Greater Dallas Community Development Corporation CDC
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Community Development Project
The main activities of community development program focuses on providing a better environment for the community members. Here are some examples of community development programs:
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Providing hostel accommodation or housing facilities to homeless individuals or people who need help.
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Sponsoring libraries and taking steps to improve the educational facilities within the locality.
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Promoting parks and ensuring the cleanliness of the open air spaces to ensure everyone’s well-being.
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Providing healthcare facilities at affordable prices or for free so that every individual gets equal access.
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Distributing free meals to children or opening branches of affordable canteens to help the weaker socio-economic section of society.
Why Community Development Projects Important
Community projects play a significant role in the development of society and provides a strong foundation for community members. The community development projects aim to increase social stability and enable underprivileged members to live better lifestyles. It can be seen as a way of strengthening society and taking collective action on relevant issues. Let us discuss some of the reasons why it is essential to incorporate these projects in the country –
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​Achieve Long-Term Development
The main activities of community development program focus on addressing the problems at the ground level. Community leaders develop and break the goals into short-term and long-term. The final goal is to uplift the weaker and vulnerable section of the society, which may contribute towards the long-term development of the community.
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​Meet the Needs of the Community
The development projects are aimed at addressing the needs of the community members and uplifting them. For instance, the rural community project may aim to teach children and build more educational centers. As an initiative, the members may gather the requisite information, funds, and resources to fulfil the needs of the community members. These activities may also help improve the living standards of the community members.
Foundation for Economic Development
The process of community development and economic development are parallelly related to each other. The primary purpose of Community Development Program (CDP) is to improve the quality of life, promote sustainability, encourage entrepreneurship, and create more wealth opportunities for the members. The problems that have prevailed for decades have been resolved by such projects. Sustainable development and empowerment principles help set the foundation for economic development.
Improves Access to Resources
Access to adequate resources is one of the fundamental prerequisites for empowering the communities and leading the sustainable path. For instance, rural development projects aim at providing education and necessary services to their population. Through strategic development, the communities get enhanced access to services and better opportunities.
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Addressing the Root Cause of Issues
Addressing the problems at the grassroots level is one of the biggest challenges amongst the communities. Issues related to employment, education, housing, infrastructure, health, and sanitation are serious. When these problems are not addressed, they may pose more significant community threats and challenges. The development projects make sense as they aim to address the root causes and eradicate the issues completely.
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Step 1: Identify the Problem
Step 2: Understanding the Community Context
Step 3: Identify the Stakeholders
Step 4: Articulate Your Mission and Vision.
Step 5: Define Your Community Consultation Plan
Step 6: Develop and Implement Strategies
Step 7: Evaluate the Impact
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Community Development Approach
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Community development is a holistic approach and an organized effort initiated to assist a group of people in a community to lead a better lifestyle. As the term suggests, it is the combination of community with a development that aims to enhance people’s living standards in a community. In this, people must have faith that working together can make a difference in making the community development program successful.
Community development involves the principles of sustainable development, empowerment, inclusivity, social justice, human rights, participative democracy, and equality. These community-led programs led by specific communities aim to address the challenges and gaps oppressing the community members. From the selection of issues to implementation and execution, the community members sit together and decide what steps are to be taken.
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These programs are necessary to ensure fairness and equality within society. Furthermore, these programs can be used to uplift other members of society. One should note that when talking about communities in community development, it may not be limited to a particular geographical area. The term community refers to people sharing the same interest, identities, heritage, or culture.
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Principles of A Community Development Program
The principles of community development can be listed as the following:
​Community Participation
Every individual in the community is integral to the development and process of decision-making. Community development works on the principle that everyone should take equal responsibility and participate in development projects. Be it evaluation, participation, provision, or direction, members of all levels should make a valuable contribution.
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​Ownership & Involvement
Every member should take complete responsibility and accountability for their work. The staff members, volunteers, and center participants should collaborate and cooperate effectively to reach the end goals.
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​Empowerment
The act of respecting, enhancing and encouraging people to meet their needs and aspirations in a more informed manner. Empowering other community members means being respectful and non-judgemental and building a relationship where other community members feel comfortable and valued. If community members are empowered, they tend to share their powers and use them for the betterment of society.
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​Equal Access and Opportunities
The disciple of community development aims at enhancing equal participation by the members. This further increases the need to provide equal opportunities to the members and ensure that each member is aligned with the goals.
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​Networking
The basis of community development projects lies in the idea of networking and nurturing relationships with people from industries. Networking can help build connections with other people and groups who might be facing similar challenges. This helps pave the way for different communities to work together and find effective solutions to the prevailing challenges in society. Networking can also help bridge the knowledge gap as communities come together to share existing knowledge, experiences, and resources.
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​Rethinking
Rethinking aims at reviewing or assessing the situation again to bring changes in the desired outcome. It may involve reevaluating the situation from a different perspective and implementing changes that may be beneficial to the community.
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Advocacy
Community advocacy refers to providing support to others and enabling them to be active citizens. Through advocacy, communities will be well-versed with their societal entitlements and human rights. It will allow the community members to get attention from the top-level professionals and have their voices heard in public.
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Learning
Learning is a lifelong and never-ending process. The pursuit of knowledge and learning new skills is not only beneficial for personal use but can impact an individual’s professional life as well. Community development works on the principles of learning new skills and gaining knowledge actively. When community members gain new knowledge or skills, they may be able to bring more effective campaigns and results.