Asset Based Community Development (Philippines)

Summary

The script narrates the story of a small, impoverished community in the mountainous north of the Philippines, where people earn less than a dollar per day. Seeking to improve their situation, they approached the Episcopal Church of the Philippines for a water project. The church, focusing on sustainable development, introduced Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD), empowering the community to identify and utilize their own resources. Through this approach, they discovered the value of their water catchment area and initiated a reforestation project with native trees. The community also committed to self-funding their water system, demonstrating resilience and self-reliance, a testament to effective community development by the Episcopal Church.

Takeaways

• 🏔️ The community of Pang is located in the mountainous north of the Philippines and consists of around 100 people who migrated there for land to build homes and sustain their families.
• 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 The inhabitants of Pang are proud and hardworking but face poverty, with most families surviving on less than one dollar per person per day.
• 💧 In 2011, the community sought help from the Episcopal Church of the Philippines for a water project, recognizing the church's experience in constructing water and sanitation facilities.
• 🤔 The church is concerned about ensuring that external interventions are sustainable and do not increase the community's reliance on external donors.
• 🌐 The community had expectations of receiving substantial resources from the church based on what they heard from neighboring communities that had received help.
• 🔄 The church realized that a better approach to development is through asset-based community development, focusing on the community's existing resources and capacities.
• 📚 Community members attended training and seminars on asset-based community development (ABCD) to learn how to identify and utilize their community's strengths.
• 🌱 The community identified the value of their water catchment area and the need to protect this resource, leading to initiatives to reforest the watershed with native trees.
• 💰 A major decision from the asset-based process was for the community to raise their own funds to build a new water system, demonstrating self-reliance and resourcefulness.
• 🌳 The community began a nursery to propagate native trees for reforestation, showing a commitment to environmental sustainability and the protection of their water source.
• 👍 The story of Pang is an example of community initiative and hard work, highlighting the effectiveness of the Episcopal Church's community development processes in addressing poverty and promoting self-sufficiency.
• 🤝 The partnership with the Episcopal Church brings tools and insights from community development experience to ensure that interventions are beneficial and empower the community.

Q & A

What is the size of the community in the mountainous north of the Philippines mentioned in the script?

The community is small, consisting of around 100 people.

Why did the inhabitants of the community migrate to the mountainous region?

The inhabitants migrated in search of land where they could build their homes and feed their families.

What is the economic condition of most families in the community as described in the script?

Most families in the community survive on less than one dollar per person per day, indicating they are living in poverty.

What did the community approach the Episcopal Church of the Philippines for in 2011?

The community approached the Episcopal Church of the Philippines to help them with a water project.

What is the Episcopal Church of the Philippines' concern regarding external intervention in communities?

The church is concerned that external intervention should bring long-term sustainable benefits and not inadvertently increase the community's reliance on external donors.

What is the new approach being introduced for community development mentioned in the script?

The new approach is known as Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD), which focuses on identifying and utilizing the community's existing resources and strengths.

What is the significance of asset mapping in the ABCD process as described in the script?

Asset mapping helps the community to focus on their strengths and skills, and to identify hidden talents and resources already present within the community.

What was the community's initiative to protect their water catchment area?

The community initiated a plan to take care of their water catchment area, which included starting a nursery to propagate native trees for reforestation.

What was the community's decision regarding the funding for their new water system?

The community decided to raise their own funds within the community to build the new water system, so that the external funding could be used by another community with a greater need.

What is one of the successful outcomes of the ABCD engagement in the community?

One successful outcome is the community's collective realization and commitment to do things on their own, demonstrating self-reliance and initiative.

What message does the story of the community highlight about effective community development?

The story highlights the importance of effective community development processes that help rather than hinder the people, and the need for communities to appreciate and utilize what they have.

Outlines

00:00

🏘️ Community Development in Pang

The first paragraph introduces a small, impoverished community in the mountainous north of the Philippines called Pang, where residents earn less than one dollar per day. The community sought assistance from the Episcopal Church of the Philippines for a water project. The church, experienced in such projects, is also concerned about ensuring long-term sustainability and reducing dependency on external aid. The paragraph discusses the church's approach to community development, emphasizing the importance of leveraging local resources and capacities, and introduces the concept of Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD). The community, after training and consultation, began to focus on its strengths and existing resources, identifying talents and assets, rather than waiting for external intervention.

