Capacity Building in Communities in Fiji for Child Protection
Capacity building is an approach to development. It is a response to complex issues in communities which require change. It involves identifying the constraints that people experience in realizing their basic rights and finding appropriate avenues for them to strengthen their resources and abilities to overcome the causes of their oppression or disadvantage. Warburton (1998) questions who, is building whose capacity, for what and who controls the process. There is frequently an implicit assumption that ‘ordinary people’ cannot take action or responsibility unless and until they have their ‘capacity’ built. To be effective capacity building must be a reciprocal process between the social worker/facilitator and the community.
The authors examine the concept & practice of capacity building as developed in the Pacific Children's Program (PCP). PCP is funded by AusAid and aims to support Fiji, Samoa and Vanuatu to strengthen existing community-based initiatives and increase government commitment to child protection. In Fiji there is a focus on capacity building in local villages and communities to develop child protection strategies. PCP’s main thrust of capacity building is presented through a 5 day facilitated workshop which attempts to deconstruct the role of the ‘expert’; explore a strength-based approach; identify starting points with community members and facilitate the formation of community committees to put together their plans of action. When facilitators are asked to give an ‘expert’ answer to a particular situation, they work with the questioner through a process of questions and answers to analyze the basis of the issue. Through this process, the community take responsibility for finding solutions to their own issues and, over time, gain confidence in their own skills and abilities rather than relying on ‘experts’. Part of the PCP program attempts to unpack and unlearn some of the legacies of parenting inherited from parents and caregivers specifically in terms of physical discipline. The authors will also critically evaluate the PCP program to date in light of recent developments in the literature regarding capacity building and identify shortcomings and strengths of the program in Fiji.