Running Head: COMMUNITY ASSESSMENT AND PROJECT PROPOSAL 1
Community Partnership Assessment and Intervention Proposal: Brazil
University of Aruba
Faculty of Arts and Science
Department of Social Work and Development
Community Empowerment and Popular Methodologies
Course code: ASWD-CC23-11
Year 3, Semester 1
Mid Semester Draft Assessment
Lecturer: M. Marín
Angerica Quandt, 112543
Julienne Duran, 150886
Keyla Reeder, 148539
Marylain Veldman, 150223
Shennelyn Croes, 147788
January 8, 2019
Running Head: Community Assessment and Project Proposal 2
Table of Content
Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………. 4
Community Assessment of Target Group………………………………………………………... 6
Population Data…………………………………………………………………………... 6
Language and Culture……………………………………………………………………. 7
Education………………………………………………………………………………… 7
Income and Employment………………………………………………………………… 8
Housing…………………………………………………………………………………... 8
Health…………………………………………………………………………………….. 9
Involvement with Social Service Agencies…………………………………………….. 11
Needs Assessment……………………………………………………………………………… 12
Focus Group…………………………………………………………………………….. 13
Focus Group Questions…………………………………………………………………. 13
Project Planning………………………………………………………………………………… 15
Logic Model…………………………………………………………………………………….. 17
Brasil Community Loyalty Program……………………………………………………. 17
Project Objective 1……………………………………………………………………… 18
Project Objective 2……………………………………………………………………… 19
Project Objective 3……………………………………………………………………… 20
Project Objective 4……………………………………………………………………… 21
Community Work Model……………………………………………………………………….. 22
Evaluation of Group Process…………………………………………………………………… 24
Strengths………………………………………………………………………………... 24
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Weaknesses……………………………………………………………………………... 25
Learning Outcomes……………………………………………………………………... 25
Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………… 27
References……………………………………………………………………………………… 29
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Introduction
The “One Happy Island” of Aruba is divided into a wide range of diverse districts
inhabited by a diverse population. As Social Workers it is essential to not only have the
knowledge, skills and attitude to engage, assess, intervene, plan, implement and review on micro
level such as with individual participants, but also on mezzo and macro level such as
communities, agencies and government institutions. In order to understand and identify the needs
of a community or neighborhood, a needs assessment is necessary to be conducted using
leadership skills, advocacy skills, tactics, Social Work skills and knowledge and critical thinking
skills to analyze and choose the best model of assessment.
The community needs assessment was conducted by a group of third-year students of the
University of Aruba, Social Work and Development: Keyla Reeder, Julienne Duran, Shennelyn
Croes, Marylain Veldman and Angerica Quandt. The district that stood out the most when
analyzing and evaluating the different districts and neighborhoods of Aruba was the
neighborhood of Brasil or as it is called in the Aruban community, Bario di Brasil.
Its major richness in culture, folklore and sports has contributed to Brasil’s own
development throughout centuries of history. Additionally, during the 19th Century, Brasil was
considered to be part of the district of Savaneta together with various other neighborhoods. After
the arrival of the Spaniards in Aruba, Brasil finally emerged as a new populated neighborhood
characterized by its significant amount of logwood trees called, “Haematoxylum brasiletto”
(Maduro, Aruba di Antaño, 1981). This tree not only embodied the name of the Bario di Brasil
but it also gave a different meaning and perspective towards the star of the Aruban National Flag
by providing the stained red color for its star (Historia di Parokia di Brazil, 2010).
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In the last 15 years Bario di Brasil developed new inclusive methods to enhance the
population’s well-being and activeness in the community. Such methods were, for example,
religious, educational and social institutions that lead this neighborhood to engage and
participate as a unified community. The enhancement of Bario di Brasil until now and its
inclusive activeness in the Aruban community influenced this community assessment and
intervention paper to the fullest. Engaging in Bario di Brasil and working together with a part of
the neighborhood made the group aware of this community’s contribution to its own population
and the Aruban community. Moreover, this assessment of Bario di Brasil was also inspiring and
interesting in terms of getting to know a whole diverse population of Aruba by exploring their
own culture and folklore.
