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Program "Joint Community Development"
Joint Community Development is a program launched by the Regional Delegation of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies - Budapest as a pilot in 2000 in Hungary, and since 2002 in a number of Central and Eastern European countries such as Bulgaria, Serbia and Montenegro. Macedonia, Romania, Poland (2002-2003 only), Kosovo. The program is expected to be expanded to Croatia, Bosnia, Albania and Tajikistan.
The main goal of the program at the time of its launch is to support the building and development of local Red Cross organizations by building skills for needs assessment, planning and implementation of projects in response to these needs, the whole process is carried out on site, together with the local people.
Subsequently, the objectives of the program were expanded, but the basic principle remained unchanged and guided in all activities:
Main principle:
"Vulnerable people have the inalienable right to participate in decisions that directly affect their lives"
Main goals of the program:
Target groups:
Vulnerable communities with ethnic minorities living in rural areas (multiethnic communities) or urban areas (Roma and mixed neighborhoods). So far, both Bulgarians and Roma, Turks, Vlachs and even Arabs have actively participated in the program.
Regional organizations of the Bulgarian Red Cross, which implemented the program:
So far, the following regional organizations of the Bulgarian Red Cross have participated in the program in chronological order: The Sofia Council of the Bulgarian Red Cross and the regional organizations of the Bulgarian Red Cross in Sliven, Razgrad, Silistra, Haskovo, Vratsa, Burgas, Yambol and Varna.
Since 2005, the pilot program has been implemented with the Arab Migrant Community in Sofia, expressed through the establishment of the Association of Arab Women "Light of the Woman" as well as with children and youth from the Social Pedagogical Boarding School in Sigmen, district. Burgas, with the participation of the majority of interested institutions.
Donors:
The Norwegian Government, with the contribution of the Norwegian Red Cross, has been a long-term donor of the program, funded and coordinated regionally through the Regional Delegation of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies - Budapest. This funding ends in January 2006.
The project in the village of Golesh, district Silistra is implemented with the financial support of the Spanish Red Cross.
The pilot projects with the Arab Migrant Community and the children and young people at SIG-Sigmen are being implemented with the support of the British Red Cross.
The projects are in the process of implementation.
What are we doing?
1. Employees and volunteers of the Bulgarian Red Cross, people from the community, local authorities and institutions, non-governmental organizations and the media build a team for Rapid Joint Needs Assessment (BSP) - an interactive methodology that allows in the process assessment of the need for everyone to participate, regardless of ethnicity, language, literacy, age or degree of disability)
2. The team, composed mainly of local people, but also external participants from the BRC, local authorities, organizations, local and journalists has the task, together with community members to identify and analyze the problems of vulnerable people and attract them as active participants in solving them by the following methods:
a. Analysis of secondary information as a basis for needs assessment;
b. General meeting of the community to present the program, get the consent of local people to start it and attract volunteers for the local team;
c. Training and preparation of the team;
d. Community General Assembly to launch the needs assessment through large working groups and prepare people for the next stage;
e. Semi-structured community interviews to gather individual opinions about the life and problems of people in the community;
f. Interviews with institutions for expertise, resources and advocacy;
g. General Assembly of the community to present the results of the evaluation and vote on the priority problems of the community, as well as to attract volunteers to work on solutions to problems;
with. Creating project teams and planning micro-projects according to the priorities voted by the community.
3. Implementation of micro-projects.
Micro-projects planned and implemented with the active participation of local people 2002-2003:
Long-term results:
The projects would not be possible without the valuable support of donors, hard work and personal time of local project teams and community volunteers, volunteers and employees of regional and local Red Cross organizations, teachers and members of school and community centers, municipalities and mayors. with material and financial contribution and strong support of local initiatives.
The projects would not have been possible without the valuable support of the IFRC / CP Regional Delegation for Central Europe, which gave the initial impetus and subsequently continued to provide assistance without the support and exchange of experience with program coordinators from other countries. from different people from the Bulgarian Red Cross with experience in the program, who helped their colleagues in the new communities.
Application of the methodology with other target groups
In order to test the applicability of the methodology for Joint Development of Communities in spheres of activity and with target groups different from the traditional ones so far, in 2005 the BRC launched two new projects.
