COMMUNITY MOBILIZATION.

Objectives of the course;

1. Be able to define community mobilization
2. Explain the strategies of community mobilization
3. Describe the process of community mobilization
4. Describe the indicators of monitoring community mobilization process
5. Apply community mobilization to the community

The course content

1. Definition of community mobilization
2. Strategies of community mobilization
3. The process of community mobilization
4. Indicators for monitoring and evaluating community involvement and participation
5. Application of community mobilization to the community
CHD 0116 COMMUNITY MOBILIZATION

Content:
Topics to be covered include definition of community mobilization, the Strategies for
community mobilization, the process of community mobilization, Indicators for monitoring and
evaluating community involvement and participation. Application of community mobilization to
the community

The teaching methodology

 Lecture method
 Group discussion
 Case studies
 Individual and work based assignments
 Role plays
 Demonstrations
 Partnership practice
Methods of assessment
 A Term paper; 30 marks, i.e. take away, or sit in on local co
 Seminar presentation on key concept and application on local concepts; 10 marks
 End of semester exam 60 marks
Required test books
  Christian medical association of india 9 200] congregation based health care, making
community based heaith and development a [Link] school of printing, okhla road,
new delhi-110025
 Kretzman jp and mcknight,JP[1993] building communities from inside out, path towards
finding andmobiliziog acommunity assets evantion, centre for urban affairs and policy
research
Introductory questions:
 Name of our village
 Language we speak
 Occupation
 Religion
 Resource
 Village surrounding our area
 Beliefs and values
 Festival we celebrate
A COMMUNITY
It is a group of people who live together and share, same language, beliefs ,values, resources,
issue, occupations and festivals.
MOBILIZATION
Is the process of making something capable of movement, or to have people and resources ready
to move or act.
COMMUNITY MOBILIZATION
 It is a capacity building process through which individuals, group of organizations, plan
carryout/implement and evaluate activities on a participatory manner and sustain basis to
improve their health and other needs either on their own initiative or stimulated by others.
 Community mobilization is a process through which action is stimulated by
a community itself, or by others, that is planned, carried out, and evaluated by a
community's individuals, groups, and organizations on a participatory and sustained basis
to improve the health, hygiene and education levels so as to enhance the overall standard
of living in the community
 Community mobilization needs many analytical and supportive resources which are
internal (inside the community) and external (outside the community) as well.

What is resource mobilization?

 Resource mobilization refers to all activities involved in securing new and additional
resources for your organization.
 It also involves making better use of, and maximizing, existing resources.
 What is needed to mobilize a Community?
- Concerned citizens ready to take a stand, say they want something different
and are willing to work to see it accomplished.
- Emerging leadership that inspires and guides the project.
- A common community vision of the results.
- Involved people who recognize that the means to achieve their goals will vary
but who support the common goal.
- Recognition and encouragement of those who contribute to reaching the goal.
- Specific plans and goals to reduce impact of at-risk situations.
- Leadership that encourages, builds and finds strategies but doesn't become the
focus of the situation.
- Recognition that human relationships are important.

Time.
The Role of the Mobilizer:

 The role of the mobilizer is to mobilize a community to action leading to increased

empowerment and self-reliance.

Specifically, that entails the following:

 To call community meetings so as to:
 brief all members on correct information related to community self-reliance; and
 organize and arrange the provision of all resources (human and materiel) needed for community
actions;
 To stimulate community members to participate in their own community's desired development
actions;
 To engage in activities that will promote increased community effectiveness, capacity, self-
reliance, and empowerment;
 To ensure that all information is accurate and correctly interpreted;
 To actively counteract incorrect information, especially that which causes unrealistic
expectations, and later disappointment and discouragement;
 To encourage and praise community members, confirming that they have the ability to develop
themselves;
 To ensure that every decision about what activities the community will undertake, is the choice
of the whole community, not just a few (powerful) community leaders;
 To ensure that the vulnerable are heard in community decisions: including women, youth,
disabled, ethnic minorities, the weak and disenfranchised;
 To promote and encourage unity in the community, unity of purpose, of goal and of action;
actively counteracting forces of community disunity prejudice, bigotry, racism, sexism, clanism,
patronage, caste, class;
 To come together frequently with other mobilizers to share experiences, mutually solve common
problems, and to improve skills of social animation and community management;
 To assist in the learning of community management skills and techniques by community leaders
and members.
Community Resources
 Individuals
 Associations
 Institutions
 Corporations
 Cash and in-kind donations
 Physical space

IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNITY MOBILIZATION

i. It allow people in the community to identify needs that promote community interest
ii. It promotes good leadership and democratic making
iii. It helps to identify specific groups for undertaking specific problems
iv. Help to identify all the available resources in the community
v. Helps to plan on the best use of the available resources
vi. It enable the community to better govern itself
vii. To empower the community
viii. To make them own the process

Why Community Mobilization?