05:02

🌿 Empowering the Community through Asset-Based Approach

The second paragraph delves into the community's realization of the importance of their water catchment area and the need to protect this vital resource. Through the asset-based approach, the community initiated a plan to care for their watershed, with support from external sources to start a nursery for native trees aimed at reforestation. A significant decision was made to raise funds within the community for a new water system, demonstrating self-reliance. The community's engagement with the ABCD process led to a collective decision to contribute to their own development, with some members expressing a sense of success despite differing expectations. The story of Pang showcases the community's initiative and hard work, as well as the Episcopal Church's effective community development processes, which aim to empower rather than hinder the people in need.

Keywords

💡Community

A community refers to a group of people living in the same place or having common interests. In the video, the community of Pang in the Philippines is central to the narrative, as they are seeking to improve their living conditions through self-sustainability and local development initiatives.

💡Sustainability

Sustainability in this context means meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. The video emphasizes the importance of the Episcopal Church of the Philippines ensuring that their interventions are sustainable and do not increase the community's reliance on external aid.

💡Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD)

Asset-Based Community Development is an approach that focuses on identifying and utilizing the strengths and resources within a community to drive development. The video describes how this approach was introduced to the community of Pang, helping them to focus on their existing skills and resources rather than waiting for external assistance.

💡Water Project

A water project in the video refers to the initiative to construct water and sanitation facilities. It is a critical development need for the community of Pang, as they initially approached the Episcopal Church for help with such a project, highlighting the importance of water for daily life and agriculture.

💡Episcopal Church of the Philippines

The Episcopal Church of the Philippines is portrayed as an experienced organization in helping communities with development projects, particularly in water and sanitation. Their role in the video is to guide and support the community of Pang in adopting a sustainable development approach.

💡Resource

In the script, resources are the tangible and intangible assets of the community that can be leveraged for development. The community of Pang identifies its water catchment area as a valuable resource that needs to be preserved and protected, which is a key aspect of their development strategy.

💡External Donors

External donors are organizations or individuals that provide financial or material support to communities in need. The video discusses the church's concern about inadvertently increasing the community's reliance on these donors, emphasizing the importance of self-reliance and sustainable development.

💡Community Research Volunteers

Community research volunteers are individuals from within the community who have been trained to assist in identifying and mapping the community's assets. In the video, they play a crucial role in the ABCD process, helping the community of Pang to focus on its strengths and resources.

💡Watershed

A watershed is an area of land that drains all the streams and rainfall to a common outlet, such as a river or a lake. In the video, the community of Pang recognizes the importance of protecting their watershed as it is the source of their water supply, and they take initiatives to safeguard it from harm.

💡Self-Reliance

Self-reliance is the ability to provide for oneself without external assistance. The video highlights the community's decision to raise their own funds for the water system as an example of self-reliance, demonstrating their commitment to sustainable development and reducing dependency on external aid.

💡Initiative

An initiative in the video refers to a plan or action taken to address a particular issue or need. The community of Pang takes several initiatives, such as starting a nursery for native trees and committing to raise funds for their water system, showcasing their proactive approach to development.

Highlights

A small community in the mountainous north of the Philippines with around 100 people has faced poverty, with most families surviving on less than one dollar per day.

In 2011, the community sought help from the Episcopal Church of the Philippines for a water project.

The Episcopal Church is experienced in constructing water and sanitation facilities but also emphasizes sustainability and reducing reliance on external donors.

The community had expectations of receiving substantial resources from the Church based on the experiences of neighboring communities.

The Church introduced Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) to focus on existing community strengths and resources for sustainable development.

Community members attended training and seminars on ABCD to learn how to identify and utilize local assets.

Through asset mapping, the community identified the value of their water catchment area and the need for its preservation.

Community members recognized the importance of protecting their watershed from illegal loggers and waste disposal.

An initiative was started to reforest the watershed area with native trees propagated in a community nursery.

The community decided to raise their own funds for the water system, allowing ABM funding to be used elsewhere for greater needs.

Community members committed to contributing funds from their harvests to the water works project.

Despite some disappointment in not receiving expected resources, the community demonstrated collective strength and self-reliance.

The story of the community highlights the effectiveness of the Episcopal Church's community development processes.