Through literature research and focus groups with the community members as well as the
volunteer of Centro di Bario di Brasil, we were able to identify the main needs of the community
through a community needs assessment. This paper details the needs of this community and
proposes possible opportunities for interventions as well as recommendations on micro, mezzo
and macro level.
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Community Assessment of Target Group
The neighborhood and united community of Brasil is located in what is known as San
Nicolas North according to the Central Bureau of Statistics Aruba. San Nicolas North includes
Rooi Congo, Watapana Gezaag, Rooi Hundo, Kustbatterij, Juana Morto, San Nicolas North and
other and Brasil, which is our target group. We were able to collect data on the housing units,
total population, age, race, education level, income, employment and housing through the 2010
Population and Housing Census which was also the last published census. However due to the
short time span and the size of the neighborhood of Brasil we were unable to collect updated
demographic information by surveying each resident of Brasil.
Population Data
As cited from the Population and Housing Census, 2010, San Nicolas North has a total
population of 10,433 people which is an increase of 2230 residents since 1991 (p.20).
Additionally, we were able to assess the neighborhood demographics including the housing units
which accounted for 3,476 housing units in the year 2010 in San Nicolas North.
In regards to gender, Brasil has a total population of 2522 since the 2010 Census which is
a relative point of 2.5. From the 2522 of the total population, 1900 of the residents are Aruban-
born and 620 are foreign-born. As per gender, 1176 of the population accounts for males and
1347 accounts for females in the neighborhood. It is important and significant to highlight that
since the last conducted Census which was over eight years ago, this number might have
increased over 3000 resident members.
In the following table based on the 2010 census the total population was broken down in
terms of sex and age in order to have a clear overview of the population. The biggest population
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group consists of 1697 residents between the (ages of 15 - 64) followed by 570 (ages 0-14); and
252 residents over the age of 65.
Age 0 - 14 Age 15 - 64 Age 65+
Males 290 783 101
Females 280 915 152
Total 570 1697 252 2522
*the numbers displayed are based on the 2010 Population and Housing Census, CBS (2010)
Language and Culture
Most community members in San Nicolas North speaks Papiamento. According to the
2010 Population and Housing Census (CBS, 2010), 6201 respondents indicated that the most
spoken language at home was Papiamento followed by 2243 speaking English. The 2010
Population and Housing Census also revealed that, in the neighborhood of Brasil, a total of 1996
people indicated that the most spoken language at home is Papiamento; 158 Spanish; 50 Dutch
and 215 English as spoken language at home.
Education
In San Nicolas North a total of 2789 people are attending school with a degree of
participation of 26.7. The education system in Aruba is divided in the following level of
programs: Daycare, play school or kindergarten, Primary education, Special education, Lower
vocational education, General education, Higher education
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In San Nicolas and Brasil area the following schools are located: Hilario Angela, Fontein
Kleuterschool, St. Michael School, Cristo Rey School, Colegio Hilario Angela, Colegio San
Nicolas, IPA, Augustinus School, Filomena College, Sint Paulus School, Pieter Boer School,
Ibero American High School and the Watty Vos Police Academy. Furthermore, there are a
number of daycares and preschools for children located in the heart of San Nicolas. San Nicolas
North accounts for 8,074 of the population being literate and 278 of the population being
illiterate. In comparison to the other regions in Aruba the literacy rate is relatively low.
At the moment, there is a school being built in Brasil named S.P.O (Scol Practico pa
Ofishi), which used to be part of E.P.B. The participants of the focus group have all agreed that
they are happy with the new school being made and ready to open its doors in 2019 because it
would provide more opportunities for the young students who want to learn a profession and it
would reduce the transportation costs and hassle for the students of S.P.O who live in Brasil and
San Nicolas area but attend S.P.O. in Oranjestad.