Decentralization and democratization require increased community level in terms of
decision-making.
1. An emergency response which emphasizes the role of communities and
makes genuine efforts to support and bolster their capacity respects their
right to determine, as much as possible, their own future.
2. Relief efforts which use participatory processes to build on what local people are
already doing to help themselves demonstrate respect and recognition of the
capability of those affected and prevents their efforts from being undermined.
3. There are likely to be formal and informal structures through which people
organize themselves to meet collective needs as well as protection mechanisms.
4. Community mobilization contributes to giving back the affected
population a sense of control over their lives.
5. Projects that are planned and operated in consultation with, and with the
participation of, the community will reflect their needs, concerns and values, will
draw on and make good use of available resources, and will enhance the sense of
ownership.
6. In many cultures people define themselves and their wellbeing in terms of
their social relations
7. A community mobilization approach helps to avoid the danger of imposing
external and inappropriate solutions, and bypassing
people’s own insights into the nature of the problems and their context, and
 is more likely to result in initiatives which those affected will work
to sustain in the long term.
8. Establishing, or reestablishing, community structures is central to a range of
support mechanisms for children and their families, and
thus vital to their protection and wellbeing.
9. Community involvement is important in preventing further violations of
children’s rights.
10. The approach is generally cost-effective and affordable.
Key tasks involved in community mobilization
 Developing an ongoing dialogue between community members

 Creating or strengthening community organizations to help in informotion delivery

(committees)

 Creating an environment in which individuals can empower themselves to address their

own and their community’s needs

 Promoting community members participation

 Implementation
 Implementation and constant monitoring
 Asses the result
 Revise the strategy wherever necessary
 Scale up
Community mobilizer
Community mobilizer is a person who mobilize i.e. gets things moving
The role of community mobilizer is to:
Bringing people together
Building trust
Encouraging community participation
Facilitating discussion and decision making among the community members
Helping smooth running of the activity implementation
Facilitation in community mobilization process
Assignment:
1. Discuss good qualities of a community Mobilizer
2. Discuss the challenges faced by community mobilizer
PEOPLE WHO CAN HELP IN COMMUNITY MOBILIZATION
 Stakeholders e.g existing Organizations within the community
 CHVs
 Community itself
 Community gate keepers’ e.g Ass. Chief (local government) priest etc.
 Specific Groups in the community e.g women, youth
 Religious groups
 School groups
 Political parties

Comprehensive community mobilization

Comprehensive community mobilization is .

- Working with the whole community- women and men, young people, and children

- Seeking to encourage individuals as well as the community to embark on a process

of change

- Using multiple strategies over time to build a critical mass of individuals supportive
of women’s rights

- Supporting people to face the fact that violence isn’t something ‘out there’ that
‘happens to other people’: it is something we all grapple with in our relationships

- Inspiring and creating activism among a cross section of community members

- Multi-faceted

Community mobilization is not . . .

- Only raising awareness

- Only capacity building

- Working with one sector, group, sex

- Ad hoc or sporadic

- A series of one-off activities

- Pointing fingers, blaming, assigning fault

- Top down programme implementation by an NGO to a community

- Neat and completed within short timeframes

- Message-based”

THE STRATEGIES OF COMMUNITY MOBILIZATION

1. Secure strong leadership
2. Establish a formal structure
3. Engage diverse organizations, community leaders, and residents
4. Ensure authentic participation and shared decision making
5. Ensure authentic and productive roles for young people
6. Develop a shared vision
7. Conduct a needs assessment
8. Create a strategic plan
9. Implement mutually reinforcing strategies
10. Create a fundraising strategy
11. Establish effective channels for internal communication
12. Educate the community
13. Conduct process and outcome evaluations
14. Evaluate the community mobilization effort separately

MEANS OF REACHING THE COMMUNITY

 Village meeting
 Village literacy days
 Sport days
 Electronic media communications
 Media
 Literacy songs
 Rallies e.g motorcycle rallies
 Extension lectures
 Puppet shows
 Film shows
 Audio caset
 Multi media
 Debate
 Posters and banners
 Wall writings and paintings-interactive computers
 Door to door campaigns-letters and hand outs
 Human chain –radio shows, caset
 Radio talk-street plays
  Television program
 Procession and walks- magic shows

THE STRATEGIES FOR ORGANISING SOCIAL MOBILIZATION

i. Have the highest publicity for basic education
ii. Increase mass media communication to reach a larger group
iii. Disseminate information about basic education in different mass media to increase
peoples’ interest
iv. Publicity in religious, social and political programs
v. Continuous discussion with all concerned person or groups
vi. Coordination among roles of various stake holders

TYPES/LEVELS OF COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION (forms of community participation)

i. Getting informed
ii. Giving an opinion
iii. Advising
iv. Participating in providing information
v. Periodic functional relationship
vi. Long term and functional relationship
vii. Establishing organizations with external initiative
viii. Getting organized at own initiative
ix. Establishing majority of peoples’ control and leadership in project planning
Advantages of community participation
i. Joint responsibility
ii. The community owns the problem
iii. They could use their own resources responsibly
iv. The program are planned according to the needs of the community
v. It is effective use of resources which are available
vi. Maintains continuity/ sustaining community projects
vii. It is easier to identify the community’s problems
Areas and ways for community participation in development
 The situational analysis
 Assessment of demand
 Setting objectives
 Identification of activities
 Planning
 Resource mobilization
 Deploying manpower
 Implementation
  Evaluation
Indicators for community development
 Literary rate
 Health and ability to work
 Skilled manpower
 Proper distribution and management of resources
 Employment rate
 Use of technology
 Economic solvents
 Women empowerment
 Leadership
 Social awareness
Main causes of social problems
i. The broken social structure
ii. Negative changes in attitude among individuals
iii. Degradation in moral values
iv. Negative changes in behavior
v. Rapid growth of population
vi. Lack of basic education
vii. Lack of communal harmony
Channels for reaching the community
 The local government leaders
 Community resource persons
 Special clubs e.g youth groups
 NGOS, CBOs etc.
 Local leaders
Steps for designing and implementing program to reach the underserved group
 Community based distribution
 Development/creation of mobile units
 Working in partnership with government agencies
Importance of community participation in project Development and Management
i. Helps in establishing the relationship with the community
ii. Enhances easier mobilization
iii. It allows the community to own the project and support it
iv. It contributes towards the development of the project
v. Increasing the range of skills, knowledge and experience in community.
vi. Bringing richness, new perspectives and new ideas or ways of working.
vii. Ensuring the project reflects local needs, represents communities in a sensitive way, and
avoids negative impacts.
viii. Creating links with the community and providing powerful ambassadors
ix. Showing public accountability.
x. An opportunity to use existing skills and experience while gaining new ones.
xi. Gaining confidence.
xii. Meeting people and/or feeling part of their community.
xiii. Seeing their ideas and work recognized and knowing that they have made a difference.
xiv. Transferring skills and experience which individuals gain to other community members.
xv. Strengthening local pride, sense of community and quality of life.
xvi. Linking people together so they feel less isolated and have more support within their
community.
xvii. Learning about and enjoying their local heritage.

