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Developingcommunitiesforgreaterwelfare

Developing communities for

greater welfare
by SM Maruf Ahmed | Published: 00:18, Nov 25,2016

BANGLADESH faces a lot of problems regarding social issues and social

development. Because of a huge rural-urban migration and dependence on the
centre, human resources have been wasted for lack of proper use and planned
social and community development. The social challenges faced by developing
countries such as Bangladesh are effortlessly solved by community-based
development. In many countries, there exist a huge nubmer of people who
motivate themselves to contemporary social development that has not been seen
in developing countries. For the greater development of a country, it is
necessary to develop the small communities efficiently and build or increase
capacity among the communities. Several developed countries such as the United
States attributed a lot to developing their small individual communities, which
then evolved into affluent economic state gradually. California is the most
affluent economic US state, even more affluent than many other countries such
as France.
Community development corporations, which could be tools for developing
communities, are not-for-profit organisations meant to run programmes, offer
services and engage in other activities that promote and support community
development. CDCs usually serve a geographic location such as a neighbourhood
or a town.
In Bangladesh, the smallest unit of the CDC in a large individual block of flats,
for example, is the flat owners association. But such units cannot express or
convey the importance of the CDC in a broader context. It is only associated
with the maintenance or servicing of the buildings. But the role of the CDC is
broader.
In Bangladesh, the concept of the CDC is mostly unknown. As flat owners
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Developingcommunitiesforgreaterwelfare

association exists, the CDC can be formed easily. It could be thought in a

broader sense, in the context of some large individual buildings, or further
broader, in the context of a neighbourhood or a union.
The tasks of the CDC in building community is important. Its area of services
should not be limited as this way, the greater welfare of the community cannot
be furthered. They are typically established in low-income areas to help develop
and expand educational programmes, create jobs and rehabilitate neighbourhood.
They are an effective way to organise community efforts and address problems
and as this was, a representative board can help to express the interest of the
community in the national context. When some CDCs are formed, they can
pursue for their own interest and also display their capability to others. A lot of
programmes can make the community strong. CDCs need to attain organisational
capacity hiring skilled human resources within the community.
An example can be given how a CDC can be formed in Bangladesh. A community
assessment will help to identify the needs of the community in which a CDC is
established. Volunteers are needed for a CDC. It, therefore, has to recruit
volunteers from local businesses and encourage residents to join in. To generate
interest in CDCs, public meetings can be held. After community volunteers are
recruited, an elected board must be put in place. The board, which has to be
composed of business owners and residents from the community, should at least
have a president, vice-president, a treasurer and a secretary. The board will
need to establish goals, create a mission statement and develop a set of by-laws
for the CDC. Volunteers and board members will be responsible for fundraising
to ensure a cash flow to support the work and accomplish the goals. A CDC may
also want to recruit someone who handles public relations, marketing and grant
writing.
CDCs may want to hire or find volunteer accountants to manage funds. They
should work with the CDC treasurers.
Fundraising for CDCs and seeking grants to help support various programmes in
the area of the CDC is a vital issue. CDCs have as to put together various
committees of volunteers to oversee fundraising projects. They should be under
the leadership of one or more board members.
In the context of Bangladesh, community-based development is one of the
important priorities. This individual community can significantly add to the
national development as a whole. The concept of CDC should, therefore, be
implemented in the local and regional context of Bangladesh so that it can
achieve sustainable development goals.
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SM Maruf Ahmed is an urban planner

of Sheltech (Pvt) Ltd.

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