Income and Employment
Regarding employment and income, a total of 1,049 of the population of Brasil is
economically active and a total of 150 is unemployed. Moreover 244 are students, 306 are
pensioners, 107 are housewives, and 57 are not employed because of health reasons according to
the census.
Housing
Brasil has 844 households according to the 2010 census meaning that today in 2018 that
could be more considering the growth of the Aruban population. From the 844 households, 736
are houses, 91 are apartments, 2 are rooms, 8 are trailers or containers, 5 are cuartos (small room
outside of the housing unit), and 2 are not represented in the mentioned list. The census was not
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able to identify any homelessness in the neighborhood of Brasil nor condominiums as living unit.
Generally, the types of housings in Brasil are middle-class or average style family homes. The
census was also able to assess the number of housing units that were made 1950 and after 2005
to date. Through this finding we were able to observe how between 1990 and 1999 the number of
housing units grew with 367 units.
During the focus group interview, the local residents and participants shared that they
consider the living conditions in Brasil to be ‘regular’ and middle-class home units. Furthermore,
they indicated that the condition of the homes is good and not considered deplorable or in bad
condition.
Health
The community of Brasil falls under the district of San Nicolas North, which is
considered a low-density population area. This creates a demographic imbalance of available
healthcare practitioners and health care institutions for the community. In figure 1, one can see
the different general health care professionals and services available for the corresponding
districts (CBS, 2015). For emergencies the closest available medical center is IMSAN and all
other specialized professional practitioners are centered in the district of Noord at the other end
of the island.
Figure 1
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Corresponding with the general population of Aruba, the increase of aging is also visible
in the district of Brasil. Other common health issues in the community reflect the same pattern as
the general population of Aruba, mainly; cardiovascular diseases, overweight and obesity and the
rise of mental illness due to aging. In addition, according to the Census conducted in 2010, there
is 57 persons with a disability living in the area of Brasil (CBS, 2010). See table 1.
Table 1.
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Furthermore, the overall health of the population of Brasil is not readily available due to a lack of
data. However, based on the general interpretation of the residences of Brasil, we can deduct that
the overall health status in Brasil is perceived as positive and overall healthy.
Involvement with Social Service Agencies
In the community of Brasil, Centro di Bario Brasil is the pillar or the backbone of the
community. CBB is known in the community as a neighborhood center where most community
activities are held. It is through this center that most Social Service Agencies carry out their
activities. It is the gathering point of the community and has been the most successful center of
all neighborhood centers in Aruba. All around Aruba, people come to Mens Erger Je Niet games,
bingo’s, cultural activities, soccer, baseball, Zumba and other activities.
One social service group that has been working in the community is Flor di Oriente, an
elderly social group which organizes different activities for the aging community around Aruba.
Another agency that works closely with CBB and the community is MOBIS. MOBIS organizes
different community focused activities such as healthy cooking classes, technology seminars and
several other activities to unite and develop the community. Other notable organizations in the
community are the Catholic Church of Brasil and the two elementary schools, Colegio Cristo
Rey and St. Michael School.
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Needs Assessment
Most communities around the world have their ups and their downs; to work on the down
parts it is crucial to know from the community itself what they think has room for improvement.
Even though Centro di Bario Brasil does its best to unify the community of Brasil through
events, games and educational seminars, the community of Brasil is still not completely unified.
To identify the needs of the community of Brasil, we created a focus group service with ten key
questions.
There are different needs of the community of Brasil that stood out throughout the two
group sessions. One of the needs is the social inclusion of the community members of Mabon in
the community activities with the rest of the neighborhood of Brasil, since Mabon is considered a
separate neighborhood even though it is a part of Brasil. According to the participants Mabon is
the disadvantaged residential area of Brasil, because it is usually troubled by a fair amount of
crime rate and has a reputation for being less safe than the other neighborhoods. As a result, the
community members of Mabon do not attend or participate in social and cultural activities of the
Bario di Brasil because they do not feel included or part of the neighborhood.
