The assessment of a rural community's needs and expectations regarding a community association

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT:Community associations and community centres have become a common phenomenon throughout SouthAfrica. The aims of these associations and centres are closely linked to community development. Researchhas found that activities related to development programmes at such centres come to an end when facilitatorshand the programmes over to the community. This was indeed the case at the Darling Focus Associationand Centre in Darling. A possible reason for this was that the community's needs and expectations were notbeing met. The purpose of this study was to establish whether this Community Association and the services,activities and programmes presented at the Centre meet the needs and expectations of the rural community.A literature review was undertaken to present an in-depth look into the body of knowledge surrounding thestudy. Rural community development and the notion of rural community were discussed, since they createthe context in which community associations and community centres function. Special attention was given tothe revision of literature on the purposes and functions of community associations and centres. The conceptsof community needs and community expectations were reviewed. The literature review concluded with areference to the sustainability of activities following on training and development programmes based oncommunity needs.The geographically demarcated area of the study was the rural town of Darling, as well as the Darling FocusAssociation and Centre. A context analysis was done and documents were analysed to gain knowledge ofthe functioning of the Association and the Centre. The activities, services and programmes offered by theAssociation at the Centre were established. A survey was undertaken among the Darling community, themembers of the management committee of the Darling Focus Association and the participants in activities atthe Darling Focus Centre. Samples were selected from these three groups, after which three differentquestionnaires were designed and tested and finally administered to the three groups.Statistical analysis was carried out on the data gathered during the community survey, and frequency tablesand cross-tabulations were constructed. Data gathered from the management and participant surveys wasanalysed and described using frequency tables. The analysis showed that the community, the members ofthe management committee and the participants in activities at the Centre had different viewpoints on thefunctioning of the Association and the Centre. The community survey also revealed the needs of thecommunity for certain activities, services and programmes, as well as their expectations of the Association.Comparisons were made between the needs of the community and the activities, services and programmesoffered by the Association. The expectations and viewpoints of the community were also compared with theviewpoints of the management committee members and the participants. The conclusions of the study indicated that the activities, services and programmes offered by theAssociation at the Centre did not meet the needs of the community, and shortcomings were identified. Theviewpoints of the management committee and the participants in activities did not comply with theexpectations and viewpoints of the community. It is argued that this might be the reason for the lowsustainability of activities, services and programmes of the Association. Recommendations are made to theAssociation to increase participation within the community and to address the community's needs in order toimprove the sustainability of the activities, services and programmes of the Association.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University