem
• Determine barriers and resources for addressing the problem
• Develop the optimal solution to the problem

Community Immersion

• An intensive study on campus and field experience for future leaders
• Helps individuals learn life skills, meet others, and assist community members to recognize their worth

Community Immersion in NSTP

• It helps students become better people in relation to the needy
• It empowers the youth to activate people in the environment and lead solutions to community problems
• A version of service learning integrated with student interests, longer-term, and related to community and social justice issues
• Fulfills school goals for students by turning them into involved citizens, by learning through worthwhile tasks, and developing leadership, advocacy and problem-solving skills

Importance of Community Immersion

• A social strategy in education and training designed to bridge theoretical instruction with the realities of community work through experiential learning

Benefits of Community Immersion to the Students

• Helps young people learn and develop through active participation in thoughtfully organized experiences that meet community needs coordinated with school and community
• Integrated with specific learning objectives, it provides time for youth t reflect on their service activity
• Provides opportunities to utilize newly acquired skills and knowledge in real-life situations
• Enhances what is taught in school by extending student learning beyond the classroom and into the community
• Improves social justice
• Fosters a sense of caring for other people
• Supported by regular assessment and guidance for improvement

How to Analyse a Community Problem

• Understand the problem better and handle it more effectively
• Justify the choice, considering the criteria when identifying a community problem
• Objectively state the problem without implying a solution

Volunteerism

• A strategy achieving inclusive growth

• The government reinforces the practice of extending technical assistance, responding to disasters, and undertaking humanitarian efforts

• The sector would mobilize the talents, expertise, time and energies of volunteers from the academe corporate sector, NGOs, government and foreign volunteer organizations

Salient Features of Republic Act 9418

• Establishment of a National Volunteer Infrastructure and Forum for sharing resources
• Integration of volunteerism in basic and higher education curriculum
• Establishment of volunteer programs in national government agencies and the local government units
• Recognition and incentives to volunteers, and visa privileges for foreign volunteers

Types of Volunteerism

• Providing specialized skills and talents to strengthen non-profits (skill-based)
• Contributing to conservation, ecological restoration, protecting endangered animals, and educating others (environmental)
• Means of monetary support or manpower support to all natural disasters (emergency)
• Working to improve community enhancement efforts (community)

Top Reasons to Volunteer

• Connect with your community by helping those in need
• Conserve funds for charities, non-profits, faith-based groups, etc
• Share skills and gain new ones by utilizing them for the benefit of others
• Develop self-esteem
• Meet new people from all walks of life by helping others

Dimensions of Development and Project Life Cycle

• Recognize the dimensions of development that can be done in the community
• Differentiate the different phases of community immersion

Seven Dimensions of Development (S.E.R.V.I.C.E.)

• Safety and Security: disaster preparedness; i.e basic life saving seminar and fire drill
• Education: enhancement of institutional support; materials containing basic literacy skills for pre-schoolers; mathematics and science tutorials
• Recreation: sports fest or parlor games
• Values Formation and Moral Recovery: developing youth to be good leaders imbued with good moral values
• Industry and Entrepreneurship: demonstrating technical skills in communities like meat processing or silkscreen making
• Care for Health: medical services like first-aid operation, vaccination, information dissemination, basic lifesaving seminars, health/nutrition technical assistance and training youth to be first aid assistants
• Environment: inculcates environmental awareness and its contribution to health

Phases of Community Immersion

• Pre-Immersion: meeting with the immersion group 4 times a week
• Immersion: being accompanied by a student Immersion Facilitator and NSTP Faculty, and hosted by a local organization
• Post-Immersion: committing to meetings at least 10 times in the community

Guides for the conduct of NSTP Students

• Expected to behave properly and maintain decorum at all times
• They are expected to be punctual in the place of their assignment
• They have to be courteous, and maintain harmonious working relationship with all
• Students are not allowed to bring their partners, friends, or relatives
• Students should work closely with LGU officials and the community people
• Any problems encountered reported immediately to the facilitator

Project Life Cycle

• Refers to a logical sequence of activities to accomplish project goals
• Sequence of phases through which the project will evolve
• Includes initiation, planning, Execution (Implementation & Control, & Close-Out & handover

Characteristics of a Project Life Cycle

• Cost and resources at lower levels at the beginning, peak in the middle and dropping at the end
• Probability of completing the project successfully is lowest at the start
• Stakeholders have the greatest influence on cost and outcome at the beginning

Phases of Project Development

• Conception/identification/initiation phase (the most initial and crucial phase)
• Development/planning (project is developed in sufficient detail)
• Implementation and control (project obligations are actualized)
• Termination or close out or saturation phase (saturation stage of any undertaken project)
• Top management in conjunction with the key project team members carry out post mortem of the project (post evaluation)