The second need next to the inclusion of Mabon, is to attempt to reduce the crime rate by
enforcing the law and maintaining criminal justice. Another need would be enhancing the bond
between the youth and the adults in the community. This became a need since the teenagers
expressed the lack of support they get from their parents and other adults at for example baseball
games; In contrast, the adults in the community also expressed the lack of support they get from
the teenagers in different occasions for example keeping the cultural tradition and/or teen
programs.
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Furthermore, the need to maintain the Centro di Bario Brasil; the soccer and baseball
field, the building etc. Next to this, the maintenance of the infrastructure also stood out in the
focus group sessions, Lastly, the involvement of Brasil’s own citizens would also be highly
appreciated since a lot of people visit Brasil and their activities but the community itself do not
show their support and interest.
Focus Group
A focus group was designed and conducted at Centro di Bario Brasil; which is the key
meeting point for many community members in the Bario of Brasil. A total of 15 community
members were approached and selected ranging from diverse ethnicity, age, and number of years
residency in the Bario of Brasil. Mr. Willems who is also a key person and leader of the Centro
di Bario di Brasil has helped us select and identify the participants for the focus group meeting.
In order to facilitate the availability of the participants two focus group sessions were assigned;
one in the morning and one in the evening at Centro di Bario Brasil.
The setting for the focus group was chosen at Centro di Bario Brasil because it is more
accessible and also a familiar meeting point for the participants which made them feel more at
home and comfortable. The questions that were asked in the focus group included: participants
general knowledge about the neighborhood, most valuable aspect of the neighborhood, personal
opinions regarding inclusion and exclusion, health, public safety, crime rate, economic status,
housing and living situations, availability of resources and participation.
Focus Group Questions
1. Brazil (edad, sexo, ethnic group): e bario
2. Kico ta valioso/importante pa abo encuanto e bario Brazil?
3. Bo ta sinti cu Brazil ta inclui of exclui di e comunidad di Aruba?
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4. Con den bo opinion e estado di salud ta encuanto e habitante nan di Brazil?
5. Con den bo opinion e estado di vivienda ta encuanto e habitante nan di Brazil?
6. Con den bo opinion e estado economico/financiero encuanto e habitante nan di Brazil?
7. Tin algun fundacion of organisacion social activo den e Bario?
8. (if no) tin algun instancia ta yuda e Bario?
9. Con sigur (safe) bo ta sinti cu bo bario ta?
10. Kico ta un of mas aspecto positivo y of negativo di e bario di Brazil?
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Project Planning
Planning new emerging community projects are not easy to do or manage however, not
impossible to achieve. By assessing the community of Brasil, various needs came forward during
the organized focus group. These needs served as a major impact on taking an initiative in
purposely planning a community project that could enhance Bario di Brasil. In accordance to
what was shared during the focus group, Bario di Brasil is in need of an inclusive and supportive
community. This is because the youth within this community does not feel supported by the
community itself when participating in sport tournaments at the Centro di Bario Brasil.
In order to create a more inclusive and supportive community of Bario di Brasil, it was
important to start planning a project that could benefit the community as a whole. In this case,
Centro di Bario Brasil was the starting point of a social inclusive community. Meaning that this
new emerging project represents the implementation of Centro di Bario Brasil membership cards
or the Brasil Community Loyalty Membership. To further elaborate, each person who would like
to obtain such membership, must commit to participate and support the sport centrum’s
tournaments and other events. For each participation, members would obtain a token or stamp,
and by the end of the month Centro di Bario Brasil would benefit each member with the most
tokens with an incentive for example, a gift card, a box of Balashi/Chill, or free tickets to the
movies. However, it all depends on the income of the sport centrum itself to financially cover
every incentive and extra materials for the Centro di Bario Brasil.
