COMMUNITY-ACTION INITIATIVES

BASED ON ITS CORE VALUES AND

PRINCIPLES

Quarter 4 – Module 3
 LEARNING OBJECTIVES

At the end of this module, you should be able to:

1. Recall students’ knowledge on the core values and
principles of community-action initiatives.
2. Assess selected community-action initiatives based
on its core values and principles.
3. Recognize the relevance of community-action
initiatives towards creating a better community.
ANSWER THE FOLLOWING WITH THE PHRASES “IN EVERY
CASE”, “IN MOST
CASES” AND “IN SOME CASES”.

• Killing is wrong.
• All people should be treated equally.
• All people have the right to medical help if they are ill.
• All people have a right to education.
• People should be allowed to travel and leave the country if they
wish.
What came into your mind upon seeing the picture
provided below?
 What Do We Mean by Values, Principles, And Assumptions?

The terms values, principles, and assumptions are sometimes used

as if they all mean the same thing – the underlying truths on which
we base our dealings with the world. In fact, although they are all
“truths” to some extent, they are different in meaning and
substance. Although we realize how similar they are, we’ll try to
consider each of the three. Understanding the definitions of the
aforementioned terms will help us sort out especially when we
operate on facts or well-examined experiences, when we apply
moral or ethical rules or judgments, and when we respond to
emotions or biases or unexamined “knowledge” that may not be
accurate.
VALUES

Values are our guidelines for living and in choosing the right
behaviour. Each of us has a set of deeply held beliefs about how the
world should be. For some people, that set of beliefs is largely
dictated by a particular religion, denomination/ sect, culture, peer
group, or the society at large. For others, it has been arrived at
through careful thought and reflection on various experiences. For
most of us, it is probably a combination of the two.Values often
concern the core issues of our lives: personal relationships,
morality, gender and social roles, race, social classes, and the
organization of the society, to name just a few.
PRINCIPLES

Principles are the fundamental scientific, logical, or

moral/ethical “truths” arising from experience, knowledge,
and values on which we base our actions and thinking.
ASSUMPTIONS

Assumptions are the next level of truths. The ones we feel

to be irrelevant we can take for granted, given the principles
we have accepted. If we accept, for instance, that life is an
“unalienable right” – a right of every human being that
cannot be taken away – then we will usually assume that
killing another person is wrong, or at least that we don’t
have the right to do it.
COMMUNITY ACTIONS

Community Action is any activity that increases the

understanding, engagement, and empowerment of
communities in the design and delivery of local services.

Why is community action important? Community action is

necessary because it focuses on putting communities at the
heart of their own local services
REVIEW: CORE VALUES AND PRINCIPLES OF COMMUNITY-ACTION INITIATIVES

1. Human Rights

Human rights are universal and inalienable. All people everywhere in the world are entitled
to them. “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.”

No one, therefore, should suffer discrimination on the basis of race, colour, ethnicity,
gender, age, language, sexual orientation, religion, political or other opinion, national, social
or geographical origin. The rights of everyone to an adequate standard of living cannot be
compromised at the expense of other rights, such as the right to health or the right to
education, property, birth or other status as established by human rights standards. Rights
are inherent to all human beings regardless of race, sex, nationality, ethnicity, language,
religion, or any other status. Human rights include the right to life and liberty, freedom
from slavery and torture, freedom of expression, the right to work and education, and
many more. In essence, the human rights-based approach is the way in which human rights
can be protected in clinical and organizational practice by adherence to the underlying
core values of fairness, respect, equality, dignity and autonomy.
2. Social Justice
Social justice is a concept of fair and just relations between the individual and
society. This is measured by the explicit and tacit terms for the distribution of
wealth, opportunities for personal activity, and social privileges. Social justice assigns
rights and duties in the institutions of society, which enables people to receive the
basic benefits and burdens of cooperation, including taxation, social insurance,
public health, public school, public services, labor law and regulation of markets, to
ensure fair distribution of wealth, and equal opportunity. It is based on the
concepts of human rights and equality, and can be defined as "the way in which
human rights are manifested in the everyday lives of people at every level of
society". A number of movements are working to achieve social justice in the
society. Social justice principles refer to values “that favor measures that aim at
decreasing or eliminating inequity; promoting inclusiveness of diversity; and
establishing environments that are supportive of all people. "The social justice
principles include equity, diversity and supportive environments.
3. Empowerment and Advocacy

Empowerment - Authority or power given to someone to do something. -

Seeks to engage local populations in development projects. Advocacy - Public
support for or recommendation of a particular cause or policy An advocate is
someone who provides advocacy support when you need it. Empowerment and
advocacy are social democratic practices that enable people to overcome
barriers and contribute to practice a focus on social justice. They enable social
workers to help give people chances to better understand and change their lives.
Both are concerned with a shift of power or emphasis towards meeting the
needs and rights of people who otherwise would be marginalized or oppressed.
Social work skills: Empowerment and advocacy. Qualified social workers are
expected to have the necessary skills to empower service users to participate in
assessments and decision making and also to ensure that service users have
access to advocacy services if they are unable to represent their own views.
4. Participatory Development

- Seeks to engage local populations in development projects. - A process wherein

stakeholders can influence and share control over development.

To give the poor a part in initiatives designed for their benefit in the hopes that development
projects will be more sustainable and successful if local populations are engaged in the
development process. 5. Gender Equality

Gender equality, also known as sexual equality, is the state of equal ease of access to
resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and
decision-making; and the state of valuing different behaviors, aspirations and needs equally,
regardless of gender.

Gender equality is achieved when women and men enjoy the same rights and opportunities
across all sectors of society, including economic participation and decision-making, and when
the different behaviors, aspirations and needs of women and men are equally valued and
favoured.
COMMUNITY ACTION is any activity that increases the understanding, engagement and
empowerment of communities in the design and delivery of local services. CORE VALUES
and PRINCIPLES of community-action initiatives includes Human Rights, Social Justice,
Empowerment and Advocacy, Participatory Development and Gender Equality.
HUMAN RIGHTS is defined as the supreme, inherent, and inalienable rights to life, to
dignity, and to self-development. It is concerned with issues in both areas of civil and political
rights and economic, social and cultural rights founded on internationally accepted human
rights obligations.
SOCIAL JUSTICE is a concept of fair and just relations between the individual and
society. This is measured by the explicit and tacit terms for the distribution of wealth,
opportunities for personal activity, and social privileges.
EMPOWERMENT AND ADVOCACY are social democratic practices that enable
people to overcome barriers and contribute to practice and observe social justice.
GENDER EQUALITY is achieved when women and men enjoy the same rights and
opportunities across all sectors of the society
 To end our
discussion…
The Lesson of a Broomstick. Together Everyone Achieve More
Each and every one of us can contribute for the development of our
community because each of us has talents, knowledge and abilities. By sharing
our 3Ts’ (Time, Talent and Treasure) we can make a difference in other people’s
lives, in our community and by doing this, we will find out that we are also
making a difference in our own lives. The commitment of each and every one of
us is important in attaining this goal. Just like what Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales
said, “Munti man at maliit basta’t malimit patungong langit.” If only we have the
commitment to work together, we will surely achieve our dreams for our
community. Each one of us can contribute for the development of our community
whatever color, gender, or social status we have just like the battle cry of
“Gawad Kalinga.” No one is too poor that he cannot share. No one is too poor
that he cannot care.”
Self-reflection: In everything we do why do we need to be committed?
 To end our
discussion…

Self-reflection: In everything we do
why do we need to be committed?