Participating communities share several characteristics.

1. Many people are involved in the community's activities.

2. Communities are open to involvement by all groups, and responsibilities are divided up
so that the special talents and interests of contributing organizations are engaged.
3. Participating communities conduct their business openly and publicize it widely. Citizens
are well informed about the community's work and about their opportunities for personal
involvement in meaningful roles.
4. All ideas are treated with respect and welcomed as a source of inspirations with
potential value for the entire community.

5. Participating communities encourage citizens to offer their best for the common good.
6. Participating communities make no distinctions among various groups and types of
personalities who offer themselves to community involvement. All persons are actively
welcomed, regardless of color, age, race, prior community involvement, level of
education, occupation, personal reputation, handicap, religion, or any other factor.
7. Participating communities operate openly and with an open mind. They are not controlled
by any single organization, group, or philosophy, and their leadership is used to facilitate
discussion of a diversity of viewpoints, rather than to push its own agenda. Leaders are
not ego-driven but focused on operating a high-quality, open decision-making process.

Challenges in including community participation in programming

i. Insecurity
ii. Community volunteerism motivation
iii. NGOs may also disagree with the government agencies
iv. Language barrier
v. It is time consuming
Definition of terms in project area analysis
Project area analysis-this refers to an area in which the proposed activity will take place
Project evaluation
It is the investigation of the merit or worth of a project. It is usually used to evaluate
accountability and goals.
Forms of project evaluation
i. Project Appraised- it is the performance level of the study/project
ii. Baseline survey-it refers to how is the situation on the ground (Comparing before and
probably after)
iii. Monitoring-it is usually continuously and normally done to find out whether project is
on course or not
iv. Periodic review-this is a platform brings together leaders who access the progress of
the project
Steps in project evaluation
i. Identify indications-how to know if people were trained e.g list of the trainees, report of
the workshop
ii. Revise the date
iii. Analyze and find conclusion
iv. Actions based on conclusions
Social mobilization is a process of bringing together all feasible inter-sectoral partners and allies
to determine felt-needs and raise awareness of, and demand for, a particular development
objective.

Importance of project evaluation

i. Provides answers on the project progress
ii. Helps in assessing the projects effectiveness, efficiency

MOBILIZATION CYCLE:

This document looks at each stage in the mobilization cycle. Each

stage is explained briefly.
The mobilization cycle is sometimes called " The Community
Participation Promotion Cycle," or the "Problem Solving Cycle," or "The
Community Development Cycle," or "The Social Animation Cycle."

. It is a series of interventions (carried out by one or more mobilizer)

designed to increase the level of involvement of a community in the
decisions that affect its own development.

It is called a "Cycle," in that it is repeated, each time building on earlier

successes, errors, and lessons learned.

The cycle:

 Is a series of interventions in a logical and progressive order;

 Is carried out by a legitimate, authorized and recognized
mobilizer (or mobilizers);
  Uses the community choice of action as a means of
strengthening, not as an end in itself;
 Requires that the mobilizer(s) be informed and sensitive to
community characteristics;
 Can be implemented by a ministry or department at central or
district level, or by a non-governmental organization;
 Is not "bottom-up," community-based or "grass-roots" in its
origin, but aims at "bottom-up" community-based or "grass-roots"
strengthening as its goal; and
 Promotes (encourages, advocates for, trains in skills necessary
for, and supports) community participation in control and decision
making of all actions affecting the community as a whole.

The main steps:

 Are logically linked with each other and to the

cycle as a whole;
 Are all needed (absence of any one will seriously
weaken its impact); and
 Are initiated in the following order, although there
may be some overlap and continuation.

Sensitization and Clearance:

The community mobilizers must be recognized by authority and obtain

legal status if they are not to be vulnerable to arrest as seditious
agitators, and harassed by police and others concerned with
maintaining law and order.

Furthermore, it is among the authorities where the most vested

interest lies in maintaining the "provision" approach and fear of the
"enablement" approach, as civil servants, officials, politicians,
traditional and new leaders, and technical experts see immediate
benefits of the provision approach as a means to obtain influence,
popularity, votes, promotions and career advances. Sensitization is not
just a formality, but must be well planned and executed. The
counteracting of rumours and false assumptions must be integral to
the sensitization strategy.

Awareness Raising:
Before encouraging the community to act (and therefore learn and
become stronger) the mobilizer must make the community members
aware of specific realities.

