ASSESSMENT ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ADOPT A CHILD PROGRAM IN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

BUKIDNON STATE UNIVERSITY External Studies Center New Bataan, Compostela Valley Province

Master in Public Administration

JUVY F. SOBREVILLA

CHAPTER 1 The Problem Introduction Malnutrition spins off to a vicious cycle that has a long-term

consequences. Compostela Valley Province has a malnutrition rate of 5.75%. The causes of child malnutrition were very complex and

interrelated, it has been identified that the main determinants can be broken down into several levels. The immediate determinants of child's nutritional status were the dietary intake and health. These

immediate determinants were ultimately influenced by three other underlying determinants: food security, adequate care of mothers and children, and a proper health environment. Malnutrition in children

results to lower intelligence and reduced physical activity. If not cut, this problem ultimately reducing is passed on to the succeeding generations, a provinces overall productivity, economic

growth and exacerbating poverty. In order to effectively deal with child malnutrition it is essential that the causes of child malnutrition be understood, as well, it is important to credit current progresses in child malnutrition and the possible initiatives necessary to continue Adopt with reducing Program child was

malnutrition in the

Province. The

a Child

conducted

to

address

the

problem.

In the

pre

implementation

stage, the Provinvial Nutrition Council spearheaded the validation and profiling of underweight and severely malnourished children in the different barangays. The focal coordinator of the program will prepare the complete profile of the child. Part of the profiling is acquiring data on the root causes of malnutrition. From this, the office/individual who will adopt can choose to whatsoever

appropriate interventions necessary for the child. The program will take to 120 days. Feeding and micronutrient supplementation the primary factors to be considered. Curtailing are

the root causes

and complete rehabilitation were the twin challenge of the program.

The offices

profile

is

readily

available

to all

provincial/municipal

and individuals who signify

to adopt and rehabilitate the

nutritional status of the child. The 120 days supplemental feeding will be center or home based. Nutrition education classes were also conducted in the different barangays to improve the self seeking

behavior of the parents. It is the utmost desire of the program to achieve a healthy community. Local Government Unit is a vital institution in implementing reforms at the grassroots level. Community Development (CD) is a broad term applied to the practices and academic disciplines of civic

leaders, activists, involved citizens and professionals to improve various aspects of the community. Community development seeks to empower individuals and groups of people by providing them with the skills they need to effect change in their own communities. These skills are often created through the formation of large social groups working for a common agenda. Community developers must understand both how to work with individuals and how to affect communities' positions within the context of larger social institutions. It involves changing the relationships between ordinary people and

people in positions of power, so that everyone can take part in the issues that affect their lives. It starts from the principle that within any community there is a wealth of knowledge and experience which, if used in creative ways, can be channeled into collective action to achieve the communities' desired goals. Community communities organizations development to help to practitioners work alongside key people people They in and

build

relationships common

with

and

identify

concerns.

create

opportunities for the community to learn new skills and, by enabling people to act together. The program is a structured intervention that gives communities

greater control over the conditions that affect their lives. This does not

solve all the problems faced by a local community, but it does build up confidence to tackle such problems as effectively as any local action can. It is a skilled process and part of its approach is the belief that

communities cannot be helped unless they themselves agree to this process. Community development has to look both ways: not only at how the community is working at the grass roots, but also at how responsive key institutions are to the needs of local communities. The study aims to assess the effectiveness of Adopt a Child Program in Community Development.

Theoretical and Conceptual Framework

This

study

is

anchored on

Amy

Kilbourne

on the profiling, tackle on the

understanding and reduction. The framework origins

complete profiling of the client, and defined the selection process. This entails the validation of the malnourished children in the

community. The second phase is the understanding the root causes of the problem. Understanding the problem involves indentifying the potential determinants of gaps on health and health outcomes. It provide precise premise on whatever appropriate intervention

necessary in addressing the problem.

The third phase is reducing the prevalence rate. In this phase, there is a necessity to develop appropriate interventions especially community based settings Instituting appropriate that serve the vulnerable and and for

children.

evaluation for

techniques

determine an translation

effective strategy ready into care setting.

implementation

Malnourish

children

in the

Adopt

a Child Program

are

the

independent variables. Their existence will be used as the basis of the effectivity of the program.

Community development is the dependent variable. Its realization will depend on the nutritional status of the malnourish children in the province.

Profiling

Understanding

Reducing

*validation/weighing of malnourish children *consider selectioneffects and confounding factors

*identifying the root causes

*intervene *evaluate

Figure 1. The Conceptual Model of the Study Statement of the Problem

The study was conducted to assess the effectiveness of Adopt a Child Program in Community Development. Specifically, it sought answers to the following questions: 1. What is the profile of the respondents?

