![](_themes/nature/narule.gif)
Guidelines for a Poverty Focused Community Assistance Service
Graham Boyd, February 2001
Contents
![](_themes/nature/narule.gif)
This set of guidelines was prepared as a part of the Partnership Approach to Meeting
the Needs of the Urban Poor (PAMNUP) in Mombasa, Kenya. Mombasa is located on the coast of
Kenya and is the country's second largest city and main port. In 1999 the population was
estimated to be 653,000 of which some 38 percent are poor. The poor live in some 55
informal settlement scattered across the city where they predominately rent their
accommodation.
These guidelines were prepared following a focus group meeting with 9 community
leaders. The leaders were drawn from different informal settlements in two of the four
divisions of the city. All those involved had several years of community development work
and leadership experience in people's organisations in their own neighbourhoods. Several
of the leaders had experience of assisting and networking with settlements outside those
in which they reside.
The PAMNUP project is a 5-year partnership project jointly operated by Mombasa
Municipal Council and local civil society organisations. The programme receives funding
from the UK Department for International Development (DFID).
![](_themes/nature/narule.gif)
The urban poor in Mombasa are dispersed in more than 55 informal settlements across the
city. These settlements are located over a wide and complex geographical area. Currently
there are insufficient full time professional extension workers to provide coverage to all
these locations. Furthermore there are other associated difficulties - social distance,
transport, motivation and availability, etc.- in reaching them speedily in the
implementation of the PAMNUP programme.
![](_themes/nature/narule.gif)
To assist the Municipal Council and local development NGOs to overcome the shortage of
professional extension workers and as a means of reaching citywide coverage the
introduction of a community-to-community extension service is a necessary action. A cadre
of up to 40 community agents - 10 per city division - needs to be recruited from socially
active leaders who have operated for several years in their own communities. These front
line leaders and development activists should have a proven track record in social
mobilization in their own communities through the creation of self-help and other
issue-based groups.
![](_themes/nature/narule.gif)
The Community Assistance Service will be a mechanism for the poor to help the poor, of
one community assisting another community and of reducing the social distance between the
extension worker and the poor. It is a framework which not only makes community extension
services more effective but also makes the cost relatively low in comparison to the
conventional method of using external professional development workers.
![](_themes/nature/narule.gif)
It is envisaged that a poverty focused Community Assistance Service staffed by a cadre
of self-managing community agents will:
![bullet](_themes/nature/nabull1.gif) | Strengthen/reinforce partnership and participatory development processes at the
settlement, division and city levels; |
![bullet](_themes/nature/nabull1.gif) | Assist in reaching a larger number of poor and vulnerable families within a relatively
short period of time; |
![bullet](_themes/nature/nabull1.gif) | Overcome to some degree the shortage of full time extension workers; and
|
![bullet](_themes/nature/nabull1.gif) | Provide services to communities through closer contacts and more efficient use of
resources. |
![](_themes/nature/narule.gif)
A Community Agent is a development activist from a low-income settlement who works as
an extension agent in other low-income settlements. In addition to their practical skills
and experiences gained through implementing work in their own community they should have
the following qualities:
![bullet](_themes/nature/nabull1.gif) | Be honest, courteous and disciplined |
![bullet](_themes/nature/nabull1.gif) | Have the ability to work intimately with the poor and different interest groups within
communities |
![bullet](_themes/nature/nabull1.gif) | Have the ability to operate in a fair manner and appropriately to suit specific
circumstances |
![bullet](_themes/nature/nabull1.gif) | Be able to work in close cooperation with governmental and non-governmental
organisations |
![bullet](_themes/nature/nabull1.gif) | Not be addicted to liquor, drugs or gambling |
![bullet](_themes/nature/nabull1.gif) | Not be directly involved in party politics or indulge in divisive tribal practices or
carry out religious evangelism. |
![](_themes/nature/narule.gif)
The following criteria will be applied to the selection of community agents to the
Community Assistance Service:
![bullet](_themes/nature/nabull1.gif) | Minimum of 3 years community work, group work or counseling experience in their own
community |
![bullet](_themes/nature/nabull1.gif) | Reading and writing skills |
![bullet](_themes/nature/nabull1.gif) | Analytical and problem solving skills |
![bullet](_themes/nature/nabull1.gif) | Commitment and solidarity with the poor |
![](_themes/nature/narule.gif)
All agents will be selected through an assessment centre. A four-person Selection Panel
drawn from the Municipal Council's Social Services and Housing Department, an NGO working
in a low-income settlement, a respected community leader from a low-income settlement and
a member of the PAMNUP management staff will run the assessment centre. The assessment
process will require the candidate to:
![bullet](_themes/nature/nabull1.gif) | submit a written statement (up to 2 pages) outlining what community/group work they have
undertaken in their own community in the last 18 months. (The statement requires to be
countersigned by two community leaders who should also provide their contact details.)
|
![bullet](_themes/nature/nabull1.gif) | participate with the other candidates in a group problem solving exercise set by the
Selection Panel |
![bullet](_themes/nature/nabull1.gif) | undertake with a fellow candidate a short half-day preliminary investigative visit to a
new settlement unknown to the candidates. They will each make a short independent report
on the status of the poor in part of that settlement and what actions if any are being
undertaken to address their condition. |
![bullet](_themes/nature/nabull1.gif) | undertake a short interview by the Selection Panel |
The recruitment process should seek to ensure that there are an equal number of men and
women recruited to the Community Assistance Service.