During this step, it is important to avoid raising false expectations, and

actively counteract the inevitable assumptions and rumours about the
kind of assistance to expect.

The awareness issues include:

 If they remain passive and expectant of government or other

outside help, then they will remain with the burden of poverty
and weakness;
 No community is totally poor; if there are live humans in it then it
has resources and potentials, including labour, creativity, life,
desires, and survival skills and living attributes;
 # People will be more likely to join in and help when you are
already helping yourself; and
 The mobilizer (and the mobilizer's agency or department) does
not bring resources (funds, roofing materials, pipes), but is there
to encourage and assist in some management training and
guidance.

Unity Organizing:

No community is unified; there are schisms and factions in every one..

The degree varies.. When there is much social disparity, it is more
difficult to reach a community consensus of the priority problem, and
thus the priority goal.

Unity organizing is a necessary precedent to most community

mobilization, and continues throughout the cycle as needed. See Unity
Organizing.

Mobilizer Training:

The few mobilizers available can not reach every community in need of
an intervention to encourage empowerment and self reliance. In the
case of Uganda CMP, there were ten local council mobilizers in each
parish.. These were unpaid volunteers originally set up as part of the
Resistance Movement who were recruited to raise awareness about
Museveni's form of participatory democracy.. We offered them training
and a few perks, such as tee shirts and bicycles, and they extended
the mobilization efforts of CDOs and CDAs (Community Development
Officers and their Assistants).

The lack of mobilizers trained enough to stimulate self help is one of

the major factors in the creation and expansion of this web site and the
development of training modules on it. Many of these are guidelines
for writing training material in local languages and adapted to varying
local conditions. The core training material is Training for Strength, a
community management training curriculum, and three handbooks for
mobilizers, on (1) mobilization, (2) income generation and
(3) monitoring. Since the key input into the process of empowerment is
mobilization and management training, not the partial funding for
community projects, this training material is central to the process.

Management Training:

One of the elements of the community management programme that

distinguishes it from orthodox animation or community development
interventions, is the addition of management training. It is not
sufficient to allow or even stimulate a low income or marginalized
community to participate in democratic and developmental decision
making and actions; it is also necessary for that community to have
the capacity to participate. Management training is designed to
increase that capacity.

As a method of capacity building, management training goes beyond

traditional training, with its emphasis only on skill transfer. Developed
in the fifties for senior managers of large corporations, management
training included some skill transfer, but also awareness raising,
information transfer, encouragement and restructuring (organizing for
decision making and organizing for effective action). Our participants
liked to say, "This is not just training about empowerment, mobilizing
and organizing, this training is empowerment, mobilizing and
empowerment."

Participatory Assessment:

Although the mobilizer must first make an assessment of community

resources, potentials, hindrances and needs, the strategy of the
mobilization cycle requires that an assessment be done with the
community as a whole.. This might not be done all at once, and may be
done or continued to be done by the community executive later, after
it is formed and organized.
All future plans and actions in the intervention must be made on the
bases of observed reality, not on the imaginings or special interests of
specific factions within the community.. The needs and potentials must
be recognized by everyone in the community.

Defining Priorities; Problems and Goals:

When the community is sufficiently unified, and when all factions are
involved, including women and disabled and other persons less likely
to enjoy full participation in community decisions, it is time to set the
community into action.

That is done by obtaining a consensus of priority problem, and turning

it around as a way to identify the priority goal.
The brainstorming technique is one of the tools to use here.

Community Action Plan (CAP):

The community must agree on what it wants to achieve over the next
period of time, one year, five years (usually the same period as for the
district plans). The plan can also include one or several community
projects.

Organizing a CIC, Executive Committee:

Because the details of a project design can not be accomplished in a

public meeting of hundreds of people, it is practically necessary for the
community to form an executive (Project Committee, Development
Committee, CIC or Community Implementing Committee). This
executive committee should be chosen by consensus if voting will
contribute to factionalism and schisms; here the mobilizer must be
aware of and sensitive to community values and practices.

The mobilizer then needs to train the committee in participatory

planning, management and leadership, so that it does not become
non-transparent (secretive) to the community as a whole. The CIC
should review the action plan, add details as needed, and prepare a
project design for community approval (again using the participatory
methods encouraged by the mobilizer). Here it is necessary to look
more into the community management strategy (in Element B) and
integrate it into this mobilization cycle.

Community Project Designs:

The key to management training is the asking and answering, of four
key questions: (1) What do we want? (2) What do we have? (3) How do
we use what we have to get what we want? and (4) What will happen
when we do? These are expanded in detail to become a community
project design. In the methodology here, the answering of those
questions, and the design of a community project, is participatory, in
that it is guided by the mobilizer as trainer (who asks the questions),
and generated by the participants as a group (who answer the
questions).

A "project" is the action (or set of actions decided upon by the

community (as a group, stimulated by the mobilizer). The format of the
project design is something like this: What is the problem? Define the
goal as the solution to the problem; refine the goal into a finite set of
objectives (SMART); identify resources and constraints; generate a set
of strategies to use the resources, avoid the constraints and obtain the
objectives; choose the most effective strategy; decide upon
organization (structure, who does what, budget, schedule); and decide
upon monitoring, reporting, and evaluation.

Negotiation:

The mobilizer is walking a fine line here. One one side is too much
reliance on outside resources; on the other is the genuine need for
supplementary resources needed by the community (and to which it
may have a right of access such as to ceded funds from central or
district governmental revenue). Where a project design is used as a
proposal, or a proposal proper is written by the community executive,
it becomes and instrument of negotiation between the community and
external authorities and potential sources of resources.

