This article examines the role networking has played, at local and national levels, in facilitating communication between key actors involved in challenging the marginalisation of disabled people from education and from wider Bangladeshi society. Efforts to promote awareness of the importance of including disabled children in their local schools…

Discussions with women in rural areas of India analyzed government-initiated development programs regarding availability of information, suitability to women's needs, and perception of problems. Most programs were top down with little input form women; self-help approaches problematized the "self" and did not consider the realities of…

Self-help groups (SHGs) have emerged as an effective mechanism of empowerment and development of women as well as being on efficient mode of promoting group action and technology dissemination. Initiatives were undertaken at the Central Institute of Post-Harvest Engineering and Technology (CIPHET), Ludhiana to facilitate the formation of women's…

Illustrating modern community mental health philosophy, this article asserts that the term "client" is preferable to that of "patient" because it implies some measure of personal responsibility, does not carry the connotation of "mental patient", and is a respectable reference to those who patronize community mental health services. (JC)

A survey of 23 chairpersons of town unions (rural sociocultural organizations) in Nigeria indicated that self-help projects in education and rural development were concentrated in areas lacking infrastructure. Recommendations were made for an organizing framework, leadership training, government assistance, and efforts to encourage active…

Work release in a rural state has functioned successfully for two years with a halfway-house-type model. Initial results suggest there is greater success in units isolated from the prison and participation should be restricted to persons having six months or less to serve on prison terms. (Author)

A study of three Nigerian villages produced the following suggestions for improving the problems facing rural community development: democratic participative decision making, care in project selection, government incentives, promotion of adult literacy, and well-trained community workers. (SK)

Drawing on data from 12 women's groups in Kenya, a recent study identified these women's general and demographic characteristics and discovered how rural Kenyan women acquire and exchange information, education, and learning skills; how education affects the groups' organizational management and leadership; how women work in groups and benefit…

Curriculum content, course objectives, and program development and implementation processes are discussed for this medical self-help training program for rural communities. (MB)

Describes two educational programs in West Africa: a (LOGO) computer education program in Senegal, and a "self-improvement" community education program in The Gambia. While these two programs are diverse in geographic location, population, and curriculum materials, both are action-oriented, learner controlled, and consider the learner's…

A survey of 118 rural, mostly female, Latino participants in Parents Helping Parents (PHP)--a Kansas network of parenting self-help groups--found high satisfaction with PHP. PHP provided support and information concerning child rearing and child development, improved family communication, and increased the use of alternative means of discipline.…

Rural people lose more days of school and work due to illness than do urban people; have higher infant mortality rates, and have more work-related injuries, all of which are aggravated by lack of access to or even the absence of medical services. Lack of doctors is the most glaring problem (in 1973 there were 138 U.S. counties which had no…

Some of the ways community action agencies (CAA) can best implement the Community Action Program Mission in rural America are suggested in this paper. Generation of new employment and other income-producing opportunities for the poor within the rural community is recommended as an area for primary focus. The strategy for economic development is…

The paper documents and analyzes the nature of community self-help efforts in rural areas of Anambra State, Nigeria. It notes that community perceptions of development are based on a social and economic yardstick and differ from the prevailing public policy on agricultural development. (Author/SB)

A combined report of the four Regional Rural Development Centers (RRDCs) and their partners focuses on selected outreach and research activities, projects, and accomplishments in fiscal year 1997. The report is organized around five topics identified as key issues for the mid 1990s: (1) improving economic competitiveness, diversity, and…