Question 1

Discuss community work and community development (16 marks)
Discuss the difference between community work and community development. (4 marks)

Question 2
Identify and discuss five community work theories/approaches. (20 marks)

Question 3
Identify and discuss five community practice models (20 marks)

Question 4
Identify and discuss five phases of the community work process according to Only Study guide for BSW3703 (20 marks)
Question 5

Identify and discuss five principles for guiding work with communities (20 marks)

BACKGROUND

The opening of the Ikageng Witkoppen Pre-Primary School in January 1994 was the culmination of a participatory, grassroots, micro development process that started in April 1993 and reached the implementation stage just before the dawn of democracy in South Africa in 1994.
Witkoppen is an affluent, white residential area of smallholdings north-west of the greater Johannesburg area, in the district of Sandton. Witkoppen has a flourishing business community.
Large numbers of mainly black people are employed as domestic workers and farm labourers. These employees are socially and economically disadvantaged. The accommodation, education and recreation of these labourers have not been given a high priority and few facilities were developed in the past. The migrant labour situation meant that families were split up, and a high percentage of the children growing up in this area come from single-parent families. Accommodation for these families is minimal and there is overcrowding, a lack of privacy and little transport. These difficult conditions resulted in far-reaching social problems such as alcoholism, prostitution, teenage pregnancy, and child neglect.
During the years when schooling was racially segregated, the Witkoppen School developed as a farm school catering for the children of domestic workers and farm labourers as well as children from squatter camps in the area. Most of the children came from a socially and economically impoverished background. In the school situation, this manifested itself in behavioural problems, an inability to concentrate, tiredness, hunger, and a general malaise.
MAKING CONTACT WITH THE COMMUNITY

The student became aware of, and was overwhelmed by, the plight of the disadvantaged people in the community. Some of them could be seen at the local health clinic, while others were to be found sitting at the bottle store, obviously unemployed and lacking transport, and recreational facilities. In April 1993, the social worker at the Witkoppen Health Clinic introduced the student to the Principal of the Witkoppen School, Mr Sam Makama. Mr Makama took pride in relating the history and development of the school and discussed the problems the school was experiencing. He was excited by the student’s idea of grass-roots development with a focus on broad participation, democratic decision-making, the development of problem-solving skills, and self-help and self-reliance in a cooperative atmosphere. He gave the student permission to get to know the community and to decide on a project that would address these problems.
The principal was particularly interested in a project the student proposed to develop in cooperation with the teachers and parents of the pupils, because he believed that his people had been disempowered for a long time. The community was known for a sense of apathy, disinterestedness, and a lack of self-sufficiency.
The following emerged from a SWOT analysis carried out in collaboration with the principal:

Strengths: Committed and efficient staff members; positive interpersonal relationships between staff members and pupils.
Weaknesses: A lack of goal realisation among staff; jealousy among staff; age differences in classes, which caused disruptions and caused children to develop an attitude of defiance, disrespect and disobedience.
Opportunities: The excitement of creating a learning atmosphere, developing confidence among pupils and embarking on education at a younger age so that pupils were all school ready.
Threats: Overcrowding and its negative effect on the learning atmosphere; the gradual infiltration of ideology that caused resistance among older children as well as boycotts.
IDENTIFICATION OF NEEDS

Needs were identified over a period by way of a number of contacts.

