Volunteer Participation in Working with the Urban Poor (UNDP - UNV, 64 p.): II. Insights derived from community-based programmes: (introduction...)

Volunteer Participation in Working with the Urban Poor (UNDP - UNV, 64 p.)

II. Insights derived from community-based programmes

		*(introduction...)*
		Urban informal sector
		Low-income housing
		Infrastructure and basic services
		Health and HIV/AIDS prevention
		Non-formal education and functional literacy
		Women, gender and development
		Children of the street
		Implications for VSAs

(introduction...)

The idea of a community-based approach to working with low-income urban groups is not new; many organisations already support a range of such programmes in the urban areas of developing countries. Some of these programmes are single-point interventions, while others are integrated approaches. Most of these programmes have involved assistance from local NGOs or foreign organisations. The bulk of the finance, labour and raw material resources, however, has come from communities themselves. The common element among these programmes is that urban entrepreneurs and communities are the point of origin and their driving force. The following section provides an overview of salient issues extracted from selected community-based project evaluations and case studies in the broad themes of the urban informal sector; low-income housing; infrastructure and basic services; health and HIV/AIDS prevention; non formal education and functional literacy; and women and children.