Participatory Community Development

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Participatory Community Development
PCD in Tajikistan
International Federation ofRed Cross Red
Crescent Societies
Regional Delegation for Central Europe Budapest
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Participatory Community Development
Piloting PCD project in Dushanbe
May06-June07 ???????? ????? ? ?? ????????
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Context TAJIKISTAN

• Population 7 mio.,
• growth rate 10/year in last 7 years today about
  40 of Tajiks are under 14 years old
• 70 of population live in the countryside

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Participatory Community Development
Piloting PCD project in Dushanbe
May06-June07 ???????? ????? ? ?? ????????
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Context TAJIKISTAN

• GNP 350 USD /person, 60 under US2.15 per day
  (poorest of Central Asian countries)
• Biggest industry is labour migration (estimate
  up to 1 mio men working seasonally or for some
  years in Russia)
• Civil war 1991-1997
• Severely degraded systems of health services,
  social protection and basic education. Today
  there are cases of TB, typhoid, malaria,
  hepatitis in every community. Anemia is a
  nation-wide nutritional concern trends in
  maternal child health are worrying. According
  to official statistics, 40 of boys and only 10
  of girls go to school until 18 yrs age.

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Participatory Community Development
Piloting PCD project in Dushanbe May06-June07
Context NATIONAL SOCIETY

• 2006 68 branches (district/city),
• 900 primary organisations,
• 4500 volunteers, 60240 staff members,
• OD program since 2002 (Appeal) central goals
  include increasing of the number of primary
  organisations (DP), volunteers, and project
  proposals from branches communities
• 1994-2002 mainly relief programs first LRRD
  program under DP (LDCs form local branches,
  mitigation projects)
• 2004 nation-wide VCA exercise
• Many CB programs (CBFA, CBDP, Wat/San with
  PHAST)
• Slogan used is mobilization, not
  participation

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Participatory Community Development
Piloting PCD project in Dushanbe May06-June07
Approach Main goals

• Using PCD as an entry of RCST to vulnerable
  communities as something else than relief
  provider
• Increasing the (non-relief) activities of the
  Dushanbe branch establishment of partnerships
  between the branch and communities
• Capacity building in communities
• Health and social impact of micro projects

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Participatory Community Development
Piloting PCD project in Dushanbe May06-June07
Implementors training for community members and
RC staff.
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Participatory Community Development
Piloting PCD project in Dushanbe May06-June07
4 Communities Mahala Sahbo Mahala Orom Dormitory
Zavodskaya ? 3 Dormitory Borbad ? 46
1st community meeting in dormitory Borbad ? 46,
May 2006
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Participatory Community Development
Piloting PCD project in Dushanbe May06-June07
PRA Community teams conducted semi-structured
interviews
Interviews were made with children, men and women
separately
Community team collecting results of interviews.
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Participatory Community Development
Piloting PCD project in Dushanbe May06-June07
First PRA results were presented by the community
teams as lists of needs Transformer, roof,
drinking water, not working toilets, employment
at home..
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Participatory Community Development
Piloting PCD project in Dushanbe May06-June07
An attempt was made to facilitate the community
groups to analyze larger problem areas and their
causes by grouping problems and needs named in
the interviews and asking more questions in the
team. E.g. Interviewed says, we should have a
Red Corner 1) Why did he/she say so?
Children cannot get books to read. Children
do not go to school.. 2) So what? Children do
not have education, they are often without care/
supervision.. (Notes organised under title
Children and education)
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Participatory Community Development
Piloting PCD project in Dushanbe May06-June07
Voting for priority problems in 3rd community
meeting
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Participatory Community Development
Project planning phase (using external
consultant as facilitator)
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Participatory Community Development
Piloting PCD project in Dushanbe May06-June07
Sahbo Reconstruction of water piplelines to
bring household water to 113 households, max 150
m from each house
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Participatory Community Development
Piloting PCD project in Dushanbe May06-June07
Two dormitories Renewal of roofs
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Participatory Community Development
Piloting PCD project in Dushanbe May06-June07
Renewal of roofs project planning supervision of
works with external consultants (Habitat for
Humanity).
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Participatory Community Development
Piloting PCD project in Dushanbe May06-June07
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Participatory Community Development
Piloting PCD project in Dushanbe May06-June07
Results in June 07

• Local capacity building
• In 3 (of 4) communities process accomplished to
  find common problems / needs, connect with
  stakeholders / public service providers
• Zavodskaya dormitory common rules facilitated or
  introduced by the PCD volunteer team small
  initiatives are being planned by the team to
  improve common housing conditions. (Community
  building) Other dormitory PCD delivered
  assistance and supported the commendant in her
  job.
• Mahala Sahbo Increased ownership of common
  infrastucture after successful micro project to
  reconstruct water system.