![](_themes/nature/narule.gif)
Successful candidates who are selected by the Panel to be Community Agents will be
formed into 4 divisional self-managing Community Assistance Service Groups. Each agent
will be provided with:
![bullet](_themes/nature/nabull1.gif) | A letter of Appointment to the Community Assistance Service |
![bullet](_themes/nature/nabull1.gif) | ID card or letter from the PAMNUP management office |
![bullet](_themes/nature/nabull1.gif) | Copy of the Agent Guidelines |
![bullet](_themes/nature/nabull1.gif) | Copy of the current Agent Allowance Rates |
All agents will be required to complete a 4-month probationary period prior to being
confirmed as a full member of the Community Assistance Service.
![](_themes/nature/narule.gif)
Agents will be required to contribute up to a maximum of 12-days per calendar month to
the Community Assistance Service of which a half day per week will be for work planning,
team reporting and co-ordination. The balance 10-days will be for community-to-community
extension work. Agents will be expected to donate 1-day per month on a voluntary basis to
their CAS group. This day will be available for agent skills development, team building
and self-management of their CAS group.
All agents will prepare simple work plans and reports. This will initially be on a
weekly basis but will move to a monthly basis as early as possible. Agents will receive
two types of allowances:
![bullet](_themes/nature/nabull1.gif) | Daily Transport Allowance (Ksh 50/-) |
![bullet](_themes/nature/nabull1.gif) | Daily Honorarium Payment
![bullet](_themes/nature/nabull2.gif) | Probationary Period (Ksh 300/-) |
![bullet](_themes/nature/nabull2.gif) | Full member (Ksh 450/-) |
|
Payments will be made on a monthly basis against completed work plans and countersigned
end-of-month work reports. Payment of the allowances will be done as a unified transaction
and agents will not be required to receipt all travel claims.
![](_themes/nature/narule.gif)
Each CAS will have a written constitution and will open a bank account in the group's
name. In addition each CAS will appoint from amongst their number a coordinator who will
internally co-ordinate the group's development programme and liaise with the PAMNUP
management office and other governmental and NGO organisations. This person will be
allocated an additional 3-days per month to undertake these tasks.
Agents will be free to decide amongst themselves if they wish to appoint other office
bearers for their group (chair, treasurer and secretary). Every four months each
divisional group will hold a 1-day workshop to review performance. One or two external
resource persons will be invited to participate and provide constructive criticism. A
member from each of the other CAS groups will also be invited to participate in the
reviews.
Each agent will pay a CAS fee of not less than Ksh10 per day. The fee will be
calculated on the number of days per month that each agent has contributed to the CAS
service. It will be used by the group to cover their sundry and miscellaneous costs. The
coordinator or treasurer will deduct the monies before the monthly agent allowance is
paid.
Each CAS will have the right to discipline or dismiss a member should it be found that
they are working against the unity of the group or are have acted improperly in breach of
the group's constitution, rules or code of ethics. Prior to dismissal a member shall have
the right to place their case before an Appeals Panel whose recommendations will be
binding upon both parties. The Panel will be comprised of 3 persons - one from the CAS in
which the member is in dispute and two from other CAS groups.
From time to time the Agents will sit with the PAMNUP management office and other
resource persons to prepare work procedures, action programmes, a code of ethics, budgets,
accounts and other technical documents.
![](_themes/nature/narule.gif)
It is envisaged that during the first 12 to 15 months the Agents will undertake an
intensive period of exposure visits and learning. They will require access to a range of
awareness raising events, implementation training activities and other learning
opportunities. This will be provided through a combination of small group and city-wide
forums. In the longer term the Agents will be encouraged to meet at least once a year in a
city-wide action-reflection forum as a means of sharing ideas and enhancing the learning
process.
All agents will be required to write a case study (1200 to 1500 words) at least once
every 18 months. A small honorarium payment will be paid by PAMNUP for this work. All case
studies will be peer reviewed.
![](_themes/nature/narule.gif)
The Agents and the PAMNUP management office will periodically sit together to revise
and expand these guidelines.
![](_themes/nature/narule.gif)
These guidelines draw upon the work and ideas of many social activists and
participatory researchers. In particular work carried out in Sri Lanka in the low-income
communities of Colombo in the late 1980s and early 1990s by Nandasiri Gamage, Sirisena
Tilakaratna, Justin Keppetiyagama and Alana Albee.
For those wishing to gain further insights into the organizational capacity building
issues involved in developing community-to-community extension services the following
documents may be of assistance:
![bullet](_themes/nature/nabull1.gif) | Praja Sahayaka Sewaya (Community Assistance Service) in Sri Lanka: A case study of
an organisation of community leaders, which mobilizes fellow men/women in low-income urban
communities for self-reliant development. Sirisena Tilakaratna, UNCHS (UN Habitat),
Nairobi, 1995 (HS/364/95E), ISBN 92-1-131280-9 |
![bullet](_themes/nature/nabull1.gif) | Stimulation of Self-reliant Initiatives by Sensitised Agents: Some Lessons from
Practice, Sirisena Tilakaratna, Chapter 10, in Orlando Fals-Borda and M. A. Rahman
(eds) Action and Knowledge: Breaking the Monopoly with Participatory Action Research, IT
Publications, London, 1991, ISBN 1-85339-098-4 |
![bullet](_themes/nature/nabull1.gif) | The Animator in Participatory Rural Development: Concept and Practice, Sirisena
Tilakaratna, International Labour Organisation, Geneva, 1987. ISBN 92-2-106044-6
|
![bullet](_themes/nature/nabull1.gif) | Our Money Our Movement - Building a Poor People's Credit Union, Alana Albee and
Nandasiri Gamage, IT Publications, London, 1996. ISBN 1-85339-388-6 |
![bullet](_themes/nature/nabull1.gif) | Doing it Differently: Networks of Community Development Agents, Alana Albee and
Graham Boyd, Scottish Community Education Council, Edinburgh, 1997, ISBN 0-947919-65-1
|
![](_themes/nature/narule.gif)
|