Community-Based Organisation – a sustainable approach to community development
The people of Gavar region have always been tenacious and determined. Caring for their families and especially children has always been an unchanged priority for each man and woman.
During the tough times of the early 1990s life changed considerably for those living in this region. With lack of employment opportunities and malfunctioning infrastructure, caring for the family required greater determination and even greater effort...One alternative that people chose was seasonal migration to Russia to work in the construction field. Others remained in Gavar, engaging primarily in subsistence agricultural activities like potato and wheat cultivation.
Today, many farmers have come to understand that in order for their communities to develop they need to produce competitive agricultural products, have access to markets and access to loans.
“People want to see change in their lives. They see on TV that the world is changing and they need to change as well”, says Mekhak Hakobyan, representative of the Lanjaghbyur Village Administration. “But they don’t know how”, adds Mekhak.
People want to see change in their lives. They see on TV that the world is changing and they need to change as well “In our community, for example, there is no kindergarten and some 134 children have to stay at home, in Tsaghkashen, People do not have access to drinking and potable water supplies and there is no school facility in Berdkunq; you can hardly find a community in Gavar that does not face these kinds of crucial problems”, says Mekhak Hakobyan.
World Vision Armenia started the Gavar Area Development Programme (ADP) in 2008 with an aim to create development opportunities for the families living in eight regions of Gavar.
“Farmers in our region only produce goods for their families’ consumption. This means that the income they generate is inadequate to serve other needs. We seek to change the situation by creating sustainable economic activities and creating income generation sources for them”, says Vagharshak Poshotyan, Gavar ADP Transformational Development Facilitator.
According to Vagharshak, community development can be achieved only through strong relationships with the local governments, schools and kindergartens, and community members.
“Community members should be responsible for each positive change in the community. They should highlight their needs, they should demand the protection of their rights and those of their children and should significantly contribute to the development activities that the local governments and NGOs are undertaking”, says Vagharshak.
To ensure the active engagement of the community members, Gavar ADP intends to establish a Community-Based Organisation (CBO) where the representatives of the communities will give feedback on the problems they face and will share the responsibility in bringing solutions.
“World Vision will mobilise the communities and will facilitate dialogue between the community members and the local government, as well as other NGOs and donor organisations”, explains Vagharshak.
Through this CBO, World Vision seeks to empower community members to act as the change agents of their communities, to initiate solutions, to apply for grants to donor organisations and to actively participate in the activities that impact the lives of their communities.
During the tough times of the early 1990s life changed considerably for those living in this region. With lack of employment opportunities and malfunctioning infrastructure, caring for the family required greater determination and even greater effort...One alternative that people chose was seasonal migration to Russia to work in the construction field. Others remained in Gavar, engaging primarily in subsistence agricultural activities like potato and wheat cultivation.
Today, many farmers have come to understand that in order for their communities to develop they need to produce competitive agricultural products, have access to markets and access to loans.
“People want to see change in their lives. They see on TV that the world is changing and they need to change as well”, says Mekhak Hakobyan, representative of the Lanjaghbyur Village Administration. “But they don’t know how”, adds Mekhak.
People want to see change in their lives. They see on TV that the world is changing and they need to change as well “In our community, for example, there is no kindergarten and some 134 children have to stay at home, in Tsaghkashen, People do not have access to drinking and potable water supplies and there is no school facility in Berdkunq; you can hardly find a community in Gavar that does not face these kinds of crucial problems”, says Mekhak Hakobyan.
World Vision Armenia started the Gavar Area Development Programme (ADP) in 2008 with an aim to create development opportunities for the families living in eight regions of Gavar.
“Farmers in our region only produce goods for their families’ consumption. This means that the income they generate is inadequate to serve other needs. We seek to change the situation by creating sustainable economic activities and creating income generation sources for them”, says Vagharshak Poshotyan, Gavar ADP Transformational Development Facilitator.
According to Vagharshak, community development can be achieved only through strong relationships with the local governments, schools and kindergartens, and community members.
“Community members should be responsible for each positive change in the community. They should highlight their needs, they should demand the protection of their rights and those of their children and should significantly contribute to the development activities that the local governments and NGOs are undertaking”, says Vagharshak.
To ensure the active engagement of the community members, Gavar ADP intends to establish a Community-Based Organisation (CBO) where the representatives of the communities will give feedback on the problems they face and will share the responsibility in bringing solutions.
“World Vision will mobilise the communities and will facilitate dialogue between the community members and the local government, as well as other NGOs and donor organisations”, explains Vagharshak.
Through this CBO, World Vision seeks to empower community members to act as the change agents of their communities, to initiate solutions, to apply for grants to donor organisations and to actively participate in the activities that impact the lives of their communities.
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