A BRIEF HISTORY:

COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION IN THE PHILIPPINE SETTING

Through the Philippine Ecumenical Council for Community Organization (PECCO),
Community Organizing was introduced in the Philippines during the First Quarter Storm
of the seventies. The group organized communities in the Tondo area where the
program, Zone One Tondo (ZOTO) was born. The program was replicated in other parts
of the Philippines, including the rural areas and was usually introduced through church
structures.
Organizing efforts continued even when the Martial Law was declared. During this time,
Community Workers began pushing for peoples participation and community organizing
became the tool for achieving this. International Development Groups and government
both began to support and fund Community Organizing Programs. Community
Organizing began to proliferate.
GOALS OF COMMUNITY ORGANIZING
Community Organizing transforms a complacent community to become self-propelling
and self - nourishing.
Community organizing is important because through this, people work together in an
organized manner and become more effective when social change takes place. But
what, basically is community organizing for?
being widely used in the different parts of our country, and the whole world.

PEOPLE EMPOWERMENT
IMPROVED QUALITY OF LIFE
LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND MOBILIZATION
SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION

GUIDING PRINCIPLES OF COMMUNITY ORGANIZING

Go to the People, Live Among the People

One cannot help the community towards its development if the organizers stay
and work within the comforts of an office/ school and do not integrate with the
people.

Learn, Plan and Work with the People

The people know better than any other outsider what their needs and problems
are. The community members, with the assistance of the community organizer,
must be the one to determine the program appropriate to answer their needs/
problems.

Start With and Build on What the People Know

Community organizers must begin with the indigenous resources, technologies
and structures that the community has. Improve on their strengths!

Teach By Showing, Learn by Doing

For the community to learn effectively, the worker must demonstrate different
procedures or techniques and not merely give instructions.

Not Piecemeal but an Integrated Approach

Community organizing is an inter-relationship of various elements and factors.

Not Relief, But Release

Community organizing is a process that liberates a community from its identified
problems.

THE COMMUNITY ORGANIZER

ROLES OF A COMMUNITY ORGANIZER
An organizer, while at the community, plays various roles, depending on what the
situation calls for. Below are the four basic roles they portray, at one time or another:

A FACILITATOR - Facilitates the community process through listening and

questioning and by giving continuous encouragement and support to the local
strivings.

AN ANIMATOR - Stimulates the people to think critically when identifying

problems and finding new solutions.

AN ENABLER - Consistently directed at freeing the community (through key

persons like leaders) to realize their strengths and potentials in cooperative work.

A CATALYST - Hastens the process of transformation/ change.