FELT NEED, A PROPELLING FORCE TOWARDS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

[THE NEED TO INVOLVE THE NEGLECTED BUT MOST VIBRANT WOMEN GROUP]

The concept of felt need as a propelling force towards community development has been seen by various scholars as an essential factor geared towards development in the community.

                The idea of need arises from the lack of something which in the opinion of the people would facilitate the improvement of the welfare of the community if it had been present. The awareness of  need arises from dissatisfaction with the way people are living and the urge to induce desirable change to improve their living. Hence anything which may be considered essential or paramount to the community is regarded as felt need. A need therefore represent an imbalance between what is and what ought to be in the living condition of the community.

                When the felt need of the people has been identified, the zeal to realize such need or solve such problem becomes a propelling force geared towards development. Development in essence is a type of social change in which new ideas are introduced into a social system to enhance the living condition of the people. Rogers [1960-1992]. Julius Nyerere [1978]. A politician, a great educator and one time president of Tanzania maintained that development is summed up as mans capacity to expand his own consciousness and therefore his power over himself, his environment and his society. To him man is the central pivot around which development revolves. Hence he concluded that development is for man, by man, and of man. This means that man is not only the recipient or the beneficiary of development efforts but must also initiate the effort to develop himself.

                The process of development also implies the perception of a problem or what is termed the peoples felt needs, which normally generate felling of worry. This worry then becomes a driving force propelling the people to move on the path of solving it.

                In essence, community development is conceived as the ability for the community to identify their most pressing need or felt need and work collectively as a group, pulling their resources together to solve such problem. The overall aims of community development are to improve the social economic and political well-being of the people.

Every body living within the community must participate in the effort of achieving their objectives. All action groups within the community, like the elders, youth and the women

groups must organize themselves together in order to be able to contribute freely, their own quota towards the development of the well being of their people.

The women group has been identified as one of the most passionate and effective group in the community, and the society as a whole. Their effort towards achieving the felt need of their people, is phenomenon and remarkable.

Despite their effort, it becomes so obvious that they (the women) have not been fully integrated or empowered. Into organizing programs aimed at elevating the standard of living of their people.

The women have not fully been given opportunity to display to the people what they can actually do best.

This in exposure of women has not essentially allowed them to exhibit to the people that as women, they have important role to play to promote the economic stability of their locality and the nation, in-general.

The general view of the women is, if women are fully mobilize, and given the clout (authority) to operate independently with all the required assistance, they will be able to identify the peoples felt need which will enable them to know the appropriate program to organize in order to meeting the people one on one and attending to their individual problems successfully.

Such integration of women into community development programs will bring out the potentials in our women. This will give them joy as they are no more given the impression of being inferior.   

This will in no doubt be very easy for them to achieve as they are more concern about the welfare of their immediate environment, community and family. Base on this resolve, any program geared towards emancipating their people from sufferings will be well embraced by them.

                People living within the community must first, identify their felt need and established  a way of solving  it, if their effort is made visible to the Government, the government will in turn understand that the community has taken a step and then induced  some sought of help to  complement their effort. This comes as grants. It is a truism that government ought to provide the need of the community but we must also consider the fact that the work, duties and function of the Government is also very much that it might not reach out to all communities in need. Therefore, instead of waiting on the Government, the people living within the community, should come together and collectively pull their effort and resource together to achieve their desired goal.

This is exactly what GOFTA WOMEN are doing.