In 2005, work began on a project targeting the Arab migrant community, in particular women. In the course of this project, the association "Nur" or in translation "Light of the Woman" was created. Its goal is to promote the integration of women from the Arab community in Bulgaria and the positive meeting between the two cultures. In the same year, a project for prevention of trafficking was launched, which is aimed at children in the most at-risk groups, namely the graduates of social and pedagogical boarding schools in the country. The inability of children to find a place other than before after leaving home makes them extremely easy victims of trafficking. The project works simultaneously with children, educators in the home and all institutions that have an impact on their lives before, during and after leaving home. All of them together assess the needs, analyze the problems and plan how to work together to give a greater chance to the children from SBS in the village of Sigmen to return to society.
Joint Community Development is a program launched by the Regional Delegation of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies - Budapest as a pilot in 2000 in Hungary, and since 2002 in a number of Central and Eastern European countries such as Bulgaria, Serbia and Montenegro. Macedonia, Romania, Poland (2002-2003 only), Kosovo. The program is expected to be expanded to Croatia, Bosnia, Albania and Tajikistan.
The main goal of the program at the time of its launch is to support the building and development of local Red Cross organizations by building skills for needs assessment, planning and implementation of projects in response to these needs, the whole process is carried out on site, together with the local people.
Subsequently, the objectives of the program were expanded, but the basic principle remained unchanged and guided in all activities:
Main principle:
"Vulnerable people have the inalienable right to participate in decisions that directly affect their lives"
Main goals of the program:
- To improve the lives of vulnerable people.
- Mobilize vulnerable communities to work together to address their priority issues by passing the initiative on to local people.
- Reduce the isolation of various marginalized groups, such as ethnic and religious minorities, migrants from other nationalities, children from social institutions and others through their equal involvement in community work.
- To strengthen civil society through equal partnership of people from the community, the Red Cross, local authorities and other non-governmental organizations.
- To strengthen the organization of the Red Cross by attracting active and motivated volunteers in places working for the benefit of their community.
- To strengthen the local capacity to solve the problems of vulnerable people through trainings, joint needs assessment, joint planning and implementation of micro-projects.
Target groups:
Vulnerable communities with ethnic minorities living in rural areas (multiethnic communities) or urban areas (Roma and mixed neighborhoods). So far, both Bulgarians and Roma, Turks, Vlachs and even Arabs have actively participated in the program.
Regional organizations of the Bulgarian Red Cross, which implemented the program:
So far, the following regional organizations of the Bulgarian Red Cross have participated in the program in chronological order: The Sofia Council of the Bulgarian Red Cross and the regional organizations of the Bulgarian Red Cross in Sliven, Razgrad, Silistra, Haskovo, Vratsa, Burgas, Yambol and Varna.
Since 2005, the pilot program has been implemented with the Arab Migrant Community in Sofia, expressed through the establishment of the Association of Arab Women "Light of the Woman" as well as with children and youth from the Social Pedagogical Boarding School in Sigmen, district. Burgas, with the participation of the majority of interested institutions.
Donors:
The Norwegian Government, with the contribution of the Norwegian Red Cross, has been a long-term donor of the program, funded and coordinated regionally through the Regional Delegation of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies - Budapest. This funding ends in January 2006.
The project in the village of Golesh, district Silistra is implemented with the financial support of the Spanish Red Cross.
The pilot projects with the Arab Migrant Community and the children and young people at SIG-Sigmen are being implemented with the support of the British Red Cross.
The projects are in the process of implementation.
 |
What are we doing?
1. Employees and volunteers of the Bulgarian Red Cross, people from the community, local authorities and institutions, non-governmental organizations and the media build a team for Rapid Joint Needs Assessment (BSP) - an interactive methodology that allows in the process assessment of the need for everyone to participate, regardless of ethnicity, language, literacy, age or degree of disability)
2. The team, composed mainly of local people, but also external participants from the BRC, local authorities, organizations, local and journalists has the task, together with community members to identify and analyze the problems of vulnerable people and attract them as active participants in solving them by the following methods:
a. Analysis of secondary information as a basis for needs assessment;
b. General meeting of the community to present the program, get the consent of local people to start it and attract volunteers for the local team;
c. Training and preparation of the team;
d. Community General Assembly to launch the needs assessment through large working groups and prepare people for the next stage;
e. Semi-structured community interviews to gather individual opinions about the life and problems of people in the community;
f. Interviews with institutions for expertise, resources and advocacy;
g. General Assembly of the community to present the results of the evaluation and vote on the priority problems of the community, as well as to attract volunteers to work on solutions to problems;
with. Creating project teams and planning micro-projects according to the priorities voted by the community.