2.Does the program creates a positive impact by reducing the prevalence rate of malnutrition? 3.Does the program creates a positive impact and effect change in the communities? 4. What intervention can be proposed?

Hypothesis

Significance of the Study This study would determine the effectiveness of the Adopt a Child study will profound

Program in Community Development. The result of this bring into light if the program has a significant role and

contribution to the lives of children in the community. The data would be a guide to the Provincial Government on whatever steps or interventions to be made to continue or improve the program. Proving the effectiveness of the program through the data and results will support the initiatives of the gathered

Province. This

will also a step to further decide if replication of the program to the different municipalities be made possible. For the communities, it will shed light if the structured

intervention was helpful to the families and community members. For the Municipal and Barangay Nutrition Council, this will

serve as a tool in handling and implementing nutrition programs.

Delimitation of the Study The research is focused on the effectiveness of Adopt a Child Program in Community Development. The schemes and strategies used by the program will be measured by identifying the

prevalence rate of malnutrition in the Province. The study is limited to the analysis of the results of the

prevalence rate. The cause and effect relationship will be tackled and discussed. Using random sampling, the coverage was posed

down to five barangays.

Definition of Terms The following terms are define operationally. Nutrition. The process of absorbing nutrients from food and processing

them in the body in order to keep healthy or to grow. Malnutrition. A lack of healthy foods in the diet, or an excessive

intake of unhealthy foods, leading to physical harm.

Adopt A Child.

This pertains to the program of the province of

Compostela Valley to address the problem of child malnutrition. Community Development. Is a process designed to create conditions

of economic and social progress for the whole community with its active participation and fullest possible reliance upon the communitys initiative. Profiling. The analysis and classification of the childs nutritional

status based on dietary intake and health.

CHAPTER 2 Review of Literature

This section contains readings related to the study which were taken from books, journals, internet sources and studies on computer assisted instructions. Nutrition Nourishment, or aliment, is the supply of materials-food-required by organisms and cells to stay alive. In science and human medicine, nutrition is the science or practice of consuming and utilizing foods. Many common health problems can be prevented or alleviated with a healthy diet. The diet of an organism is what it eats, which is largely determined by the perceived palatability of foods. Dietitians are health professionals who specialize in human nutrition, meal planning, economics, and preparation. A poor diet can have an injurious impact on health (www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/160774.php). Malnutrition The common health problem, especially in developing countries. It concerns not enough as well as too much food, the wrong types of food,

and the bodys response to a wide range of infections that result in malabsorption of nutrients or the inability to use nutrients properly to maintain health. People are malnourished if they are unable to utilize fully the food they eat, for example due to diarrhoea or other illnesses (secondary malnutrition), if they consume too many calories

(overnutrition), or if their diet does not provide adequate calories and protein for growth and maintenance (undernutrition). Individual

nutritional status depends on the interaction between food that is eaten, the overall state of health and the physical environment. Malnutrition is both a medical and a social disorder, often rooted in poverty (www. Medicalnewstoday.com/articles/160774.php). In addition, the World Health Organization defines malnutrition as the cellular imbalance between supply of nutrients and energy and the bodys demand for them to ensure growth, maintenance, and

specifications. Women and young children are the most adversely affected groups; one quarter to one half of women of child-bearing age in Africa and South Asia are underweight, which contributes to the number of low birth weight infants born annually. Malnutrition is globally the most important risk factor for illness and death, contributing to more than half of deaths in children worldwide. Overpopulation, more commonly seen in developing countries, can reduce food production, leading to inadequate food intake or intake of foods of poor nutritional quality. Conversely, the effects of malnutrition on individuals can create

and maintain poverty, which can further hamper economic and social development (Harohalli R. Shashidhar) Relative to the idea of Shashidhar, Gomez and Galvan added that malnutrition has shown to be an important concern in women, children, and the elderly. Because of pregnancies and breastfeeding, women have additional nutrient requirements. Children can be at risk for malnutrition even before birth, as their nutrition levels are directly tied to the nutrition of their mothers. Breastfeeding can reduce rates of

malnutrition and mortality in children, and educational programs for mothers could have a large impact on these rates. They studied factors associated with death in a group of malnourished children in a hospital in Mexico City, Mexico and defined categories of malnutrition: first, second, and third degree. The degrees were based on weight below a specified percentage of median weight for age. Major causes of malnutrition include poverty and food prices, dietary practices and agricultural productivity, with many individual cases being a mixture of several factors. Various scales of analysis also have to be considered in order to determine the socio-political causes of malnutrition. For example, the population of a community may be at risk if the area lacks health-related services, but on a smaller scale certain households or individuals may be at even higher risk due to differences in income levels, access to land, or levels of education.