Teachers

After gaining the support of the principal, the student made contact with individual teachers. Each one had a story to tell. The student was impressed by their optimism despite difficult teaching conditions. The student became aware of the difficulties that teachers experienced in teaching pupils from disadvantaged home backgrounds. Conditions were characterised by overcrowding, lack of privacy, little stimulation and inadequate transport. Some children walked many kilometres to school and consequently fell asleep during lessons. The high crime rate had a negative effect on the children. Child abuse and neglect, which could be attributed to ignorance and illiteracy, were common.
It became apparent that the main concerns of the teachers were a high failure rate and the large number of children who dropped out of school prematurely. The failure rate gave rise to other problems because some children had to remain in the junior primary classes for many years. In Grade 1 classes, for example, the ages of children ranged from 6 to 12 years, and in Grade 3 classes they ranged from 9 to 16 years. The teachers were excited by the prospect of developing a project and putting forward solutions. The most common proposal was for a remedial centre so that the school could directly address the many learning problems and the high failure rate. The student agreed that remedial assistance was needed, but felt she was being rushed to make decisions. The teachers were then asked to complete a questionnaire about their day-to-day teaching problems.
The student tabulated the responses, called a meeting with teachers and presented a list of problems for discussion. Seventeen problems had been identified, including children’s lack of school readiness, an inability to concentrate or memorise information, inadequate knowledge of English, transport problems, poverty and insufficient teaching equipment. To the student, these problems seemed overwhelming, but there was an atmosphere of anticipation and excitement among the teachers. They enjoyed sharing their problems and having someone listen to them, and they enjoyed looking for ways of addressing these problems. It gradually became evident that a remedial facility would address the immediate needs of children with learning problems, but that a pre-primary school would have more long-term benefits in that many children would be school ready when they embarked on formal education. An action committee of five teacher members was elected.
The action committee realised at the outset that the teachers were aware of the importance of preschool education, but what about the parents? There were no other pre-primary schools for black children in the entire area. The action committee therefore decided to conduct another survey and each teacher was asked to speak to a number of parents. Parents were asked what they did with their four-to-six-year-olds during the day while they worked, whether they experienced problems with their preschool children and whether they knew about the importance of school readiness and preschool education. They were also tentatively asked whether they would be interested in helping to develop a preschool facility and then sending their children there if one was established. The response was overwhelming. Illiterate parents were anxious that their children should get a proper education and domestic workers wanted their “backyard” children to have the same opportunities for fun and education as their employers’ children. All were prepared to help pay for their children’s education.
FORMING A COMMITTEE

The generative theme, namely, the concern of teachers and parents about the lack of adequate preparation for formal schooling, had been identified and the junior primary teachers spontaneously offered their services to form a concerned-persons committee.
Initially, when the committee was formed, the group wanted a formal committee with a chairperson, secretary and treasurer. This was done and worked well until the chairperson was promoted and left the school to become a school inspector. This was a setback for the committee because the self-confidence of the committee members was so low that they thought they could not go on without her. The student had to reassure, support and challenge the committee. There was no chairperson, but the secretary, Godfrey, asked members to put forward items for the agenda at the beginning of each meeting. Godfrey proved to be a conscientious secretary, reminding members of upcoming meetings and taking minutes. He was young and did not have a high status in the community, but his contribution to the preschool project increased his status.
PLANNING

The vision

The possibility of developing a pre-primary school was an exciting prospect. There was real energy and commitment, but no one had ever tackled a project of this type or size. The parents and teachers felt overwhelmed, so the student facilitated the formulation of long- and short-term plans.
Identifying resources

Identifying the available resources was one of the first tasks of the committee. Thorough planning helped to eliminate the feeling of being overwhelmed. The student found a retired preschool teacher who was interested in developing a self-help pre-primary school. Other committee members identified entities who could be turned to for advice, such as the Sandton Association of Nursery Schools. An old clinic was identified as possible premises. The committee members approached their contacts for donations of money and equipment, and many donations started coming in – even before the real planning had started. This had a significant effect on the morale of the committee. Progress to date was evaluated at each meeting. Not only was the “bounty” counted, but the strategy that the relevant member used to obtain it was also discussed. This helped to motivate the committee.
Setting goals

Focused and thorough planning was facilitated. The following goals were written down in July: Long-term goals
• To open a pre-primary school in January.
• To start with one class and one teacher and then to expand the school if necessary.
• To be entirely self-supporting, with parents providing resources for their children in the school.
• To ensure the children’s school readiness. Short-term goals
• To find premises.
• To budget for teachers’ salaries, rent, equipment and a feeding scheme.
• To obtain funds by asking for donations.
• To advertise the project so that the community could support it.
• To find a teacher and someone to supervise her/him because few qualified teachers would be available.
• To visit various training centres and preschools to find out what was required for the project.
• To involve parents and the community in all the steps.
IMPLEMENTATION