3. Implementation of micro-projects.
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Micro-projects planned and implemented with the active participation of local people 2002-2003:
- Project for improving the opportunities for professional realization through vocational training of 60 young people from Filipovtsi district, Sofia, 2002-2003
- Project "Assistance in the sanitation of Nadezhda district, Sliven", 2002-2003
- Project for improving the conditions for education in the village of Seslav, district Razgrad, 2003-2004
- Project for improving the conditions for education of students from the village of Golesh, district Silistra, 2003-2004
- Project for enrichment of the social life in the village of Golesh and strengthening of the capacity of the chitalishte, in its capacity as a cultural institution, 2003-2004
- Project for improving the conditions in the kindergarten of the village of Mramoren, municipality Vratsa, 2003-2004
- Youth and children's project for restoration of the playground and the park of the village of Mramoren, 2003-2004
- Project for restoration of the public park of the village of Stamboliyski, district Haskovo, 2003-2004
- Youth and children's project for restoration of the old sports ground in the village of Stamboliyski, 2003-2004
- Project for construction of Lyulyatsite Street in the town of Karnobat, district Burgas, 2004-2005
- Project for establishing a youth club and a club of the Bulgarian Red Cross in the village of Veselinovo, municipality. Yambol, 2004-2005
- Project for improving the conditions for sports in the village of Veselinovo, municipality. Yambol, 2005
- Mini-project for establishing a disaster response team in the village of Mramoren, district Vratsa, 2005
- Mini-project for construction of a community center for parents of Roma and Turkish origin under the auspices of the Bulgarian Red Cross in the village of Seslav, district Razgrad, 2005
- Mini-project for building a group for advocacy of the Roma community in the area of Lyulyatsite Street in the town of Karnobat, district Burgas, 2005-2006
- Projects for the establishment of 4 youth interest clubs, a group of parents and a group of elderly people in the village of Sindel, district Varna in order to create conditions for engaging the young people from the village in various cultural and sports activities
Long-term results:
- Established local action groups that are able to assess needs, plan and implement activities for the benefit of the community, as well as to advocate for local authorities.
- Breaking down barriers between different ethnic and religious groups so that they work together for the benefit of their community. This is directly related to the Basic Principles of the Red Cross, namely impartiality and neutrality, which do not allow segregation of people.
- Facilitate the work of local authorities in terms of better understanding of people's problems, pooling efforts and building local capacity to solve local problems.
- Establishment and strengthening of local organizations of the Bulgarian Red Cross as a major volunteer resource to help the most vulnerable people.
The projects would not be possible without the valuable support of donors, hard work and personal time of local project teams and community volunteers, volunteers and employees of regional and local Red Cross organizations, teachers and members of school and community centers, municipalities and mayors. with material and financial contribution and strong support of local initiatives.
The projects would not have been possible without the valuable support of the IFRC / CP Regional Delegation for Central Europe, which gave the initial impetus and subsequently continued to provide assistance without the support and exchange of experience with program coordinators from other countries. from different people from the Bulgarian Red Cross with experience in the program, who helped their colleagues in the new communities.
Application of the methodology with other target groups
In order to test the applicability of the methodology for Joint Development of Communities in spheres of activity and with target groups different from the traditional ones so far, in 2005 the BRC launched two new projects.
In 2005, work began on a project targeting the Arab migrant community, in particular women. In the course of this project, the association "Nur" or in translation "Light of the Woman" was created. Its goal is to promote the integration of women from the Arab community in Bulgaria and the positive meeting between the two cultures. In the same year, a project for prevention of trafficking was launched, which is aimed at children in the most at-risk groups, namely the graduates of social and pedagogical boarding schools in the country. The inability of children to find a place other than before after leaving home makes them extremely easy victims of trafficking. The project works simultaneously with children, educators in the home and all institutions that have an impact on their lives before, during and after leaving home. All of them together assess the needs, analyze the problems and plan how to work together to give a greater chance to the children from SBS in the village of Sigmen to return to society.