Community Development Designed to create conditions of economic and social progress for the whole community with its active participation and fullest possible reliance upon the community's initiative." (quoted in Head, 1979:101) Community development practice has arisen from a variety of sources and settings. Its roots can be traced to the social reform movement in Britain and North America in the latter half of the 18thcentury. Community development principles were formulated and applied in third world development efforts following decolonization. In the 50's and 60's CD or community organization, as it came to be called, was used in deprived or underdeveloped urban and rural settings in North America (Smith, 1979: 52). CD was a response to the perceived disintegration of society due to rapid technological change, economic dislocations, disruption in traditional family and community structures and the extension of government and commercial services into personal and family life, with negative impacts on personal effectiveness and community ties (Carey, 1979:20). CD is eclectic,

integrating specialized knowledge from education, public health, economic development and politics. (Head, 1979:101) However, it is also a discipline unto itself, with a body of theory, standards of practice and professional associations. Masters and doctoral programs in

community development are usually associated with either a school of social work or rural development. Community development combines the idea of community with development. We discussed earlier the concept of community a group of people with a shared identity. Hence, community development relies on interaction between people and joint action, rather than individual activity what some sociologists call collective agency (Flora and Flora, 1993).Development is a process that increases choices. It means new options, diversification, thinking about apparent issues differently and anticipating change (Christenson et.al., 1989). Development involves change, improvement and vitality a directed attempt to improve participation, flexibility, equity, attitudes, the function of institutions and the quality of life. It is the creation of wealth wealth meaning the things people value, not just dollars (Shaffer, 1989). It leads to a net addition to community assets, avoiding the zero sum situation where a job created here, is a job lost there. Putting the two terms together community development means that a community itself engages in a process aimed at improving the social, economic and environmental situation of the community. The community is both the means and the end of community development. The community itself takes action and participates together. It is through this action that the community becomes more vital, not just economically but as a strong functioning community in itself.

Community development is a process where people are united with those of governmental authorities to improve the economic, social and cultural conditions of communities and communities are integrated into the life of the nation enabling them to contribute fully to national progress. (United Nations, from Biggs,1999) A common definition of community development is not simple to attain, nor is it universally agreed upon. Part of the confusion rests with the fact that community development is both process and product. The practice of community development is not focused solely on material resource development, nor is it developed exclusively to systems for addressing community needs. Jones and Silva (1991) consider an integrated model of community development, that includes problem solving, community building, and systems interaction. Stated another way, they posit that a truly integrated approach assesses the problem, goes on to build community capacity, and importantly, addresses the problem. Scholars identify the professional practice of community

development as a post world War II event ( Batten, 1957; Cary, 1970; Cawley, 1989; Sanders, 1970). The earliest projects evolved from the efforts of industrialized countries to assist emerging nations in their development. While basic concepts and underlying principles were already known, now in the second half of the 20th century was the articulation of professional practice.

Cary

(1979)

traces

the

earliest

foundation

of

community

development to a set of principles felt need, extensive citizen involvement, consensus, and local decision making. The wide appeal of democratic principles and practical application has resulted, according to Cary, in a community development practice in which these principles are repeated over and over again with only modest refinement. Cary suggests that the result is a lack of theoretical or empirical underpinning for the profession. In detailing the history of community development practice, Cary credits the outreach efforts of land grant universities and programs of adult education and community betterment for contributing to the evolution of todays community development practice. Cawley (1989) also links the genesis of academic and practitioner models of the community development and adult education. He sees the common thread in the focus on community as the arena for engaging persons, groups and organizations. Sanders (1970) cites the ancestry of community development as a union of community organization and economic development.

Community organization activities grow out of social responsibility coupled with local action. Satisfying economic development needs requires an application of a process stages of change necessary in order to reach desired goals. Sanders defines contemporary community development as the linkage of community organization, which

emphasizes national planning, careful allocation of resources, and systematic movement toward well defined goals. Batten wrote in 1957 that what is [new] in community

development practice is the emphasis (rather than the principles) on local needs and welfare of the people (as opposed to material resource development). Batten emphasized the concept of community

empowerment as a means of identifying issues, managing change, and facilitating community based solutions. The review of related literature cited provides the foundation of information about the variables specifically the malnourish children for their existence will be used as the basis of the effectivity of the program for the development of the community.