(introductory text...)

TOTAL TIME: 2 hours

OVERVIEW

The success of a Volunteer's efforts depends on close collaboration with the community members in identifying needs, and implementing and evaluating projects. To establish such a collaboration, the Volunteer needs to have a respect for and understanding of the knowledge, practices, beliefs and conditions of members of his or her community. In this session participants identify types of information they need to learn about the community and list methods of gathering that information using the KEEPRAH model of community analysis. Sessions 9 through 12 are a sequence of activities designed to give pre-service trainees experience in gathering and analyzing information about their communities. If at all possible, this sequence should be coordinated with core curriculum and language training components.

OBJECTIVES

· To define the term "community" (Step 1)

· To identify major areas of information that health workers need to learn about the communities in which they will work. (Steps 1, 2)

· To list at least three techniques for gathering information in the community. (Steps 3, 4)

· To make a plan for investigating at least two subsystems in the local community. (Steps 3, 4)

RESOURCES

- Community Culture and Care, Chapters 1 and 2
- Bridging the Gap, pp. 34-35
- Helping Health Workers Learn, Chapter 6
- "Working With the Community" (CDC/CCCD Module)

Handouts:

- 9A The KEEPRAH Holistic Model
- 9B A Community Diagnosis: What You Might Learn About Your Community

MATERIALS

Newsprint, markers, colored pens, notepaper.

PROCEDURE

Step 1 (25 min)
What is a Community?

Open the session by giving the group a brief overview of the series of activities they will be involved in during Sessions 9,10,11 and 12.

Ask someone in the group to volunteer to give a brief description of their community back home. Encourage the group to ask the volunteer questions that will help them become acquainted with various aspects of the volunteer's community.

After a few minutes, tell participants to consider all of the aspects that make up the community described above, as well as their own hometowns or neighborhoods. Ask them to define the term "community" and write their definition on newsprint; beside it, have them generate a list of parts or sub-systems which make up the community.

When they have completed the list, ask them to briefly discuss how their individual communities may vary from this norm.

Trainer Note Make colored markers and newsprint available to the volunteer who describes his or her community. Encourage the group to ask the volunteer questions about such aspects as how communication takes place and how decisions are made in the community. Be careful not to let the group get "bogged down" in defining "community". The idea is to have a simple framework, i.e., definition and list of parts or subsystems with which to work. During the discussion, point out to participants that the term "community" can refer not only to a geographic grouping of people, but also to professional and social groupings (eg., a community of clinic workers, a community of PCVs, clubs, etc.).

Step 2 (20 min)
The KEEPRAH Model of Community Analysis

Distribute Handouts 9A (the KEEPRAH Holistic Model) and Handout 9B (A Community Diagnosis: What You Might Learn About the Community) and give the group a few minutes to look them over. Ask for questions on any aspect of the information.

Discuss the model and its application to Volunteer work by posing the following questions:

- How similar are the subsystems in the KEEPRAH model to those listed by the group?

- Are there any subsystems or aspects of the community which have been left out of the model or our list?

- How easy/difficult is it to find out what the resources, problems, patterns, and leadership are for a given subsystem (e.g., for education).

- How does the cross-cultural nature of our work affect our ability to identify resources, problems, etc?

- How do the subsystems interrelate and affect one another?

- How does the relationship among subsystems affect the health Volunteer's work in his or her village?

- What are some factors to consider in relation to the felt needs of an individual community member?

- How can we find out and verify people's perceived needs?

Trainer Note The KEEPRAH Model is a widely accepted model for community analysis. It is particularly appropriate here as an introduction to general information-gathering in the community.

Step 3 (25 min)
Preparing for the Community Investigation

Explain to the participants that the next step in preparing for a community investigation is to plan out what information to gather and how to go about collecting it. Ask them to break down into work teams of three and mention that the triads will be together through the next day and a half.

Explain that each team will spend the following day in the local community investigating the subsystem health, as well as one or two other subsystems from the KEEPRAH model. Ask participants to select the subsystems they would like to investigate or assign them if the time is limited.

Have the teams work through the following task:

1. Decide and write on newsprint what you want to learn about your subsystems. Focus at least some of your investigation toward gathering information that will help you answer these two questions for your group during Session 12.

- What is the relationship between the non-health subsystem you selected and the health subsystem of this community? (For example: what is the relationship between the education subsystem and the health subsystem?)

- What do community members perceive as their primary development problems regarding health and the other subsystem you investigated.

2. List ways in which you plan to gather the information (how and where).

3. Select a reporter to inform the large group briefly of your plan during the next step.

Trainer Note Try to have all the subsystems covered among the various work teams so that at least some information is gathered on each segment of the local community. If the group is large, break it down into two core groups for the report-back in Step 4. The rationale for work groups of three is to have participants rotating in the roles of interviewer, listener, and observer during their visit to the community. This is explained to the group during Session 11. If there is a map of the local community, you may want to introduce it at this time. Have at least the following places identified.
schools	health center	post office
market places	housing units	bar
town hall	store	temples/churches/mosques
If possible, make available small copies of this map to each work team.

Step 4 (30 min)
Reviewing the Community Investigation Plans

Reconvene the large group and ask each reporter to present the plans for the work teams. Post the newsprint plans around the room for easy reference. As each plan is presented, ask the others in the group to provide pertinent feedback and suggestions.

Explain to the group that the major focus in this session has been on what information will be collected. During the next session, they will look more closely at how to gather the data and effectively interact in the community.