ABSTRACT
Well harmonized community development activities are actually what bring
development to any community. This is so; because activities that lead to
community development must address the felt need of the people. Life in every
community reflects the level of development in that community. This is why
Christian Rural and Urban Development Association of Nigeria [CRUADN]
attaches much importance to organizing skill acquisition training for youths,
organizing workshops on human rights, supplies of clothing materials to the less
privileged, building of bore holes, supplying of food items to the less privileged,
capacity building and conflict resolution, organizing training on good
governance, creating awareness on the needs of the community members,
training for wealth creation for community members and maintenance of
village roads. Based on these, the research was conducted on Assessment of the
Activities of the Christian Rural and Urban Development Association of Nigeria
(CRUDAN) in CRUDAN South East zone. Five research questions and two
hypotheses were formulated. A forty item questionnaire was developed and
administered to 1288 members of CRUDAN. Means were used to answer the
research questions, while t-test statistics was used to test the two hypotheses
formulated for the study. The findings indicated that promotion of women’s
rights, using volunteers to extend services to the community, working closely
with community leaders, and providing legal supports to the less privileged
enhances development in communities where CRUDAN operat
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Page – – – – – – – – – i
Approval Page – – – – – – – – ii
Certification- – – – – – – – – iii
Dedication- – – – – – – – – – iv
Acknowledgements – – – – – – – – v
Table of Content – – – – – – – – vi
List of Tables vii
Abstract – – – – – – – – – ix
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION – – – – – 1
Background of the Study – – – – – – – 1
Statement of the Problem- – – – – – – 8
Purpose of the Study – – – – – – – – 9
Significance of the Study – – – – – – 11
Research Questions – – – – – – – – 12
Hypotheses – – – – – – – – – 13
Scope of the Study- – – – – – – – 13
CHAPTHER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW – – – 14
Conceptual Framework – – – – – – – 14
Non Governmental Organizations — – – – – 15
Roles of Non Governmental Organization (NGOs) – – – 21
Community Development – – – – – – 29
Strategies for Community Development – – – – 29
Theoretical Framework – – – – – – – 30
Social Cognitive Theory – – – – – – – 30
Human Development Theory – – – – – – 30
Review of Related Empirical Study – – – – – 31
Challenges Facing CRUDAN in South East Zone – – – 37
Summary of Literature Review – – – – – – 39
CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHOD – – – 41
Design of the Study – – – – – – – 41
Area of the Study – – – – – – – – 41
Population of the Study – – – – – – – 42
Sample and Sampling Technique – – – – 42
Instrument for Data Collection – – – – – – 42
Validation of Instrument – – – – – – – 43
Reliability of the Instrument – – – – – – 44
Procedure for Data Collection – – – – – – 44
vii
Method of Data Analysis – – – – – – – 44
CHAPTHER FOUR: PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA 46
Research Question 1 – – – – – – – 46
Research Question 2 – – – – – – – 49
Research Question 3 – – – – – – – 50
Research Question 4 – – – – – – – 51
Research Question 5 – – – – – – – 53
Hypothesis One – – – – – – – – 54
Hypothesis Two – – – – – – – – 55
CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, AND DISCUSSION 57
Summary of Findings – – – – – – – 57
Implication of the Study – – – – – – – 61
Recommendation – – – – – – – – 63
Limitation of the Study – – – – – – – 64
Suggestions for further Study – – – – – – 64
Summary and Conclusion – – – – – – -65
REFERENCE – – – – – – – – 67
APPENDIXES – – – – – – – – 74
Appendix I: Questionnaire – – – – – 75
Appendix II: Statistical Analysis – – –
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Development, as more generally viewed, is a process by which the efforts
of the people are united with those of government authorities to improve the
economic, social and cultural conditions of communities, so as to integrate them
into the life of the nations and to enable their people to contribute fully to
national progress (United Nations, 1963). It is a process of social action by
which people of a community organize themselves to provide solution to
common problem with maximum reliance on community resources which may
be supplemented with services and materials from agencies outside the
community. It entails that community development is first the joint efforts of the
people who would be the direct beneficiaries before outside bodies such as the
government and NGOs that could be termed initiators and supporters are
involved and absorbed. (Abegunde, 2009; Chukwuezi 2010). Suffice it to note
that, the ultimate goal of community development is basically to improve the
quality of lives or the well-being of people residing in our varying communities.