Even if it is not seeking outside resources, the community needs to

ensure that its plans are consistent with the general plans of its
geographical environment, the neighbouring communities, the district
or region in which it is located, any national plans and priorities..
Negotiating discussions should include these topics. All stake holders
involved in the community project should be involved in this
negotiation.. Whether the community seeks resources or approval, or
both, its project design and/or proposal is its instrument for
negotiating.

Contract Preparation and Negotiation:

A contract is an optional instrument, recommended here. The mobilizer
can assist and guide the community executive in drafting a contract,
based upon the project design.. Its wording should be simple and it
should be short, while the proposal or project design can be attached
as an appendix.

The signatories of the contract should be representatives from all the

stake holders, and this phase can be blended into the negotiation
phase listed above.. The negotiations ensure that there is public
transparency about the proposed project, that all concerned (all stake
holders) have access to understanding the aims and actions of the
community project. They also confirm the legitimacy of the community
taking responsibility for its project.

Contract Signing:

The signatories include representatives of all the stake holders

(community executive, district officers, local leaders, agency officers,
mobilizers). The meeting for signing the contract can be an opportunity
for all of them to meet face-to-face at one time. This is therefore an
opportunity for the mobilizer to keep the community involvement in its
own project (civic engagement; community participation) as a high
profile characteristic of development.

If it is assured that all signatories previously agree to the contract,

then the signing can be a ceremony, and included with in the following
public ceremony.. Setting aside an inside room, such as in a classroom
block, may be appreciated by the signatories.. Making it part of a
public ceremony increases its legitimacy, and raises public awareness
about the methodology of community empowerment.

First Instalment Payment:

If the proposal and contract are aimed at obtaining financial resources

for the community project (and remembering the caveat about
dependency), then the first instalment of payment can be used as an
opportunity for a public ceremony (perhaps coinciding with the
contract signing).. This is an opportunity to raise the profile of the
project, and of the participation of community in its design.

Entertainment, perhaps in the form of singing, dancing, drumming and

skits, performed by local cultural groups, school children, or voluntary
groups, is an opportunity to strengthen pride and loyalty in the
community and cultural tradition.. The press can be invited so the
event can be mentioned on radio, in the local newspaper, and even on
national television.. The reason for doing this is that it enhances
transparency, raises the profile of the project, and raises awareness
about the part of community participation and empowerment.

Implementation Begins:

At this point the community and its leaders, like the politicians and
journalists, will be more interested in the actions and results (eg the
building of the latrine, water supply, clinic or school), and needs to be
reminded and encouraged that monitoring and reporting must be
concurrent with the action.. This is where community enthusiasm can
decline or be destroyed, if the action (especially in its finances) is not
transparent, and made fully clear to all the community members.

While the goal of the community is the finished facility, the goal of the
strategy and mobilizer is increased community strength and capacity,
so emphasis is put on monitoring and reporting (verbal and written)..
Also, this is where the community becomes aware of more needed
training in skills related to the action (financial and accounting skills,
report writing, technical skills), and where, again, the Element B of the
strategy must be integrated with this mobilization cycle.

Monitoring and Reporting:

While the monitoring and reporting is aimed at observing the action in

order to make adjustments and avoid getting off track, it is then
supplemented by more in-depth assessment and evaluation.. This
includes the assessment of impact of the action, and a value
judgement about how it was carried out, if it should have been carried
out, and what instead should have been planned.

This in turn opens the door to repeating the cycle, because it serves
the same purpose as the initial situation analysis and community
assessment.

Subsequent Instalment Payments:

The payment of the external funds to the community executive should

be phased, and dependent upon the work being completed to each
level.
Although this was not needed to be used (by CMP Uganda) it is a form
of insurance, so that if work (or reporting) is suspended, so are the
payments.

Work Continues Until Completion:

While work is in progress, the mobilizer has a responsibility of ensuring

that monitoring is carried out (especially by the community members
as well as by any of the other stake holders).. Transparency, especially
about the amounts and purposes of any payments, is necessary to
maintain community interest and trust in its own executive.

Subsequent payments by agencies providing outside funds should be

dependent upon accountability (narrative and financial) and the
maintaining of transparency, honesty, trustworthiness and integrity by
those responsible to the community for managing the project.

Official Completion Ceremony:

While a ceremony and celebration is a special holiday for most people,

it is hard work for the mobilizer.. As with the cheque handing over
ceremony listed above, the completion ceremony is an opportunity to
make a publicized public event, to raise awareness about community
empowerment and about the project, and to confirm the legitimacy
and appropriateness of community participation promotion and
empowerment of low income communities.

The completion ceremony, replete with the press and cultural

entertainment, is also an opportunity to remind the community
members that they need to evaluate the project now competed, and to
determine what their next priority should be, starting the mobilization
cycle all over again.

Repeating the Cycle:

This is not a once-and-for-all action.. It is a process of social change

(development) and must be sustained.. While the community will be at
a higher level of empowerment that before implementing this first
cycle, it should be initiated again.. Furthermore, the mobilizer must
train a replacement in view of eventual departure, and the series of
mobilizers should identify internal mobilizers (who will not use the
mobilizing techniques for their own personal benefit at the expense of
community strengthening) from within the community who will be able
to sustain the stimulation and interventions after the mobilizers'
agency or ministry moves on.