The community's initiative and hard work serve as a testament to overcoming poverty through effective development interventions.

The Episcopal Church's approach ensures that development interventions aid rather than hinder the communities they are intended to help.

The community learned to appreciate and utilize their existing resources, fostering self-reliance and sustainable development.

Transcripts

I know is a small community of around

100 people in the mountainous north of

the Philippines its inhabitants have

migrated here in search of land where

they can build their homes and feed

their families people of pang are proud

and hardworking but they were also poor

most families here survive on less than

one dollar per person per day in 2011

the community approached the Episcopal

Church of the Philippines to help them

with a water project the Episcopal

Church of the Philippines is very

experienced in helping communities to

construct water and sanitation

facilities but the church is also

concerned that external intervention

brings long-term sustainable benefits to

communities and doesn't inadvertently

increase the community's reliance on

external donors they come to us and say

that they have heard from neighboring

communities that the Episcopal Church

has helped them put up a water system

that is worth more than a million pesos

you know the church has helped them even

seven the part of the road go into the

community so they come to us with an

expectation that that we are given to

give them a lot of resources the

problems with sustainability because the

problems that you know if if if you are

providing or addressing a need and

providing an external input you know in

a community to address those needs that

will be what people expect you know that

every time that they have a problem they

have a need then they will always look

forward to

an external input one dress that

eventually we realized that the better

way of a protein is the biblical way

which is you know what's what's in there

what's in the community what is the

strategy to community what are the

resources in the community that would be

able to drive development action there

so as a based Community Development is

basically looking at those resources

those available resources and the

strength capacities of the community and

letting those things drive development

action there is a new approach being

introduced known as the asset based

Community Development and this we we as

this stuff of this program also attended

training at the national office and then

after the training we also invited some

community research volunteers there were

in this place panel there were three who

are interested to join with us

na alam ii didn't we have seen that we

have a few water supply shadi young kim

among me that what's in that what pose

push us go to the development community

program of the church in mecca me lucky

go to attend seminars like the ABCD

seminar that put shadi the SIA because

it is one of the requirements so we

consult the community what are those

concerned and suggestions after that we

we take the asset mapping the household

survey and we list what are the assets

we have in this community through an

asset mapping process that the community

research volunteer is learned in their

training the community began to focus on

the strengths and skills that already

existed in the community this approach

helped to identify hidden talents among

members of the community as well as to

focus on the resources already present

in the community rather than waiting on

an external party to come and intervene

through this process the community

identified the value of their water

catchment area and the need to preserve

and protect this valuable resource very

important in water is very important to

us because it is what we use every day

in our houses yes and also it is

important to our plants really it is

very important to us the watershed make

it the watershed is very important for

us to protect because it is the source

of the water and the trees

the beholder water and also that we are

the one we become utila are the one who

is safeguarding the watershed from

illegal loggers and from those who throw

waste in the watershed one of the

initiatives the community began

immediately was a plan to take care of

their water catchment area with help

from some external sources they began a

nursery to propagate native trees which

will be used to reforest the watershed

area one of the major community

decisions to emerge from the asset-based

process was a commitment to raise their

own funds within the community to build

the new water system so that the ABM

funding could be used by some other

community who had a greater need Enel

passed the mineral energy herb is known

on kami it is said the plan okay me I

win the similar of the service were

finished in the plan was shoot was we

have seen that we can do this by

ourselves

let me man mullet Ajo seen a horse when

we see it we seen that we can plant

vegetables in other things and every

harvest every harvest we can give to the

organization some funds from our harvest

so that too will be used in the water

works one of the more successful results

of ABCD engagement people would still

say we still think that that they have

failed because what they expected in the

beginning was not what they cut so there

among among some people there would

still be the feeling but for them to

to come up with a collective stand and

say that we can do this on our own is

successful this is is what we also

expected for the process the story of

tangle is a testament to the initiative

and hard work of the people in this

community it also highlights the

importance of the effective community

development processes that the Episcopal

Church in the Philippines has developed

the challenges of poverty are often

harder to overcome than they first

appear IBM's partners bring tools and

insight from a vast array of community

development experience to ensure that

development intervention helps rather

than hinders the people who need it most

you appreciate what you have it's only

when you stop pointing at others that

you begin to rot yourself you end and

appreciate what you have and do

something with what you have