Implication of community participation & empowerment theory in NGOs: a testimony on NGO (HANDS) in Pakistan

Abstract

NGOs in Pakistan can be categorized as welfare and charity, health care and medical, youth and sports, art recreation, commerce and consumer, professional, arts, women, social, religion and right based organizations. The aim of NGOs is to develop communities through social services initiatives. Good governance and proper information sharing within NGOs are essential to ensure community participation for implementing their projects smoothly and making them successful. The main research objective of this paper was to determine the system of community participation in the NGO (HANDS). The NGOs need to determine and explore how the system of community participation works in their domains. The present study utilized an analysis of contents to view framework systematically and conduct data collection from community members. The data was collected from the 100 direct beneficiaries / community members. This research study adds value for extending clarity on the subject for the purpose of the adapting and standardization of the community participation system of NGOs, in particular. The results showed that the community participation system of NGOs is an important factor. Furthermore, the HANDS follows most of the participatory practices in its sphere. On other hand, the lack of a guiding protocol particularly in order to specific project and its implementation is felt. The study suggests a proper community participation mechanism needs to be followed and enhanced in the projects.