Q1
5 Marks
Part A (Q1): Define Community Work and mention its objectives.
Expert Answer
Community Work is a broad professional term encompassing interventions aimed at helping communities identify their needs, mobilize resources, and take collective action to improve their social and economic well-being. It is based on the premise that communities have the inherent capacity to solve their own problems if properly facilitated.
Objectives of Community Work:
- Capacity Building: Empowering individuals and local groups with the skills, knowledge, and confidence to lead community initiatives independently.
- Resource Mobilization: Identifying and tapping into local indigenous resources (human, financial) and linking the community with external resources (government schemes, NGOs).
- Advocacy and Policy Change: Amplifying the community's voice to lobby local authorities for better services (e.g., sanitation, schools) or to change unjust policies.
- Social Harmony: Resolving conflicts and mediating disputes between different factions within the community to foster unity.