6-6
LEARNING FROM, WITH, AND ABOUT THE COMMUNITY
The main job of a health worker in a community-based program is not to deliver
services. And it is not simply to act as a link between the community and the outs/
de health system. It is to help people learn how
to meet their own and each other’s health
needs more effectively.
In order to do this, the health worker needs a deep
understanding of the community’s strengths, problems,
and special characteristics. Together with the people,
the health worker will want to consider...
• local health problems and their
causes
• other problems that affect people’s
well-being
• what people feel to be their biggest
problems and needs
• beliefs, customs, and habits that
affect health
• family and social structures
• traditional forms of healing and of
problem solving
• ways people in the community relate
to each other
• ways people learn (traditionally and in
schools)
• who controls whom and what
(distribution of land, power, and
resources) craftsmen, teachers
• land, crops, food sources, fuel
sources (firewood, etc.), water
• building and clothing supplies
• markets, transportation,
communication, tools
• availability of work; earnings in
relation to cost of living
This looks like a lot of information. And it is! But fortunately, a health worker
who is from the community already knows most of the important facts.
He does not need to run around collecting a lot of data. All he needs to do is sit
down with a group of people and look carefully at what they already know.