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Community Work

Community work is the work done by a person or group of people that benefits others, benefits a community. A community can be defined as a group of people who share a common geography and/or common interests. Community work can help any group of people in need: children, women, senior citizens, people with disabilities, etc. but community workers look at the entire community as a whole while working for its betterment. 

Planet-centric approach involved and importance

 

  • Addressing the needs of the community.

  • Sustaining and promoting traditional wisdom, culture and practices.

  • Working on dignity of labour, women and awareness of people.

  • Challenging power structures of patriarchy, class, caste, etc. 

  • Addressing gender based violence.

  • Challenging the dominant notion of success and wellbeing.

  • Empowerment through grassroots intervention. 

  • Rethinking development model for inclusion and justice.

  • Creating dignified livelihood opportunities.

  • Judicial usage of resources available.

  • Interconnected approach to gender, ecology and identity.

Knowledge, Skillset, and Mindset to be developed to become a practitioner 

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  • Good knowledge of the local resource base and land geography.

  • Awareness of community issues and interconnectedness of various domains.

  • Building connections and relationships with the community.

  • Engaging with the community through means of art, research, and recreation. 

  • Interacting and engaging with various stakeholders such as volunteers, community members, funders to on field authority.

  • Organising, mobilising and creating spaces for dialogues.

  • Closely work with gender relations and acknowledge aspects of women’s development.

  • Ability to comprehend the community’s wisdom and make it part of one’s work.

  • Sensitivity on how to approach the community members and the different issues.

  • Collaborate with like minded people.

  • Having a grounded perspective on development.

  • Practise sustainability, patience and wellbeing in daily living.

  • Have deep respect and appreciation for the community.

  • Long term dedication to the people and field work. 

Opportunities in such a pathway

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  • Build new development models based on needs of the community and thought of by them.

  • High potential of exploring sustainable living.

  • Chance to work on multiple aspects of social work such as education, gender, health, etc.  

  • Enable youth to become enablers of their own community.

  • Create volunteering opportunities for people to experience, learn and contribute.

  • Facilitate in building a self-reliant community.

  • Rethink gender work in marginalised communities and challenge notion of power to counter patriarchy.

Learning resources

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Readings 

  • Hind Swaraj or Indian Home Rule, M. K. Gandhi

  • The Communist Manifesto, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels

  • Writings of Babasaheb Ambedkar 

  • Writings of Jyotirao Phule

  • Writings of Periyar E V Ramasamy 

  • The Search for Alternatives, Vikalp Sangam 

  • The Constitution of India

Organisations

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