Community Development Essay Pdf
Francisca Noggles
Writing an essay on community development is crucial as it helps to raise awareness and understanding of the concept. It also allows individuals to explore the various aspects of community development, such as social, economic, and environmental factors, and how they all interconnect to create a thriving community.
When ...Read MoreWriting an essay on community development is crucial as it helps to raise awareness and understanding of the concept. It also allows individuals to explore the various aspects of community development, such as social, economic, and environmental factors, and how they all interconnect to create a thriving community.
Community development is an important aspect of social change and improvement. It involves working with community members to identify and address issues that affect their well-being and quality of life. There are many topics that can be explored in community development essays, ranging from the role of government in community development to the impact of globalization on local communities. Here is a long list of community development essay topics to consider:
These are just some of the many topics that can be explored in community development essays. Each of these topics offers a unique perspective on the role and impact of community development on society. By exploring these topics, students can gain a deeper understanding of the challenges and opportunities in community development and contribute to the ongoing dialogue on how to build stronger, more resilient communities.
James and Susan (2009, p. 67) have defined community development as a set of activities taken by a group of people within a given society to eradicate poverty, social injustices and such other undesirable factors within a given society. It is a set of principles, practices and values that are geared towards making the society a better place to live in.
For a long time, many countries have been looking for the government to undertake most of the development issues within the society. Even in countries that were practicing communism, the government was expected to direct most of the activities that were taking place within the society.
As Rhonda and Robert (2009, p. 90) note, Russia was the leading communist state. However, the projects that were meant to bring development to the country were fostered by the government. In capitalist countries like the United States, individuals had to depend on themselves for development, and the state, for such issues as infrastructural developments.
These specific individuals noted that although the government was doing much to ensure that every member of the society was uplifted both socially and economically, this effort was not translating to direct benefits for the lower members of the society.
Those who were benefiting from this program were the richer society members. There was therefore a need to devise other methods to ensure that all the society members were liberated from poverty and other social injustices.
Community development gained popularity very fast. People begun to realize that this was the best way through which the society would be developed was through an effort made from all the members of the society (Balshem 1993, p. 62).
Community development was viewed as the strategy through which the communities would be developed. From the United States, it spread to other countries like Canada and other developed nations. In the mid eighties, a number of philanthropists noted with concern that African countries and other developing nations were ridden with poverty among other social evils.
The gap between the governed and the governors was big, and these societies were not enlightened in many fronts. Community development was therefore the only way through which these societies could be developed. Currently, community development is seen as a very important approach of enhancing a prosperous society both in the developed and developing nations.
Community development is a concerted effort made by members of a given society that is geared towards the development of a given society. Jerry (2011, p. 54) argues that community development is an principle taken by moderate capitalists to ensure that although members of the society are to work for themselves to achieve specific goals in life, other well endowed members of the society should make an effort to ensure that they help the less fortunate.
Community development may take various fronts. As Lee (1989, p. 78) explains, the empowerment of the society may take social, economical or religious front. The most important concern of community development is the attainment of the basic needs. Margaret (2011, p. 23) notes that community development is currently viewed as being relevant in the developing countries, a concept that is very misleading.
When it was started, community development was to ensure that people were empowered in the three aspects named above. However, it was noted that before a person is empowered economically, other fronts of empowerment may not make sense. A person who is hungry may not understand the need to actively participate in the leadership of a given country.
For this reason, the economic front of community development has been relevant in the developing nations. The other front of community development is the political front. There has been need to ensure people participate in the leadership of the country. They should influence the way their country is governed.
Low (2000, p. 81) says that leadership starts from within the community. Good leadership within a given community would lead to desired results. As such, every members of the society would be required to participate actively in determining the direction that the leadership takes within that particular community.
Just like economic empowerment, economic empowerment is much needed in the developing countries. In many developed democracies like Australian, members of the society understands the need to actively participate in the leadership of the country.
Community development may also take the social approach. Civilization is one of the most controversial words in the current world. Each society considers itself civilized in its own front. An American, civilized in the western culture, would be astounded by the cultural practices of the Indians. They may consider the respect Indians accord cows as a backward behavior that is passed by time.
On the other hand, a Russian would be perplexed at the practices of the Muslims. An African would similarly be uncomfortable with the practices of the west (Hasson & Ley 1994, p. 29). Each of these societies would therefore have their own ways of defining civilization. However, there are some cultural practices of some societies that have been considered as archaic by most societies in the world.
For instance, some African societies would offer human offerings as a sacrifice to their gods when they needed rain or any other blessings that they believed could only come from god. Other still practice female genital mutilation. Such practices are inhumane because they result into serious harm to the specific individuals of the society.
It strives to ensure that the practices of the society are acceptable universally and that all the members of the society are treated equally and with the respect they deserve, irrespective of gender, color, religion or any other demographical groupings. The practice should also be geared towards the betterment of the society.
From the foregoing, it is evident that community development is one of the ways through which the society may develop without having to depend on other members of the society. It would take effort of both the public and private sectors to ensure that a given society is developed in all the fronts.
Other developed nations also have their own concerns that they feel should be addressed in order to have the ideal community. This need is even more among the developing nations. According to Robbins (2007, p. 20), most of the developed nations have a lot of challenges economically, socially and politically.
The government, through its public sectors, has the obligation to ensure that its citizens are provided with various facilities that would ensure their well being. Such facilities may include among others, hospitals, schools, accessibility to waters, source of employment among others. These are facilities that are very basic, and a community may not be considered complete without them.
Basically, the government would be expected to provide the above facilities to the community (Visser 2010, p. 31). However, it is common to find that the government has failed in one or two of the above requirements. In such occurrences, there must be a means of ensuring that the facilities that the government cannot provide are provided for through others means.
Community development has been one of the strategies through which communities have ensured that they are able to achieve beyond what the government cannot provide. This has made the work of the government easier. Because members of the society would be willing to support some of its projects, it can redirect its finances to other projects.
Community development is very relevant in the public sector. As Martine (2008, p. 89) states, in order to ensure prosperity of a given society, there is need to involve every member of the society. Government effort alone may not achieve the best results that the society expects.
Community development is the best strategy that can be applied to ensure that the society is developed in all fronts. Government may build a hospital within a given location of a community. However, this facility may either be too far for a section of the society, or it may not be well equipped to serve the need of all the members of the society.
Through community development, other well endowed members of the society may consider improving the facility, by either offering to buy the facilities needed for the hospital or building other supportive clinics that may help decongest the existing government health facility (Zhao 2011, p. 37).
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