Phase 1: Basic Needs

Phase 1 can be described as preparatory phase, intended to address the most basic human needs so as to allow individuals to expand their vision beyond surviving to the next day and envision a better life in their community.

Once a community has been selected for participation in the WCDP process, that community receives a quick assessment of urgent needs, namely food, water and shelter. This evaluation, which will already have begun during the community selection process, is intended to remove the most basic, physiological requirements, as described in Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs - namely food and shelter.

WCDP recognizes that it is imperative that every individual living in the community have these most basic human needs met before any further development of the community can succeed.

Once the level of these needs has been determined, various short and medium term solutions will be discussed within the community, among community leaders and any other interested community members to determine which solutions are most appropriate for the community, and how best to implement.

Finally, the solutions to address these most urgent needs will be implemented, with community participation and support.

Phase 1 is expected to take 6 months to 2 years.

Phase 2: Community Evaluation and Action Plan Development

Following the Maslow Hierarchy concept, the next set of needs to be addressed include security, love, a feeling of belonging, developing competence, gaining approval and recognition, as well as cognitive needs. These can be summarized under 5 basic, core areas of development: Agriculture (food security), Public Health (protection from illness), Economic Development (security against poverty), Education (to meet the esteem building and cognitive needs of competence, approval, recognition, knowledge and understanding), and Infrastructure Development, to provide security and support to the other four core areas. Because this entire process is being implemented by the community, needs of belongingness, acceptance and love will also be met.

An extensive evaluation of the community will be conducted. The goal of this evaluation will be to determine what resources the community possesses that can be utilized for the development of the community. These resources are not restricted to natural resources, but also human resources, a knowledge or skill base, or possibly a local interest in a particular trade or activity. Resources will also include the presence of indivuals capable of serving as teachers, health care providers and spiritual leaders. A key aspect of the WCDP concept is that the process be as locally focused as possible. Any and all problems that can be solved from within the community, using community resources and community established solutions will have a greater chance of success.

It is important to note that the emphasis of this evaluation is on accentuating the positive, that is, what this community has to offer, rather than what it is lacking. The latter will take care of itself, once the program implentation phase begins. The reason for this emphasis is to demonstrate that this community does have important resources, skills and capacity, and that it is able to meet its daily challenges by itself, and not rely on outside support. Even the evaluation itself will be conducted by members of the community, who will be trained by members of the WCDP team.

Once the evaluation has been completed, the results will be compiled and shared with the entire community. The community will then be brought together to determine, among themselves, how best to meet the needs of their community, based on the five core areas of agriculture, public health, economic development, education and infrastructure. WCDP members would remain on hand to facilitate this process, and provide alternatives to problems that might not be getting resolved within the communit itself. Any plan must have a long term orientation including an evaluation of its sustainability, and be environmentally and socially responsible.

Phase 2 is expected to take approximately one year

Phase 3: Implementation of Action Plan

It is difficult to provide much in the way of information regarding the implementation of the plan, without knowing the details of that plan. What is most important to note here is that the development of the community must adhere to the action plan designed by the community. Implementation must be balanced among the five core areas, and it must adhere to principles of environmental and social responsibility.

While the process will be challenging to the community, it will also offer its own rewards as the community comes together for the greater good. As schools, churches and health clinics rise out of the soil, and nutritional, regionally appropriate crops are grown and stored, and clean drinking water is made available to everyone, while sanitation issues are also under control, the community will be made whole and it will find its own ways to prosper. Ultimately, the community, together with each of its members, will be able to achieve a level of self-actualization it had never perceived before.

An important aspect of the implementation process is that it may include bringing in other outside organizations to help facilitate a particular segment of the action plan. This would occur when the local resources are not sufficient to meet a demand that is important, or even vital, to the total success of the development program. WCDP would serve to assist with the coordination of such an effort.

Another important element of the implementation process will be ongoing monitoring and program evaluation. This will help to keep the process going, while ensuring that the proposed plan is achieving its objectives. There will always be obstacles to over come, bumps in the road of progress. An ongoing evaluation, for up to 10 years, will help ensure the long term viability and success of the development program.

Phase 3 will include three to four years of intensive supervision, monitoring and evaluation, and an additional 5 years of evaluation and support as needed. It is expected that the end of the third year (including phases 1 and 2), some measure of progress will be apparent, and that by the end of the fifth year, the community will have developed the capacity to continue implementation of the action plan with minimal outside assistance.