Furthermore, to implement the Brasil Community Loyalty Membership, it was important
to visualize and specifically settle four main objectives and an action plan to fully achieve this.
These objectives were, to give support to the youth; motivate the community to be more active;
to create a sustainable income to support the sport centrum; and involving the community of
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Brasil in creating successful partnerships. In addition, in order to commit to and accomplish such
objectives, the resources needed included the sport materials and equipment, the renovation of
benches with shades, the promotion and marketing aspects, food and beverages to sell at the bar
and also the participation of volunteers or community leaders. After gathering these needed
resources (or inputs), it is important to contact companies that could possibly contribute with
donations, especially for the food (snacks) and beverages to start off by creating a sustainable
income method. By doing all the above-mentioned, the possibility of achieving at least 150
members may contribute to the expansion of the community of Brasil. Especially to the
development of collaboration, motivation, support, inclusivity and participation of all members
in Bario di Brasil.
This community project may take place within a time frame of 4 to 6 months (February -
July 2019) of preparation to fully complete each and every task already mentioned. The essence
of having a specific time frame encourages the planification and execution of the Brasil
Community Loyalty Membership towards a successful outcome. Meaning that by the end of July
2019, the community members of Brasil need to feel and have a sense of inclusiveness, the
younger generation as well as the older. Also, having a sustainable community with cost
effective programs and weekly activities to further enhance Brasil. And lastly, Centro di Bario
Brasil needs to be financially sustainable in terms of their monthly incomes to support such
activities. By committing to this community project, Bario di Brasil could expand and create
many other projects that could further enhance and benefit the community of Brasil as a whole.
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Logic Model
A logic model is a visual representation of how the project will be executed starting with
the project objectives, resources or outputs needed, assessment activities, the outputs of the
assessment, outcomes on short and long term, as well as the impact this would have. It is an
essential tool for planning and executing a project on a large scale. According to Kaplan and
Garret (2005) as cited from Midlands and Landcashire (2016) “A logic model is a graphic
display or map of the relationship between a program’s resources, activities and intended results,
which also identifies the program’s underlying theory and assumptions”. For this assessment and
execution if the logic model a main theme and topic was highlighted as part of the need’s
assessment.
Brasil Community Loyalty Program
After evaluating on the possibilities for assessing one specific need of the community of
Brasil, it was decided to implement a loyalty program in efforts to increase the participation and
inclusion of the different neighborhoods in Brasil. The following objectives were established in
order to implement the logic model for the community assessment:
1. To provide support for the youth of the community of Brasil
2. To motivate the community to be more active in the neighborhood of Brasil
3. To create and develop a sustainable financial income to support the sport centrum
4. To comply with SDG 3; ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages ,
SDG 11; make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable and
SDG 17; strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for
sustainable development, by supporting the youth, involving the community and creating
partnerships
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The idea behind the Loyalty Program is to engage and motivate community members of
Brasil to participate and attend social as well as sports events of the youth and as an incentive
make this into a point-reward system. After accumulating a number of points or stamps,
members are able to win prizes as well as feel more engaged and connected with other members
because of their continuous motivation to participate. Each objective was designed with the goal
of engaging community members from all neighborhoods of Brasil as well as creating a
sustainable project that can be done all year round.
Project Objective 1
The first objective of the logic model was ‘to provide support for the youth of the
community of Brasil’. This project is to be realized and achieved through sports materials,
equipment and benches as well as shades on the sports field. The youth who participated in the
focus group identified that they have a lack of materials and adequate sports field which as a
result make them use the facilities less often and the parents and community members attend less
sports events. The activities that were identified to achieve this object was to approach and
contact community leaders of CBB, contact sponsors for snacks and drinks and benches.
