Operationalising Asset Based Community Development Approach: A Case Study of the 2016 Liberian Annual Cultural and Independence Anniversary Celebration

A well-known phenomenon amongst practitioners in the field of settlement and refugee community development is the idea of community fragmentation as result of the political violence. Most of the refugee communities are from... [ view full abstract ]

A well-known phenomenon amongst practitioners in the field of settlement and refugee community development is the idea of community fragmentation as result of the political violence. Most of the refugee communities are from place where they have experienced political violence of some sort. In some cases, a portion of the community turned against the other and vice versa.

Martin –Baro who popularised the concept of political violence in the context of State sponsored Terrorism highlighted some of the impacts of political violence on community as being phenomenon that leads to breakdown in relations, narrowing of frame of mind and restricting ability to organise and mistrust in authorities and other members of the community. As a result, even when in the settlement context, most refugee communities still remain fragmented to certain extent.

Community development is about bringing community members together to act on issues that will affect their lives and interests. If community is fragmented, individuals will find it difficult to corporate and achieving good outcomes from community projects will mean more frustration and more efforts on the part of community leaders. This makes refugee community leadership a difficult task; which not only affect the individual leader but also the general wellbeing of the community membership as a whole.

This paper presents a case study that showcases an effective refugee community leadership that adopted elements of the Asset Based Community Development (ABDC) approach to deliver successful outcomes. The paper will discuss lessons learned from the process, which include challenges and how they were handled. Specific aspects of trauma impacts within the refugee communities will be highlighted and practical examples will be provided on how these impacts were addressed.

Focus will be on four key elements of the ABCD approach and how these elements were operationalised from start to end that lead to one of the most success