In other words, community development involves the articulation of the real and
felt-need of the people and the participation of the people in the development
process
Though, Nigerian governments, at various points in time, have evolved a
number of programmes to help stir development at the grassroots.
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Unfortunately, most of the programmes could not address the level of underdevelopment
in our communities. These programmes include: the National
Directorate of Employment (NDE), Community banks, Directorate of Foods,
Roads and Rural Infrastructure, Better Life for Rural Women, National Poverty
Alleviation Programme (NAPEP), etc. In their analysis, Olaleye and Adekola
(2006) pointed out that the failure or very low success recorded by most of these
programmes and the poor macro-economic conditions arising from inefficient
policies and programmes implementations had consciously been contributing
factors to the poor economic state and poor living conditions of Nigerians
especially those at the grassroots level. More so, those development
programmes, as noted above, are criticized for the high degree of government
involvement – lacking essential community and grassroots participation mostly
emphasized and advocated by NGOs (Diaspora Development Intervention
2010).
Moreover, the past two decades have witnessed an exponential growth in
the number of Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) around the world. This
scenario, in most cases, is attributed to the inability of government to satisfy the
socioeconomic quests of citizens especially in the developing countries such as
Nigeria. Thus, People are forming associations, foundations and similar
institutions to deliver human services, promote grassroots development, and
pursue a thousand other objectives formerly unattended or left by the state. In
some cases, it is argued that NGOs may be better placed to articulate the needs
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of the rural communities provide services and initiate participatory development
programmes even far better than the public sector.
World Bank (2002) defined NGOs as private organizations that pursue
activities to relieve suffering, promote the interest of poor, protect the
environment, provide basic social services or undertake community
development. As stated in Togbolo (2005), an NGO is viewed as an
organization or group of people working independent of any external control
with specific objectives and aims to fulfill tasks that are oriented to bring about
desirable change in a given community or area. It is an organization not
affiliated to political parties, generally engaged in working for aid, development
and welfare of the community. They mobilize public support and voluntary
contributions for aid; often have strong links with community groups in
developing countries, and they often work in areas where government-togovernment
aid is not readily possible
Various communities in Nigeria have indeed witnessed the intervention
programmes of NGOs in most of their development efforts. Prominent among
these NGOs is the activities of Christian Rural and Urban Development
Association of Nigeria (CRUDAN). CRUDAN is one of the faith-based NGOs
in Nigeria created by mobilizing groups and communities for collective action.
The organization is tirelessly making efforts to achieve lasting results in
improving the lives of people thereby contributing their quota in the community
development process. Moreover, CRUDAN is a Christian NGO that draws its
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members from churches, Christian organizations, theological institutions,
Community Based Organisations (CBO) and individuals who subscribe to its
beliefs and values and are engaged or have interest in development work in
Nigeria. The organization was formed in 1990, following the merger of two
Christian development organizations operating independently in the country,
namely, Christian Rural Fellowship of Nigeria (CRFN), founded in 1953 which
operated in the Southern part of Nigeria, and Christian Rural Advisory Council
(CRAC), founded in 1965 and operated in the Northern part of Nigeria.
CRUDAN began operation in 1991 and was officially registered with the
Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) of the federal Government of Nigeria on
the 7th of December 1992 (CRUDAN operation manual 2002);
CRUDAN has five operational zones in Nigeria, namely Central, North-
East, North West, South East and South West zones. CRUDAN is a
membership organization and for this reason, it has the general Assembly as its
highest decision-making body which meets twice a year. There is also a board
of 10 persons with representation from each of the five CRUDAN zones and
they meet quarterly. In each zone, there is a zonal committee responsible for
the affairs in the zones and it also meets quarterly.