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Participatory Community Development
Piloting PCD project in Dushanbe May06-June07
Results in June 07
Branch capacity building

• PCD as entry point was used for
• Visibility, information about RC programs
• As a base for integrating different programs in
  one community. (Before PCD piloting there were
  almost no links between different programs
  programs were mostly relief (hum.assistance) /
  service / information Now PCD is used.)
• Budget management, project planning, activity
  plans development larger circles of branch
  staff involved (2007)
• More active to look for training

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Participatory Community Development
Piloting PCD project in Dushanbe May06-June07
Results in June 07
Branch capacity building

• AFTER FIRST PCD CYCLE, MANY (NEW) STAFF MEMBERS
  HAVE ADOPTED WORKING WITH THE VULNERABLE PEOPLE
  AS A NORMAL GOOD PRACTICE. DEEPER UNDERSTANDING
  OF PARTICIPATION HAS NOT YET BEEN TESTED.
• DEVELOPMENT OF PROJECT OWNERSHIP (PROJECT
  MANAGEMENT ROUTINES) AND FACILITATION SKILLS AT
  NS / BRANCH LEVEL NEED MORE TIME.
• COOPERATION WITH OTHER PROGRAMS AND USE OF
  INSTRUMENTS OF OTHER COMMUNITY BASED ACTIVITIES
  FOLLOWS NATURALLY.
• DID NOT ACHIEVE INTEGRATION OF PCD IN BRANCH
  STRATEGY NEEDS FIRST A STRATEGY FOR THE BRANCH.

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Participatory Community Development
Piloting PCD project in Dushanbe May06-June07
Conclusions

• COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
• NEEDED BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF VULNERABILITY
  IN LOCAL CONTEXT STRONGER USE OF VULNERABILITY
  CRITERIA. ABSOLUTE NEEDS, SOCIAL EXCLUSION OR
  LACK OF PARTNERS GIVE REASONS TO TRY IMPROVEMENTS
  (READYNESS TO CHANGE).
• PCD CAN HAVE A GREAT IMPACT IN DORMITORIES
  POSSIBILITIES THROUGH COMMUNITY-BUILDING.
• TRAININGS AND THE USE OF MIXED TEAMS OR
  COMMUNITY TEAMS IN COORDINATION OF THE PCD
  CYCLE?
• BIGGER ROLE AND ALL TRAININGS BENEFIT COMMUNITIES
  WHICH HAVE A POTENTIAL FOR COMMUNITY BUILDING.
• WHERE COMMUNITY LEADERS COMPROMISE PCD OR THE
  TEAM CANNOT BE MOTIVATED, THE COMMUNITY DOES NOT
  BENEFIT FROM TRAININGS.

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Participatory Community Development
Piloting PCD project in Dushanbe May06-June07
Continuation

• SPINN-OFFS FROM THE MAIN PCD CYCLE VOLUNTEER
  BASED RC PROGRAMS IN COMMUNITIES THE PCD WAY,
  RESPONDING TO DISCOVERED NEEDS
• NEW TRIAL PLANNED VCA

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Participatory Community Development
Piloting PCD project in Dushanbe May06-June07
Continuation

• BRANCH CAPACITY BUILDING
• 2007 USE OF PCD FOR BRANCH DEVELOPMENT
• (BRANCH STRATEGY, PARTICIPATORY PLANNING OF
  RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT)
• TRAINING ON PRA, FACILITATION, PROJECT MANAGEMENT
  AND PARTICIPATORY MONITORING

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Participatory Community Development
Piloting PCD project in Dushanbe May06-June07
Thank You Budapest South-Eastern Europe!