In Zimbabwe there have been big talks about devolution which, among other things, is meant to drive community led development. While this is the fact, the best way for the respective Zimbabwean provinces and communities alike to spur development will have to through the Asset Based Community Development(ABCD) pathway. In this respect, there is need to unpack what the ABCD approach to socio-economic transformation entails and how can communities make the most of it. In this article, we take a quick look at some few pointers to ABCD hoping they will aid in your understanding of the concept.
What is ABCD
Asset Based Community Development(ABCD) is a strategy for sustainable community driven development and works towards linking micro community assets to the macro community environment. Under this approach, communities drive their respective development trajectory to attain their desired socio-economic transformation. This drive is premised on the underutilised or unrecognised resources spread across communities. A case in point can be that of the Mbare community, where a lot of community assets are either unrecognised or underutilized. Such assets to the community come in the form of its rich history and heritage as well as the abundance of creative human capital base. This is mentioned without paying attention to the obvious assets, Mbare Musika and Magaba.
The ABCD Approach
ABCD approach identifies such assets and builds on them by mobilising individuals, associations and institutions to come together to improve on their assets more than they concentrate on their unique needs. Where a community intends to adopt this approach, an extensive period of time is spent in identifying assets of individuals, associations and then institutions. Once this has been accomplished, these entities are then mobilised and made to work together in building upon the identified assets involved. To involve the community in this strategy, the identified assets from an individual are matched with people or groups who have an interest or need in the asset.
Guiding Principles for ABCD
It is well appreciated that in most communities social and economic problems are addressed with only a small amount of the community`s capacity. A number of factors lay underneath the inability of the full capacity utilisation where some are either discriminated upon. To have a wholesome involvement of community members a consensus that everyone in a community has something to offer towards the respective socio-economic transformation. Hence below are some of the critical principles in ABCD strategy for development:
Everyone Has A Gift
There is no doubting the fact that everyone is endowed with a special gift which makes them unique and a critical piece in the development of their respective community. What often lacks in most Zimbabwean communities are mechanisms to discover gifts and talents embedded in its respective residents. This principle therefore encourages that gifts must be discovered at community level and the same gifts must be used to spur community development.
Relationships
Relationships are critical in building self sustained communities. Therefore, one of the key principles to ABCD is a desire to foster cordial relationships in communities where mechanisms must be put in place to acknowledge, transform, and utilise residents towards the socio-economic transformation.
Leaders and The Community
For a leader to be appointed there must be the existence of a community in need of leadership. What comes first is a community and from it leaders emerge. Under ABCD, it is encouraged that leaders respect their community members and involve them at all stages of community development efforts. Basing on trust, influence and relationship, leaders from the wider community of voluntary associations, congregations, neighborhoods and local business should engage each other as they interact with the broader community.
Asking Questions Rather Than Giving Answers
This principle is set to invite stronger participation from community members. This follows the realisation that residents in most communities are usually asked to follow outside expert`s answers to solve their own unique problems. This has not yielded many results and the realisation is that people have to be invited to address questions relating to them so that they may find their own answers to their problems. Outsiders will only be there to offer assistance in materialising the stated solutions.
Institutions Are Servants
Perhaps more empowering is the realisation that institutions as we know them are public servants and should always strive to meet the needs of the public. In this respect, leaders in institutions such as government, non-profit and for-profit organisations should lead by stepping back and creating opportunities for citizenship to show that it cares in so far as the betterment of their conditions is concerned. In this regard, the essence of democracy comes in allowing for the affected to take up active roles in dealing with their problems while they receive assistance where its needed.
Institutions Have Reached Their Limits
There is an observation that all institutions such as government, NGOs, Corporate entities and other such institutions have stretched thin their ability to solve community problems. Therefore, there is a realisation that these institutions cannot be successful in the attainment of a positive socio-economic transformation without engaging the rest of the community in solution making. Resultant, institutions now need to step back a little and let communities drive their own solution making agendas.
These are some key pointers in Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) and as Zimbabwe is embracing the devolution agenda, there is need to assess the applicability of this approach to development.
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