More so, a number of observers have pointed out, generally, that NGOs’
orientations and development strategies have evolved over the years – a gradual
shift from a welfare orientation to a more development approach (Abegunde,
2009). Many international NGOs particularly, the faith-based organizations
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NGOs like CRUDAN, began as charitable relief organizations – delivering
welfare services to the poor and emergency situations that demand immediate
and effective response. But as a development strategy, relief and welfare
approaches offer just a temporary alleviation of the symptoms. Today, many
NGOs have shifted emphasis, traditionally, from providing solely humanitarian
relief and welfare to a new focus on enabling development programmes,
generally referred to as empowerment, especially, at the grassroots. The shift is
inevitable. According to Togbolo (2005), various factors have been cited as
contributors to this shift. One is recognition of the inadequacy of trying to deal
with symptoms while the underlying problems remain untouched. It reflects the
constant challenge to NGOs to re-examine their strategies in a rapidly changing
environment. Thus, CRUDAN, like many other NGOs, have come to adopt
development strategies that meet the genuine needs of rural or marginalized
groups. Not only that, they focus on building the capacity of local people or
grassroots organizations thereby promoting community participation, peoplecentred
and people owned/driven development. Osita (2007) opined that the
NGOs serve as a catalyst and agent of change in enhancing sustainable
development in the communities where they operate. Hence, NGOs are
recognized as important players in the field of community development.
In another dimension, Abegunde (2009) observed that community
development cannot be real until there is community participation and that the
degree of involvement of the people, to a greater extent, determines the level of
6
development in any given area. Participation therefore embraces the initiators,
supporters and the beneficiaries of any given development programme. In the
same vein, CRUDAN in its community development programme emphasizes
the participation of community members in the planning and execution of the
community development projects. The organization seeks to promote
participation of people through harnessing local initiative and resources thereby
mobilizing communities for collective action and development (CRUDAN
brochure 2007).
Cosby [2002] observed that the efforts of faith based organization in
setting up of infrastructures and conducting human development programmes
are challenging and should be emulated, and also, the efforts of the religious
bodies in combating evil and poverty are highly appreciated by the
communities. In line with the above, as stated in its documentary evidence,
CRUDAN has over the years embarked on so many community development
activities to help raise the living standard of people in the various communities
of its operation. Such activities include wealth creation/skill acquisition for
women and youths, leadership training for groups and community leaders,
seminars/workshops on good governance and human rights, and provision as
well as maintenance of community infrastructure. For instance, in the South
East Zone, the organization has successfully facilitated and set up many life
changing projects like the establishment of the Igbomina Anglican Diocesan
Development Programmes. Through this programme, the diocese has
7
effectively engaged four (4) local churches in kick-starting several income
generating activities such as a snail farm, poultry and a pineapple farm. Not
only that, CRUDAN has facilitated the provision of some basic social amenities
such as drinking water , health and education facilities to many communities in
Nigeria.(CRUDAN 2004)
In spite of all the efforts of CRUDAN and other NGOs in improving the
well-being of communities in Nigeria, as has often reported by the media, it
seems that not much has been done given the slow rate of development in the
rural areas (CRUDAN 2004). Again, UNDP (2002) pointed out that Nigeria
rural communities have no access to clean water, and sanitations; no health
facilities and that they lack access to credit or economic activities Though,
CRUDAN, on its own, is making efforts to improve the lots of many
communities yet, some community members are still sceptical about the
underlying principles behind the roles of the organizations.
When people participate in community development, they gain much.
Kelbert [1980] said that members are directly related to socio-economic status,
people with lower incomes, less education, less occupation status, and lower
levels of living are less likely to participate in voluntary associations than
persons of higher bracket. The differences tend to make people uncomfortable.
Bridges (2007) enumerated these mutual benefits under four (4) headings:
v The citizens can bring about desired changes by expressing one’s
desire, either individually or through a community or group.
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v The citizens learn to understand and appreciate the individuals’
needs and interests of all community groups.
v The individuals learn how to resolve conflicting interests for the
general welfare of the group.
In development networking, CRUDAN Network with churches for the
achievement of both social and spiritual development in the community.
Winker (2003) says that Linking and Networking allows for a balancing of both
local diversity and global unity as key principles of achieving organizational
goals. He goes on to say that networking can maintain local independence
while fostering an ever growing sense of global interdependence. This brings
the mutual understanding. Perteault (2006) says, ideally, all organizations
should work together as a team because the output from one organization may
be the input to another. And every organization may directly or indirectly
impact short-term and long-term community satisfaction.