The student facilitated incremental and short-term action planning by the committee, and specific objectives were set. The budget was the main focus in August. The committee had high ideals of

paying the teacher a realistic wage and of feeding the children. It had been agreed that the parents would pay R50 per month per child.
The committee formulated a funding proposal to be sent to identified donors. The response raised R17 000. The committee was thrilled and felt that the reaction validated the project. However, serious problems were experienced. It became clear that the operational costs of the project would have to be sustained by the community.
The committee called another meeting of parents and discussed the situation. The parents agreed to pay R10 more per month if necessary. Many children had been enrolled and with more enquiries being received every day, the committee decided to open the school with two classes and two teachers. Salaries were then reassessed and when teachers were interviewed, they gladly accepted the position and the salary. Both teachers had completed a short preschool training course and were pleased to know that there would be supervision from experienced volunteers.
Two experts, who were long-standing enemies of each other, joined the committee. One was a retired preschool teacher and the other the headmistress of a local preschool. They failed to agree, and arguments ensued. Nevertheless, both contributed enormously to the planning. The destabilising effect of their animosity only became apparent during the implementation stage. Mr Makama, the principal of the primary school, was determined that the project would be developed by the people for the people. He wanted the preschool to be on the premises of the existing school and attempted to make accommodation available without consulting the school board. A member of the board came to hear of the project, was furious that the board had not been consulted and attempted to halt the project. This angered the committee but had the positive effect of bonding them and they were willing to consider social action. Until then, they had received only encouragement. Facing an “enemy” had a motivating effect. The committee subsequently learnt that the angry board member had been speaking from a personal point of view and wanted to take credit for providing a preschool in three years’ time.
The principal officially informed the school board of the project when there was money in the bank account and planning had reached an advanced stage. The school board welcomed the project and offered its encouragement. It was then realised that accommodation at the old clinic would not be available. This caused a dilemma because the committee had to get an ablution block built in time. Other premises were inspected and rejected. Finally, the committee was offered a house by a local landowner who was on the school board. The house was ideally situated opposite the school. However, it was being used by a clinic sister, who was a valued figure in the community. She was upset about being evicted and the committee decided to decline the accommodation. The student disagreed with the committee, but the committee members were so adamant that they all resigned. This was the first real clash the student experienced with the committee. She reviewed the situation and realised that she had to work with the community and could not insist on what she thought was right. If the clinic sister was alienated, the project would probably no longer belong to the community. She went back and spoke to the members of the committee individually. They evaluated what had taken place to date, the potential of the project and the need for the preschool. The committee agreed to meet again and at the meeting decided to continue with the project.
The December school holidays arrived, the committee members were about to go their separate ways for the holidays, there were no premises, 35 children had enrolled and their registration fees

had been paid. In January, when the student was able to resume contact with the committee, five days remained before the school was due to open. The committee members had in the meantime come to an agreement with the clinic sister, who now gave her blessing for the preschool to use her previous accommodation. The student and the committee then made plans for the next four days. Once again, her role was to help the committee work on one objective at a time.
Owing to the problems regarding the premises and because of theft, the final arrangements had been left to the last minute. Considerable planning and coordination had been done the previous year to ensure that parents, contractors, volunteers and the committee would get the old, prefabricated house ready for the opening of the school on Wednesday, 12 January.
Parents and committee members cleaned the house, cleared the grounds of garbage, levelled the playground and fixed the fences. The contractors arrived to attend to the electricity and to fix broken windows and the roof. Plumbers arrived to build an ablution block. Parents and other people created a sandpit. The teachers worked with the supervisors and prepared for the first day of school. All the contractors were impressed with the project and offered to assist in other ways. They rather overshadowed the parents at this stage, as did the many volunteers who arrived with equipment and ideas, and the student had to deal with the situation. The self-help nature of the project was explained repeatedly as people came in droves to make enquiries.
On Wednesday, the school opened. Parents arrived with their children. Fifty children were enrolled and about the same number had to be turned away. Their names were placed on a waiting list.
EVALUATION