Each step of the mobilization cycle is related to those before and after
it, and to the cycle as a whole.. There is a logical and functional order
to the steps.. Each time the cycle is repeated, it is done so on the basis
of assessments made during the previous cycle, and builds upon the
results of the strengthening that has already taken place.

Other Capacity Building Interventions:

The following interventions are also part of the mobilization strategy,

but may be inserted at various points in the mobilization cycle.. This
can be determined by the mobilizer, if knowledgeable and sensitive to
the changing conditions in the community.

The goals of mobilization to develop a community may vary from

county to county.. Nevertheless, common elements include: poverty
eradication, good governance, change in social organization
(development), community capacity building, empowering low income
and marginalized people, and gender balance.

 Assessment and analysis of existing local organizations (elders' or

other councils, women's groups, credit rotation groups, people's
movements, associations of special interest groups, such as the
disabled or other vulnerable groups), before, during and after
each of the cycles;
 Enhancing local organizations (ensuring representation and
participation in community affairs), promoting gender
participation, assisting in legal status of community
organizations;
 Fostering co-operative and functional relationships between
various organizations: promoting opportunities for co-ordination
and pooling of local resources (human, capital, supplies, land);
 Income and employment generation, emphasizing training,
credit, marketing;
 Settlement shelter and infrastructure upgrading;
 Environmental activities (eg promoting community-based waste
management systems which protect natural resources); and
 Participatory disaster mitigation and management (refugee
camps, resettlement, rehabilitation).
What is needed to mobilize a Community?
- Concerned citizens ready to take a stand, say they want something different
and are willing to work to see it accomplished.
- Emerging leadership that inspires and guides the project.
- A common community vision of the results.
- Involved people who recognize that the means to achieve their goals will vary
but who support the common goal.
- Recognition and encouragement of those who contribute to reaching the goal.
- Specific plans and goals to reduce impact of at-risk situations.
- Leadership that encourages, builds and finds strategies but doesn't become the
focus of the situation.
- Recognition that human relationships are important.
- Time.
Who Needs to be Involved?
 The natural allies for mobilization are those persons who have a common interest in
an issue. This can include community-minded individuals and all persons and groups
affected by the issue.
 It is important that the group have linkages either by representation or delegation to
the power structure, government agencies, key communicators, advisory boards, local
businesses and educational institutions.
Membership in a community coalition falls into three categories:
i. Activists who take an active role and provide leadership, write grants and
serve on subcommittees and steering committees.
ii. Helpers who work on a limited basis or on specific designated tasks such
as letter writing, newsletter distribution, etc.
iii. Communicators who share the work of the coalition to the outside through
educational sessions and coalitions with other groups. (Burghard)
Challenges with community mobilization
Community mobilization faces many challenges.
 Perhaps one of the biggest challenges is the sharing of control.
 In today’s globalized world, information travels quickly and easily.
 While this allows for a more effective response, it also means that there are more
individuals, agencies, and organizations to coordinate.
 Focusing on including the affected community is more important than ever.
 For communities to be truly mobilized, all of the organizations need to
collaborate and coordinate their services and programmes.
 They must work together to integrate the affected community into all aspects of
the response.
 Although the affected community may initially be dependent on the support of
others, the goal of community mobilization is to hand over control to the affected
community.
  Communication is another major challenge in emergencies.
 Phone service is often unavailable, and when people are displaced, their home
phones are ineffective.
 Disruption in communication also includes disruption in internet services,
leading to poor communication with international partners.
 Time is another challenge of community mobilization.
 When several organizations share control, it may take longer to accomplish
goals.
 To succeed, there must be an organized and cooperative effort among the
participants.
 The more people involved, the longer it may take to reach consensus and make
decisions.
 It is often a challenge to reach agreement when numerous agencies and
organizations are involved.
 That’s why it is important to establish a common vision and build on common
goals.
 Keeping the goals of the affected community in mind is paramount in having
them take ownership of the plan.

 Closely related to time is cost.

 The longer things take, the higher the cost.
 Efforts may be compromised by cost and lack of financial support.
 Coordination of services can prevent duplication and be more cost
effective.

 The capacity of the affected community to participate in the mobilization effort may also
be a challenge.
 Their ability to respond may be limited by difficult local conditions.
 They may be physically, emotionally, and mentally impaired or fatigued.
 Their coping skills may be weakened, and they may lack the necessary skills to
help themselves.
 Depending on the emergency, security may be a challenge.
 It may be necessary to secure a safe environment before any projects can occur.
 In some situations, the environment may remain unsettled, further hampering
efforts to restore stability.

Preparing for community mobilization

 Community mobilization is often initiated by an external organization.

 The external organization may be a governmental or a non-governmental organization
(NGO).
 They may be local, national, international, or a combination thereof.
 In any case, the external organization is responding to a situation within the affected
community.
 Deciding whether to mobilize requires careful evaluation of many factors.
 The effectiveness of community mobilization in this particular situation, at this
particular time, for these particular needs, must be determined.
First and foremost, is to determine whether the affected community is interested in receiving
help from outsiders.
 Community mobilization cannot be successful if the affected community is not a willing
and invested participant.
 Once the affected community’s commitment to the project has been determined, the
responding organization can begin developing a working relationship with them.
 Concurrently, the source and magnitude of the problems must be assessed.
 Immediate needs like food, shelter, healthcare, water, and emotional care must be
addressed first.
 Then, it is critical for community members to prioritize other needs and services.
Secondly Knowing the political structure and situation is critical.
 An unstable political environment can make the situation even more volatile.
 However, if there are strong political alliances internally and externally, there is a
greater chance of support from the political partners.