Building mutually beneficial relationships with community requires that
everyone in an organization works together to achieve community satisfaction
before and after each community development programme. If there is any
complaint from the community, the development agent working in that
community should see it as the development organization’s problem. The longterm
relationship with the community and life time value of the development
organization’s future programme is threatened if the organization or anyone else
9
who might be involved do not work together quickly to make things right for
the community.
On this also, Brown (2006) emphasized that you do not have to choose
between involvement on a community or global scale, you can have both.
Networks are strategy to which small groups can transform an entire society.
This is in view of carrying out community transformation. Wikinson, D.A.
(2004) also points out that organization transformation that leads to global
transformation has been identified as a key principle for functional organization.
If individuals and or organizations are to be transformed to the point of having a
right attitude of being the best in the community, he must begin with personal
transformation of the existing organizations or structures in the particular
community. This is because a transformed organization will be open to using a
new paradigm of operation called trans-organisational education. When
organizations and individuals in the community are transformed, their services
to the community are more focused.
Ferguson (2002) explains that in transpersonal and trans-organisational
education, the community is encouraged to be awake and autonomous to
question, to explore all the corners, and recesses of conscious experience, to
seek meaning, to test outer limit, to check out frontiers and depths of the
community. With the background in mind, the researcher feels that community
development activities without involvement of community members themselves
from planning to implementation may leave some holes. To bring development
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closer to people, CRUDAN came up with people centred approach which she
called wholistic development approach. Even with the approach, there are still
some gaps to address.
Statement of the Problem
Faith based organizations have taken part in carrying out community
development in recent years. One of such faith based organization is Christian
Rural and Urban Development Association of Nigeria (CRUDAN) which as a
result of some of her activities, seeks to improve the lots of rural and urban
dwellers through the involvement of the beneficiaries. However, there seems to
be some lapses in the implementation of CRUDAN activities within the South
East zone. The problem of this study is therefore to assess the Community
development activities in CRUDAN South East zone to discovering why the
lapses in her effectiveness and if there are areas to be improved upon, corrected
or changed.
Purpose of the Study
The general purpose of this study is to assess the community
development activities of CRUDAN in South East zone of Nigeria. Specifically,
the objectives of the study are to:
1. determine the characteristics of CRUDAN members involved in
community development in CRUDAN South East Zone.
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2. identify the perception of CRUDAN members about community
development.
3. identify community development activities as carried out by
CRUDAN.
4. find out the strategies employed by CRUDAN in community
development.
5. find out the challenges facing CRUDAN in its community
development activities
Significance of the Study
This work will be useful to the CRUDAN members and individuals who
are interested in community development programmes. The findings will reveal
presuppositions and strategies adopted by CRUDAN which have helped or
hindered development in the region. This information is crucial to every
stakeholder in the zone.
Also, it is hoped that this work would provide a guide to community
development workers and other non-government organizations (NGOs) in
planning and implementing community development projects. As for CRUDAN
members, this work will motivate and encourage their efforts as well suggest
methods that will be more effective in achieving the best result in their
community development efforts.
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Other Faith Based Organizations [FBO’s] will benefit from the study
because it will enable them to adapt the findings of this research to improve
their activities
Generally, the research work shall add to the existing body of knowledge
and scholarship on Non- governmental organization and their roles in
community development.
Research Questions
The following research questions and hypotheses are formulated to
facilitate investigation into this study:
1. What are the characteristics of the CRUDAN members in the South
East Zone?
2. What are the perceptions of CRUDAN members to community
development activities in the South East zone?
3. What are the community developments activities carried out by
CRUDAN in South East Zone?
4. What are the community development strategies employed by
CRUDAN in the South East Zone?
5. What are the challenges facing CRUDAN in the community
development process in the South East Zone?
Hypotheses
The following two null hypotheses are tested at 0.05 level of significance:
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Ho1: There is no significant difference in the mean ratings of CRUDAN staff
and community members on the community development activities of
CRUDAN in the South East zone.
Ho2: There is no significant difference in the mean ratings of CRUDAN staff
and community members on the community development strategies
employed by CRUDAN in the South East Zone
Scope of the Study
The scope of this study is restricted to the assessment of the Community
development activities and strategies of CRUDAN including the challenges
facing CRUDAN in the community development process. It is further restricted
to the perception of CRUDAN officials who carry out Community
Development activities in CRUDAN South East zone and the community
member who benefits from the development activities.
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