On evaluating the process, it was realised that many people had not registered early. The committee hypothesised that this was because the project was the first self-help project the locals had ever seen and consequently there had been doubt about whether it would get off the ground. The clinic sister episode had also left many people uncertain.
Within three days, the school was running smoothly. The committee realised that it was important to handle the money responsibly. The previous treasurer of the committee was teaching full time and could no longer help. A volunteer with transport arrived and the committee decided to use her to visit the school three times a month to collect and bank fees, to pay the teachers and to buy supplies.
Having originally thought that the school would take up a tremendous amount of her time, the student suddenly found that she was idle since the school was running well. She therefore used her energy to help the committee change from a working and decision-making body to a management committee.
Problems experienced in the implementation stage

Conflict: The expert supervisors did not get along. Within 10 days, both supervisors had resigned and the school was left with two insufficiently qualified teachers with no supervision. The committee attempted to get both experts to return to their voluntary jobs, but one of them refused.
Contractors and volunteers: These people were so excited about the project that they were keen to do things “for” and not “with” the community and the committee members. This created

problems, because, with their expertise, they overshadowed the parents and committee members, demotivating them.
Many committee members were pleased with the help because they could communicate very carefully with all parties to prevent the nature of the project changing from self-help to “top down”.
Sustaining the change: The existing committee changed from a working group to a management committee. The original plan was for the action committee to set up the infrastructure and then to train the parents to manage it. This attempt was not successful because the parents were unsure of their abilities and were not always available. The parents then asked the action committee members to continue making the everyday decisions, and they agreed. The committee met on a monthly basis and its main function was to provide support to the preschool. It continued raising funds, and at the end of June, two new classrooms were built to accommodate the many children on the waiting list. Working Sundays were introduced. On one such occasion, the parents suggested that new teachers be recruited and trained. Gone were the apathy and lack of self- confidence. They were proud of their self-help project and liked the feeling of independence and democracy.
THE SITUATION TWO YEARS LATER

The pre-primary school has become a local symbol of the new South Africa. It is treasured by the local community and appears to have a status different from that of any other organisation in the area. The student withdrew as a facilitator, but became an additional member on the committee, attending meetings on request to act as a consultant.
Question 1

Identify and describe the community practice model applicable in the case study. Provide a theoretical description and motivate/support your answer with examples from the case study. (10 marks)
Question 2

Discuss application of asset-based community development (ABCD) approach in the case study. Provide a theoretical description and motivate/support your answer with examples from the case study. (10 marks)
Question 3

Discuss application of person centred approach in the case study. Provide a theoretical description and motivate/support your answer with examples from the case study. (10 marks)
Question 4

Discuss the role of facilitator and enabler in the case study. Provide a theoretical description and motivate/support your answer with examples from the case study. (20 marks)
Question 5

Discuss the social environment in the case study. Provide a theoretical description and motivate/support your answer with examples from the case study. (10 marks)

Question 6

Discuss the application of participation principle in the case study. Provide a theoretical description and motivate/support your answer with examples from the case study. (10 marks)
Question 7

Discuss the application of ownership principle in the case study. Provide a theoretical description and motivate/support your answer with examples from the case study. (10 marks)
Question 8

Discuss application of need orientation or relevance in the case study. Provide theoretical description and motivate/support your answer with examples from the case study. (10 marks)
Question 7

Discuss application of sustainability five in the case study. Provide theoretical description and motivate/support your answer with examples from the case study. (10 marks)

Answers to Above Questions on Community Work

Answer 1: Community work and community development are important concepts that are directly related to each other as both focus on improving the wellbeing and empowerment of communities. The concept of community work is defined as the work that requires involvement or direct engagement with the community in order to solve common problems.