Furthermore, in order to keep track of the point system and make it a visible motivator
for community members, membership loyalty cards are to be printed and handed to all
community members for an equal chance of participating. The program output is set to reach 150
people and is a collaboration with local stakeholders as well as community volunteers from
CBB.
The intermediate output is to support the community by bringing community members
together, and contribute to youth development through participation and inclusion of all age
groups and diverse backgrounds. By having community members motivated and given an
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incentive to attend more social and sports events, especially of the youth of Brasil, the youth
would feel more supported and more included in the community cohesiveness. The long-
outcome for this objective is to create a sustainable community that includes and partners youth
with the older generation in Brasil. As a result, the impact of this idea would be to motivate the
community members in which they would get a sense of inclusiveness.
Project Objective 2
The second objective of the logic model was ‘to motivate the community to be more
active in the neighborhood of Brasil’. This is to be achieved through marketing, promotions, and
advocacy tactics. In the focus group it was identified that community members are not active and
engaged in the activities and sports events. In the focus group discussion, it was mentioned by
some participants that community members are not aware of the activities or events and therefore
might explain why they do not attend. One possible activity outcome was to create and maintain
an active social media page with information about activities of CBB, sports events, cultural
programs and any other event in the neighborhood of Brasil.
Furthermore, flyers about upcoming events and activities are to be distributed to the
community members, in order to keep members who are not on Facebook or familiar with social
media pages also informed of activities and events. As a result, the short-term outcome is to
motivate and engage community members on micro, mezzo and macro level using advocacy and
marketing techniques. The project outcome on a long-term base would be to initiate more cost-
effective programs and serve as an example for other neighborhoods and create a sense of
community involvement through marketing and branding of the activities that Brasil has to offer.
As a result, the impact of this objective and goal would be to have more participation and
inclusivity within the community of Brasil.
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Project Objective 3
Thirdly, the logic model objective was ‘to create and develop a sustainable financial
income to support the sport centrum’. Having community members volunteer their time and
efforts in making this a reality, they also accumulate points through the loyalty program. The
resources needed would be the food and beverage necessary to sell as fundraisers. Interested
community members are able to donate or sell snacks and beverages at a low cost as well as keep
the retired members active by being involved in the sports centrum income fundraisers.
Contacting businesses and organizations such as Don Pastechi, Tropical Bottling and
other local snack businesses to negotiate on a low price to sell snacks and drinks as a form of
income for the sports centrum. Furthermore, retired and interested community members are
approached at CBB where they can choose and share if they would like to donate any snacks,
food, and beverages to raise funds for the sports centrum. This not only creates a form of income
for the fundraiser but also create a sustainable and developmental way for elders of the
community to remain active and integrated in the community, even after retirement.
The output would be 100 snacks and 100 soft drinks per month (sold during activities and
sports events at the CBB). The outcome on a short-term level is to create a partnership and
network connection amongst the community members as well as to create and maintain a
sustainable community. On a long-term aspect, this aims to financially create a developed
community in which Brasil could sustain their own activities weekly for further enhancement of
the community and to provide financial sustainability to enhance the activity center at Centro di
Bario Brasil (CBB).
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Project Objective 4
The final logic model objective was ‘to comply with SDG 3, 11 and 17 by supporting the
youth, involving the community and creating partnerships with the resources from volunteers,
community leaders and outside organizations. One way to achieve this is by education
community members on what are the sustainable development goals and how the community of
Brasil could become the first neighborhood to be an SDG friendly community. The long-term
output is to enhance the engagement of volunteers and community leaders that could create and
sustain community activities to integrate each and every one in Brasil. Furthermore, the impact
of this would bring awareness and advocate for the health and well-being; partnerships with
social service agencies.
Having members take part in a global and national-wide initiative will increase feelings
of motivation, pride and engagement within community members of the Bario di Brasil.
Ideally all of the objectives as well as the project plan, includes the SDG guidelines in
order to keep and promote a sustainable environment for generations to come as well as
contribute to the overall sustainable development of Aruba.