Thirdly Evaluating the socio-cultural context is also important.

 There must be a thorough understanding of the culture involved, so a plan that is
sensitive to their beliefs and attitudes can be developed.
 Additionally, diverse groups must be taken into account.
 Marginalized groups that might otherwise be overlooked must be identified.
 Communication can be more difficult when dealing with multiple cultures in one
location, but it is necessary to communicate in a culturally appropriate manner.
Fourthly In order to coordinate services, it is important to learn who can offer what
resources.
 This includes local, national and international assistance.
 Along with assessing resources, it is important to examine how the community
organizes itself.
 Does it have alliances with others beyond the community?
Fifthly To utilize the available resources, internal and external, the affected community
must be accessible.
 If there are barriers, these must be recognized and remedied wherever possible.
 If the community has a history of community mobilization, many services may
already be in place.
 Time usually spent on developing awareness and understanding will be saved.
 Also, if the community is used to being part of the decision-making process, this
will benefit the response process and ultimately, project sustainability.
Initial contact with the community

 Understanding community practices and traditions prior to establishing contact can help
identify the appropriate approach for engaging with different groups and members of the
community.
 It is
important to focus on learning from the community, especially during the initial contact.
 Take every opportunity to meet informally with diverse members of the community (at
the health post, during registration, at distribution points, in the queue for water).
 Be aware that community members who establish first contact with the humanitarian
workers might become “gatekeepers”: they might not mention other groups in the
community that require support, if they believe resources are scarce.
 Identify an existing committee or a community-based organization which will give you
access to the community and facilitate distribution of messages.
 Meet the host community and the authorities.
 Be aware that messages might only reach certain groups, such as community leaders,
and not all members of the community.
 Develop outreach strategies with the leaders and others to ensure that everyone is
informed, including women, girls and boys, minority groups, and people with mental and
physical challenges.
 Make sure that information is delivered in a language everyone can understand, is
culturally sensitive and is correctly perceived and understood.
 Arrange meetings at mutually convenient times.
 Make sure you arrive for meetings on time.
 Do not make people wait for you.
 First impressions matter.
 Groups or persons in the community may draw conclusions about the organization based
on whom the staff chose to meet with, how the staff behaves and what happens after their
visit.
 Transparency, respect and consistency are essential for building trust, confidence and
collaboration between organizations and partners, including members of the community.
 Ensure that after the first contact immediate follow-up action is taken.
 Be aware of and monitor security issues, especially for internally displaced persons.
Coordinating community mobilization
 In the event of an emergency or disaster, numerous agencies and organizations will
respond.
 Coordination of services among all local, national, and international participants is
essential. Coordination can be difficult when there are many organizations and
agencies involved.
 Sometimes, organizations feel threatened by others instead of seeing cooperation as
an opportunity to increase their impact.
 Organizations may attempt to act in isolation instead of as teams.
 When this happens, services are not integrated and the continuum of services can
break down.
 Certain services may be duplicated while others are totally overlooked.
 It is essential to designate an interagency group or team whose responsibility is to
coordinate.
 It is their responsibility to see that a truly representative cross-section of the
community is involved.
 Communication is a major part of the coordination effort.
 International, national, and local organizations require open channels of
communication to facilitate effective coordination.
 Communication must be written and verbal.
 It must also be culturally and socially appropriate.
 Using local media, community meetings, churches, agencies, formal or informal
 structures and organizations to raise awareness is important.
 All participants need to be informed and, more importantly, heard.
 The local community’s involvement is paramount. If services are not coordinated,
community members may receive conflicting information, contributing to their
stress.
 Members of the affected community may also feel overwhelmed by so many
responders.
 If services and activities are coordinated, they will experience a clean delineation of
services.
 An ongoing dialogue among all participants is key to the success of a relief effort.
Hand in hand with communication is education.
 It isn’t enough for the information to be communicated, it must also be understood.
 All participants need to be educated on the situation and updated as frequently as
possible.
Attributes of programs using empowerment strategies
 Attributes of programs using empowerment strategies include, foremost, working with
individuals, community and political leaders from the beginning.
 Equitable participation from the community is essential.
 Community history, and social, economic and political changes should be taken into
account.
 It is also important to empower community leaders by allowing them to facilitate the
following processes within the community:
i. conflict resolution,
ii. collection and analysis of data,
iii. problem-solving, programme planning,
iv. resource mobilization,
v. Policy advocacy (Goodmanet al., 1998).

 Empowerment is an outcome of fostering self-esteem and feelings of individual and

collective efficacy.
 Community power is promoted by recognizing local/community authority to make and
implement decisions.
 By increasing the decision-making power of the local community, they are given the
knowledge and ability to create or resist change.
 It is also important to develop strong social and inter-organizational networks to support
the community.
 The responding organizations act in partnership with the affected community.
 Their role is to assist the affected community in the process and facilitate and support
their efforts.
 It is important to build upon the local community’s capacity, not to undermine it.
 Rather than entering a community with prescribed plans, it is essential to build upon the
strengths and resources that already exist.
 By training the local community in the roles and responsibilities of the programs, they
will be able to manage and sustain the programme over time.
 Focus and build on interventions that strengthen the population’s resiliency and
resources.
 Respect and integrate current and traditional ways of coping.
 Interventions must be within the existing cultural framework and social norms
COMMUNITY ENTRY AND EXIT TECHNIQUES
Learning out comes/specific objectives
By the end of the lesson the student should be able to:
 Explain community entry
 Describe the preparations made before a community is entered
 Identify critical actions in community entry
 List the advantages of community entry

Definition of community entry:

 Community entry refers to the process of initiating, nurturing and sustaining a desirable
relationship with the purpose of securing and sustaining the community’s interest in al
aspect of a programme.
 Community entry refers to the process, principles and techniques of community
mobilization and participation.
 This involves recognizing the community its leadership and people and adopting the
most appropriate process in meeting, interacting and working with them.

