COMMUNITY-BASED vs TRADITIONAL (Contrasting Concepts, Applications and Philosophies)

To often programs proclaimed as Community-based are really not.  Sure they have the title of being Community-based, but their structure and application seldom reflect what they are proclaiming.  The fact is that most individual/individuals who develop what they consider as a Community-based program do not understand that there are distinct differences.  They surmise that by developing a Mentorship Program and/or other similar programs and operate it out of a targeted Community then they have created a Community-based Program.  This assumption is both right and wrong, determining upon how you defined the word based.  If you are defining based as meaning having their place of operation in the Community, then it is true you have created a Community-based Program.  “But” if you define based as meaning, “developed to address the needs of the Community that it is operating in”, then it is not true that you have developed a Community-based Program.  Most people fail to understand that Community-based Programs have specific concepts, applications and philosophies which give each program a uniqueness of its own.  Every Community is unique unto itself and it is that uniqueness which causes a Community-based Program that was so successful in one Community to fail horribly in another.  Although each Community may share the same problems, these problems did not come about for the same reasons.  The reason that we have so many failed Community-based Programs is because someone or someone’s failed to address and/or incorporate the Communities unique concepts, applications and philosophies needed to insure success.

What is the difference between a Community-based Program and the more traditional programs we are accustomed to seeing?  Community-based Programs benefit all involved through inclusiveness and with everyone sharing responsibility for its success and/or failure.  Traditional Programs are exclusive by design and only benefit the select few, with the credit for its success generally going to the director and/or governing board members and the failures being given to lack of Community support, staff member(s) and/or staffing issues.  Below is a list of contrasting terms which exhibits the difference between Community-based and Traditional Programs:

Collective – Having the power or quality of bringing together.

Individual – Existing as an entity; single; particular.

Moral – Pertaining to character and behavior from the point of view of right and wrong and obligation of duty.

Policy – Any system of management based on self-interest as opposed to equity.

Moralism – The practice of or belief in a system of principles governing conduct.

Politics – The policies, goals or affairs of a government or of the groups or parties within.

Communal-esteem – The sum of ones personal favorable opinion or estimation on the basis of worth, especially those based on moral characteristics, acknowledged in them by their community.

Self-esteem – A good opinion of oneself; an overestimation of oneself.

Communal Responsibility – A shared state of being answerable or accountable, for the success and/or failure, between the community and its residents.

Individualism – Personal independence in action, character and/or interest; selfishness.

Consensus – Collective opinion; general agreement.

Majority Rule – Decisions made by the agreement of more than half of a select group.

Inclusion – The act of including; being a part of a whole.

Exclusion – The act of excluding; keeping from entering; shut out, as from a place or group.

Communal Leadership – Subservient to the wishes and needs of the Community; ensures that the decisions consensually agreed upon by the Community is carried out and goals are met.  The best servant is considered the best leader.

Traditional Leadership – Is not subservient to the wishes and needs of the Community; ensures that the decisions that they determine is best for the Community is carried out and the goals are met.  The most aggressive, charismatic, self confident and influential (economically, politically and/or socially) is considered the best leader.