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Community Work Models
Walking into a neighborhood and assuming the citizens have a problem and need
assistance could lead to resistance. According to Goodman, “Resistance stems from fear and
discomfort”, he also explains that people are unable to seriously engage in the material, would
refuse to consider alternative perspectives and resist information or experiences that may cause
them to question their worldview if they are resistant (Goodman 2011).
This means that the citizens that are used to one specific lifestyle routine that might be for
example from home to work and vice versa, would feel threatened if their rhythm would need to
change to include going to sport games. Another example could be someone who does not
believe that there is a lack of support in the Bario of Brasil, he or she would be resistant to the
idea of trying to better a relationship that was not bad in the first place.
Next to this, the use of language as a tool of empowerment can play a big role when
assessing a community. Teater explains that the social worker and the community jointly should
identify the community problems and come to an agreement on how to intervene. An example
could be the group session that was held with the members of the Bario of Brasil. He also
explains that the attributes motivation, problem-solving skills (consciousness raising and
cognitive restructuring), maintenance of psychological comfort, self-esteem and self-direction
should advise the community intervention and it should be connected to the community’s end
goal.
It is crucial to include Centro di Bario Brasil into the project planning, since they are the
main connection to get what is needed for the event. They have the location where the game
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could be taking place, they have contact with all the players, they have contact with the parents
of the players and they have contact with the rest of the community that also should attend to
show their support to the team. Centro di Bario Brasil also has planned events in the past, which
means they have a good amount of knowledge to provide and advises to give. They also have a
broader view of what the Bario of Brasil is more interested in and what could be used in order to
attract different age groups to the event, for example a certain music band they might like more
than others or a specific team to play against to make the game more interesting for the public.
The event will be taking part of building a better relationship between not only players
and their parents, but also between citizens of the Bario of Brasil. This way, it will help them
maintain a positive and supportive relationship for not only sport games but different events so
all group ages can support each other in their events of interests. Holding on to this supportive
attitude will help maintain a healthier bario of Brasil.
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Evaluation of Group Process
Working as a group to develop the community is a great way to learn, be social and
achieve goals quickly. However, sometimes it can be difficult and communication can be lost
and some may have to work harder than others. All these are part of group dynamics and we
certainly weren’t immune to this. By evaluating our working process together as a group we
were able to find some strengths and also weaknesses that we had to overcome in order to
finalize this project.
Strengths
As a group one of our strengths was independence, to be able to work individually on our
own after the tasks has been deliberated. For example, after making the group, each of us choose
a part to work on and set the due date. There was no need to meet at different locations or at a
certain time to work on the paper. For any questions a group-chat was created and one could
receive support when needed. Trust was also a strength of this group dynamic. We trusted each
other that the tasks assigned would be completed by the agreed due date. And that we would
meet at Centro di Bario Brasil in time to participate in the focus group sessions. In addition, trust
is two folded, because it was crucial to trust each other’s capacity that they could perform the
task at hand at best of their abilities. A third strength that was visible from the start was group
support. Support was given to each member in different ways as was necessary. For example,
when one member needed a ride to CBB, or when one member had to work and could not
participate in the surveys. Each time, one of the members could rely on the other for help when
needed. Likewise, when one member was stuck with their part of the task or when writing this
paper, she could call, or ask for support in the group chat.
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Weaknesses
The weaknesses were more difficult to identify because we did have a great time creating
this project. However, after careful evaluation, we did find some that were a group as well as an
individual learning moment. One weakness of the group was pace. Although we did trust each
other and had great support from each other, the pace at which each individual worked was not
taken into account. This means that not all group members would be able to work on the same
pace as the others and in other cases, the load of a task would be more difficult than expected or
was able to handle. Another area for improvement was the lack of coordination. As a group that
was able to work independent from each other, there was a lack of coordination, some of the
group members had different lifestyles or some had to work. This made it difficult to sit together
and be face to face to work on the project and make it cohesive. To tight this group dynamic all
together was the communication process. In our group we used different forms of
communication, via technology and also verbal, but sometimes there was a lack of clear
communication and other instances the communication was great. Thus, we would say that the
communication was a strength and at times also a weakness in our group.
