This thesis explores the ways in which education and training programs can contribute to the
achievement of equitable, self-reliant, and sustainable community development.
A case study was conducted on an indigenous affiliate of the Agency for Cooperation in
Research and Development (ACORD) in Nebbi district, Uganda. ACORD is a broad-based
international consortium o f European and Canadian non-governmental organizations. ACORD's
main focus in sub-Saharan Africa is to help establish or strengthen local, non-governmental
structures with a view to promoting equitable, self-reliant, sustainable development. The
ACORD-NEBBI community development programme was chosen for the study for four reasons:
First, it appeared to be consistent with the community development principles advanced in the
literature. Second, it emphasizes long-term localization of the programme through a significant
skills training and education component. Third, the ACORD-NEBBI programme is a mature (i.e.
over 15 years old) community development effort with a variety o f programs under one
umbrella. And fourth, the programme was accessible geographically and culturally to the
researcher.
The research methods included observation, document analysis, and forty-six semi-structured
interviews. The interviewees represented community development workers, former participants
of ACORD-NEBBI training programs, primary beneficiaries of ACORD-NEBBI development
programme, and the programme personnel.
Six factors were found to support the ability of ACORD-NEBBI education and training programs
to contribute to the achievement of equitable, self-reliant, and sustainable development
initiatives: first, application of a phased approach to change and localization; second, tailored
training activities at the request and pace of the beneficiaries; third, support to and promotion of
self-selecting group formation based on common interests that, in turn, allowed the functioning
of groups with less social friction; fourth, the application of a development approach compatible
with the socio-cultural traditions; fifth, the development of a multi-faceted programme that
penetrated all vulnerable segments o f the society; and sixth, the application o f change agents
who supported emerging community groups.
Two factors were identified as hindering the ability of ACORD-NEBBI education and training
programs to contribute to the achievement of equitable, self-reliant, and sustainable development
initiatives: a) the poor state o f development instruments (i.e. accessible roads, clean water, and
well equipped medical centres), and b) missed target groups ~ the poorest of the poor — who
could not form groups through which training is delivered. The latter factor exists because the
programme focuses on groups, and hence individuals who could not form or j o in the selfselecting
groups were left out of the development process. Thus, the lower middle class strata o f
the village communities have benefited the most because they already had the basic resources —
work capacity, knowledge, capital — with which to gain access, influence and the much needed
savings mobilization prior to group formation. The majority o f the rural poor do not possess
these important resources.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:BVAU.2429/10064 |
| Date | 11 1900 |
| Creators | Odoch, Paschal W. |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Relation | UBC Retrospective Theses Digitization Project [http://www.library.ubc.ca/archives/retro_theses/] |
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