COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIOn
Introduction
The world is divided
into various geographical areas that we find ourselves living. These units have
different characteristics and problems that pose challenges to their people.
The issues may range from location, social, religious, economic and education
among others. Most of these problems greatly affect the people and if left
uncovered may cause a breach of the fundamental human rights. The traditional
feeling of a community is that rural setting with distinct people in a
geographical and population boundary. As populations grow, so the desire to
move out and settle elsewhere grows. Employment and the need to empower
economically has brought about urbanization and this has played a role in
bringing together people from diverse backgrounds with different languages thus
people can easily meet and interact. The urban community has a vision far
beyond the traditional boundaries that demarcated the community. In this
context, the desires of the people in the heterogeneous environment go beyond
the personal sense of belonging to a certain community.
Consider a society where there are wars and
riots every now and then, theft, drug abuse and street children .This society
is not at peace with itself since the fundamental right of some people are not
being catered for and for this reason you will find different people organizing
and joining hands to try and eradicate these misfortunes among its people. It
has been noted that wherever people have lived, there have been informal
organizations aimed at addressing the issues faced by the community and finding
ways of solving them. These are formed by the people of good will to help the
less fortunate and through their common goal and cooperation are able to fully
address the issues.
This essay will define
community organizations in the context of their origin and operations noting
the key characteristics of these organizations. It will also address the functions,
interest and challenges faced by these organizations during formation and
maintaining the organization using a specific reference from Sydney, Australia.
A community is a group
of people with different backgrounds that share an interest, locality. With
this reason they come together to form an organization. A Community
organization is a process by which a community identifies needs and takes
action, and in doing so... develops co-operative attitudes and practices. This
means that the power of individuals to identify specific problems affecting the
community members, the will and the ability to cooperate empowers themselves in
achieving their goals. Neil Betten
(1990). The modern community spreads out to accommodate the unseen people
provided they have a common goal. Example the internet community
Key characteristics
community organizations
Formation of a community organization is a
process and requires the understanding the various aspects of the community.
The key characteristics of these community organizations involve the ability to
address historical, social, economical and cultural backgrounds of the people. Historically,
people have different origins, background and experiences. The history of the
community brings to the table the past injustices and how the community
embraced and solved them. This
background information is important in that it relates certain present activities
of the community to its past. The history of a community helps underscore the
relationship of the people with their neighbors thus helps in determining social
cohesiveness. Phillip
Thompson (2005).
The social fabric of
the community is a key factor in the coming together of the people to solve the
issue at hand. These factors include the language and ethnicity, how various
gender relate with one another and the way of life of a community among others.
In a community, ethnicity and language plays a great role in the cohesion of a
group even though it may act as a divisive factor. Example a community which
survives majorly on business will be reluctant to freely form organizations
that bar business activities even if they impinge the fundamental human rights.
The religion of the community poses a concern in relation to the involvement of
the people in the organizations activities. Example, certain religions allow
overnight prayers while some do not necessary have night vigils. For this case
it becomes hard to engage these groups in campaigns baring noise and night
prayers.
When organizing a
community to address an issue, the economic background of the people must be
put into consideration. This gives the general picture of their economic
capabilities and status. Example, people
who depend largely on nomadic way of life will not fully participate in groups
that aim to promote soil cover, prevent soil erosion, and control animal
diseases through rearing few manageable animals. This factor must therefore be
fully understood to enable smooth running of the campaigns. Poverty has been a
pressing factor in the lives and minds of many a people. This knowledge helps
in design of the organization and its activities. Shirley, D. (1997) Community
organizations must address the cultural history of the community in relation to
the issues at hand. Example, many people still believe in the culture of their
ancestors and therefore are unwilling to engage themselves in the groups that
wish the practices eradicated. By carefully understanding the origin,
importance and future continuity of such practices, it enables the group
approach and explains the concern effectively.
In general community
organizations are formed based the pressing issues within the community with
the aim of providing help to the needy. Consider the Center of Aging now known
as COA Sydney Inc. This was formed based on the fact that an elderly Jewish
neighbor used to knock on the founders door every morning to request for help.
This was a problem in the neighborhood and by talking to other people they saw
the need to form an organization to help out those who are elderly and cannot
perform duties. Here the reached out for
help and the founder mobilized people with the common problem. The issue brought
the social cohesiveness of the affected. Kristin Layng (2007)
Challenges
Formation of community
organizations has not been an easy task but rather a process involving many
problems. Remember, current organizations crop up through associations of people
of different origins though the goal may be the same. In urban settings for
example, there are many human issues that affect the people ranging from poor
sanitation, drug and drug abuse and prostitution among others. With these
issues in mind, the community is in a dilemma in terms of what issue bears a
lot of weight. Choice of the issues to address can cause a delay in the
provision of services. Most of these community organizations are non profit and
therefore involve more voluntary work than financial gain. Community based
organizations work in a specified geographical outfit with target population.
To get results the group need finances to help reach out to the people.
Initially the group depends on its members unless well wishers and sponsors
decide to assist. The choice of the problem may prove difficult since to solve
a problem, you require the technical knowledge, stakeholders, sponsors and a
clear description of how you will tackle the problem. (Marie G. Sandy 2011). Some
organizations, especially those formed by employees in a work a place pose a
threat to the employer especially if they aim at addressing their plight and
advocating for their fundamental rights at work place. For this reason, it
becomes difficult to nurture the feeling of the employees in the work place and
thus several problems will pressure them without complain for the fear of being
losing their jobs.
Impact on governance.
Any community organization is based on a
structure with which it executes its mandate. The people with a common goal
come together to express their feelings towards a pressing issue. The coming
together creates a sense of belonging for each member and with this in mind
they pressure the relevant authorities of the government to assist in dealing
with the problem and in so doing they promote good governance and leadership
where leaders are accountable to the people for the problem within. Among the
mandates of the community organizations is to educate the people on dealing
with the issues at hand and by so doing it promotes the understanding of the
people to the pressing problems thus the people have a bargaining power for
better services.
Adger, C.T. (2001)
These organizations also promote leadership
within individuals especially community based where by dealing with the community you familiarize yourself
with the problem facing them thus prepare one to be a good with the knowledge
of the peoples problems.
Community organizations are formed be people
with a common interest and good will to those in need. As seen there are
various insights to formation of these groups that seek to promote equality in
the society and as such are important to the good governance.
References
Aaron Schutz and Marie
G. Sandy, Collective Action for Social Change: An Introduction to Community Organizing (New York:
Palgrave Macmillan, 2011). ISBN 0-230-10537-8
Adger,
C.T. (2001). School- community- based organization partnerships for language minority students' school success. Journal of
Education for Students Placed At Risk, 6 (1-2), 7-25.
J. Phillip
Thompson (2005). Seeking Effective Power: Why Mayors Need Community Organizations. Perspectives on
Politics, 3, pp 301–308.
Kristin Layng Szakos
and Joe Szakos, We Make Change: Community Organizers Talk About What They Do - and Why (Nashville:
Vanderbilt University Press, 2007). ISBN 978-0 8265-1554-4
Neil Betten and Michael
J. Austin, The Roots of Community Organizing, 1917-1939 (Philadelphia: Temple University
Press, 1990). ISBN 0-87722-662-8 http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/19556345
Shirley, D.
1997. Community Organizing for Urban School Reform. Austin, TX:
University of Texas Press.
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