Preparations made before entry

1. Form a reconnaissance team which is a team which spy.
2. Read about the community
3. Collect informal information about the community (this is done through interview
with individuals, through focus groups discussion, through mapping, contact opinion
leaders, through house to house census) Transect walk and observation.
Critical actions in community entry
 Identify the community by gathering information through formal and informal
means.
 Reading from available literature
 Talking to knowledgeable people:
 Informal sources such as market places,
 drinking bars,
 funerals,
 Festive occasions etc.
 Identify the leadership
 It is very important to recognize the position and roles of the community leaders in
order that they will help to develop ways in seeking their co-operation and support
for programme Implementation.
 In meeting with chiefs and their stool/skin elders, it is important to schedule
meeting, times to suit the convenience of the traditional leaders.
 Follow protocol;
 Meet the paramount chief first and discuss your mission e.g. to know the
history of the community
 Meet elders also if possible.
Process
 Knock and enter upon response.
 First greet chief and elders. Introduce yourself to the chief elders and other local leaders.
 Inform them of your work with them.
 Ask for their permission and advice and state your mission e.g. getting information about
 the village or introduction of new community programme.
 Thank them for their co-operation.

Identify contact persons

 Apart from the chiefs and elders, there are various interest groups and personalities in every
community who must be identified to serve as contact persons in working with the
community.
 Various interest groups and personalities in the community who can serve as contact persons
are:
 Prominent head of families.
 Heads of schools/teachers.
 Religious leaders/catechists
 District assembly members.
 Unity committee members
 Youth leaders
 Women group leaders
Advantages using contact persons
 Good organizers people respect their authority.
 Their presence helps people see the issues as important.
 Trust by their people.
 They are credible
Disadvantages
 Sometimes not respected-so people may not come to the meeting.
 Presence at meetings may discourage people from talking.
Types
 County representatives
 Unity committee members
 Area council members
 heads of schools
 teachers, religious leaders
 Popularly elected/selected members, they represent the people.
Main tasks
 Set up meetings.
 Know community priorities.
 Links with opinion leaders.
 Helpful in chieftaincy disputes.
Challenges with contact persons
 Some may have lost credibility.
 Some may embezzle funds.
  Some dominate meetings.
 Some may have conflict with chiefs.
 Some may be too bossy to help
Conduct meeting with community leaders
 In traditional Kenya, leadership lies in the hands of a hierarchy of persons ranging from
paramount chiefs through town/village chiefs, clan/lineage heads to family heads.
 At each of these levels of leadership, communities have their own schedules and plans
of carrying out development activities.
 There is therefore the need to recognize the position and roles of the community
leaders in order that the most suitable ways could be developed in seeking their co-
operation and support for program implementation.
 In organizing meetings with chiefs and their stool/skin elders.
 It is important to schedule meting times to suit the convenience of the traditional leaders.
 The following levels of meetings with chiefs should be followed during the advocacy and
consultation for applying the process:
 Meet the paramount chief first and discuss the new community program with him.
 Allow him time to discuss your proposals with his sub-chiefs and elders.
 Meet
at the the chiefs ofStart-Up
sub-district the selected communities
Forum and discuss
and subsequent the program
community with them.
meetings.
 Outline your mission to them
 Brief them on what you are there to do
 Ask them to freely support you.
 Identify the leadership
 Identify contact persons
 Conduct meeting community leaders
 Outline your mission to them
 Brief leaders of the purpose of your visit;
 Seek approval and support for your programme.
 Study and be conversant with the custom and tradition of the people(community study)
Sources of information
 Reading from available literature;
 Talking to knowledgeable people;
 Informal sources such as market places, drinking bar, funerals, festive occasions etc
 Apart from using community leaders and contact persons through the application of (PLA)
Participatory Learning and Action techniques to collect data in community entry, secondary
information could be collected from documentary sources. These include:
i. Annual reports of County ,
ii. Dept. of Community Development,
iii. Dept of Environmental Health;
iv. Special project reports such as Nutrition,
v. Family Planning etc

Skills and Attitudes Required in Undertaking Community Entry

 Skills
 Maintain good eye contact.
 Listen to both sides of and issue
 Paraphrase
 Show interest
  Be empathetic
 Encourage others to listen.
Attitude
 Patience
 Tolerance
 Respect for other people
 Good listening attitude
 Humility
NB
 Ensure that community members understand the message and are encouraged to ask
question when necessary.
 Probe to find out reasons why the community members may not be well with other
leaders through asking relevant questions, encouraging answers as well as holding
discussions with them.
 Ensure that message is clear and avoid unnecessary semantics and jargons.
 Encourage effective dialogue through the use of effective 2- way communication
skills.
 Create humour and interacts in a way that helps to build the environment for
effective interpersonal relationships.
Advantages of Community Entry
 Objectives will be achieve
 Gain support
 It ensures the establishment of good working relationship
 It helps one to plan his / her work
 It helps to observe protocols.