Learning Outcomes
Working together on this assignment we learned community work on the macro level.
We learned that the community can be seen geographically, location wise or as a shared identity.
For example, Brasil is part of the broader part of Savaneta, but they are considered independent
and has great pride in that. In theory we learned about encountering the community, narrowing
the focus and mobilizing resources. With this assignment we practiced community encounter by
organizing the focus group sessions at CBB and ask questions about their identity and their sense
of community. We learned about their expectations and we were able to narrow the focus down
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to youth empowerment and active community. By creating this project proposal, we try to
mobilize the resources found within the community of Brasil for a sustainable active
neighborhood. In addition, we learned about the history of the community of Brasil, different key
leaders in the community and the expectations of CBB.
We gained experience working together as a team and we discovered strengths and
weaknesses in ourselves and each other. This enabled us to overcome obstacles, prevent future
miscommunications and be supportive in various ways. The assignment inspired us to create a
sense of community within our own group. Furthermore, upon reflecting on this assignment, we
think that we could have done some things differently when approaching the community.
Although we did get feedback from a clear diverse group, we did not explore the broader
neighborhood beyond the CBB. We believe that further research could be done on the work
hours and time management of the community. There could be some connection between the
work hours and the reason why the community does not engage more in the activities at CBB.
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Conclusion
The community of Brasil has all the components needed to contribute towards a better
and sustainable community. The community has a big contributor, which is an active Centro di
Bario Brasil that promotes homogeneity including the ideologies to achieved goals and needs to
foster toward their development. The community of Brasil can achieve a lot through the
mobilization of their own community members to raise awareness and support their development
with the allocation of resources in their community to create a sustainable environment.
In order to create a project proposal to meet the needs of the community of Brasil, it was
necessary to first identify the active community members and leaders. With this information we
were able to design a plan to mobilize the community to be active in events and to motivate the
youth to participate in community cultural activities.
In assessing the possibilities for a project proposal, it was necessary to involve the
community by collecting their ideas on how to improve their own neighborhood by means of a
small survey. In addition, we were able to identify the available resources that the community
already has, for example; available funding, materials to renovate the sport center and people
with trade skills.
Some project ideas included the strength and empowerment approach in order to motivate
the community through identification of the skills of the community members and rewarding
them for their participation. In conversation with some of the community members of Brasil, we
noticed that they are proud of their community and they value culture and history. Brasil being
one of the earliest communities of Aruba has been known for their activities and cultural parade
for many years now. There is sense of belonging and solidarity within the community and all of
this makes Brasil an example for all other neighborhoods of Aruba.
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The experiences that the group went through in Bario di Brasil exceeded the principle
expectations in regards to fully understanding this population from different key points such as
age, race, ethnicity, education, income, employment, housing, health, and involvement with
Social Service Agencies within the Bario di Brasil. Even though Bario di Brasil has been active
within the Aruban community, there are still various aspects that could be analyzed for further
improvements within the community.
Through the loyalty program, members of all ages and all neighborhoods of Brasil join
together, become more active and take pride in their neighborhood while in return continue to
give back. Lack of engagement in a community increases feelings of exclusion which may
contribute to the increasing crime rate and stereotype that was mentioned by the participants. The
community assessment not only addresses needs of a community, but also tackles nation-wide
social problems in the form of grassroot initiatives such as the loyalty program. It can be
concluded that the members of the community of Brasil have the inner motivation to keep the
neighborhood together and continue to take pride in their neighborhood. When members feel
included and supported especially the youth of Brasil, fewer social problems might emerge and
community cohesiveness continues to increase.
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