2. Par t icipat or y Analysis
f or Communit y Act ion (PACA)
Pur pose
The main goal of PACA is t o lay t he gr oundwor k f or
t he communit y t o det er mine it s own needs and what it
want s t o addr ess.
The development wor ker est ablishes a par t ner ship t o
assist t he communit y t o det er mine what it want s, not
what is dict at ed f r om out side.
The PACA met hodology aids t he development wor ker
to
f acilit at e r epr esent at ive gr oups wit hin t he
communit y’s own assessment of t heir own needs.
3. History
Founder : Ousmane
Ndiaye
Year : 1920
Successor s:
Mamadou Ndiaye,
Sidy Ndiaye,
Sekoun Diaye,
Mamadou Ndiaye,
Mar oudj i Ndiaye
(cur r ent village
chief )
4. Demogr aphy
Dassalami Soce = 826 0-5yrs : 245 hbts
hbt s 6-14yrs : 640 hbts
Sar oudia = 276 hbt s 15-49yrs : 290 hbts
Bout ilimit e = 138 hbt s 50yrs + : 65 hbts
Tot al Populat ion = 1240
hbt s
5. 1920-Pr esent
• Act ivit ies f or men and women have
st ayed t he same except f or t he
mat er ials used at wor k
• I ncr ease of populat ion
– Division of populat ion in t wo separ at e
villages
• Educat ion level has augment ed among
t he people in t he village
– I ncr ease of t he number of par ent s who
send t heir childr en t o school
12. Healt h St at ist ics
• The main illnesses in Dassalami ar e:
– I RA (cough)
– Diar r hea
– Ot her s (f ièvr e, céphalus, plaie,
conj onct ivit is, r ègles doulour euses,
par ant osé, ut hér ie, var icelle, maux de
vent r e et f at igue)
13. Healt h St at ist ics
June 2012
Age Malaria IRA Diarrhea Other Total
0-5ans 00 07 06 11 24
6ans- 00 00 02 05 07
14ans
15ans+ 00 01 01 08 10
41
July 2012
Age Malaria IRA Diarrhea Other Total
0-5ans 00 21 08 21 50
6ans- 00 02 02 06 10
14ans
15ans+ 00 03 01 18 22
82
15. Typical Day of Women Typical Day of Men
•Dr aw wat er f or daily •Go t he mosque ear ly in
act ivit ies t he mor ning
•Clean & Cook •Go t o wor k
•Take car e of childr en – Most men eit her wor k in
t he f ields and sell t he
•Talk wit h ot her women in cashcr ops
t he village OR
– Most ly dur ing cer emonies They wor k in masonr y
(bapt isms, Ramadan,
naming cer emonies and •Dr ink t ea in t he af t er noon
weddings) af t er t he pr ayer
•Talk t o ot her men in t he
village in t he evening
16.
17. Cult ur al Nor ms 1
• Women ar e consider ed t he backbone of t he f amily
– t hey ar e r esponsible f or t he educat ion and t he well-
being of t he ent ir e f amily
– They ar e expect ed t o f ollow t he r ules of t he husband
most ly in f inancial mat t er s
– They depend on t heir husbands f or t heir needs and t he
childr en
• Men ar e t he pr ovider s and decision maker s of t he
f amily
– They ar e expect ed t o pr ovide f or t he f inancial well-
being of t he f amily
Not e: I n villages, t he r ole of men can be mor e
complicat ed when he is in a polygamous r elat ionship.
Most of t he j obs t hey hold ar e seasonal. Ther ef or e,
dur ing t he r ainy season, most f amilies do not have
18. Cult ur al Nor ms 2
• Gr eet ings ar e ver y impor t ant
• Men ar e t he init iat or s when gr eet ing
women
• Women ar e not allowed t o t alk back t o
t heir husbands.
Not e: The people in t he village r espect
and consult t he I mam. He has t he
highest aut hor it y and inf luence in t he
village.
19. Meet ings
1. Pr ayer bef or e and af t er meet ings
2. Par t icipant s will t end t o f ocus on one
subj ect at a t ime
- To j ump t o anot her t opic while having not
r eached a decision on t he pr ior t heme is
consider ed disr espect f ul
3. Mut ual agr eement on decision
4. Follow-up
21. Main Cashcr ops
1. Cashew Nut s (C lo) assul
2. Tomat oes (M entenjo)
3. Sour Tomat oes
(Jaato)
4. Rice (M anno)
5. Peanut s (Tio)
6. Pepper s (C ano)
7. Eggplant s (Patansé)
8. Calalou (C anjo)
22.
23. Village Act ivit ies
1. Agr icult ur e (r ainy season only)
2. Selling of cashew nut s (dr y season
only)
3. Mar aichage (r ainy season only)
Not e: The f ield is a lar ge f ield compr ising
of each f amily’s land. Each f amily owns
t heir par cel of land in which t hey
cult ivat e dif f er ent cashr ops.
During my first three months in village, I have used observation and the organization of meetings with community members (school officials, village chiefs and Imams, matrons, ICP, ASC, etc.) as my PACA tools to assess the trends of living of my community, analyze the discrepancies of the needs and resources in Dassalami, and to gain a better understanding of the Senegalese culture.
Ousmane Ndiaye is the founder of Dassalami Soce. He comes from Missirah, a small village near Toubacouta. Ousman Ndiaye established himself in Dassalami Soce because he felt its fertile soil would contribute to the rapid growth of the village.
My work is represented in three villages: Dassalami Soce, Saroudia and Boutilimite. In my village, there are more youths than older people.
The two separate villages are referring to the one located on the road and Saate Baa, the village behind it. There are two schools in Dassalami: The Arabic school which comprises of the elementary and the primary school and the French school which has an elementary school
Take notes of some of the weaknesses, strengths and opportunities of the village looking at your notes -One of the major weaknesses of the village is that people tend to think of themselves instead of doing activities for the well-being of the whole community. This is an opportunity for me to create or devise projects where the community will be more involved in the decision making of the process. Most of the time, you have to go from house to house to talk to them about what you are trying to do in the village. I want to make sure that the project ideas is representative of the needs of the whole community. This is important to talk to men and women and get their opinions on their needs. In terms of the engagement of the community members in the decision making of project ideas, I usually -Talk about the meetings you have had with the Arabic and French School. Their main needs are in terms of school supplies for the students and teachers (books, dictionaries, etc) and infrastructure (construction of latrines and provision of safety to the schools) Discuss briefly about the needs of the Arabic School and French School if there is enough time. It might be a topic of discussion at the end of the presentation.
In general, the key community members I have met are very open to my ideas upon the observations and the questions I have asked them during meetings. They understand the equal benefit of our collaboration.
The disadvantage of working with women associations in my village is that they cannot be grouped together during the rainy season because they mostly work in the fields. They can only be grouped during the dry season. As a result, the key community members I was able to connect with were mostly men. Although they seemed knowledgeable about the needs of the community in context such as in school and the health setting, I am still going to investigate the opinions of the women’s associations in September. This might account for some interesting insights and lay the ground rules for comparing/contrasting the needs of the women and the men.
I had asked if they create a table with the overall illnesses per year for the villages but my counterpart said to me that they only compile the number of patients, divided by age group, who have certain illnesses. It is easier to do it this way but I wonder if the lack of the annual information of illnesses at the health hut helps in the long run because by not having this information, you will not be able to determine if the health strategies you are utilizing are working or not. It also does not help you see overall the area where people would need more intervention (ex: if malaria is the leading cause of cases seen at the health hut than other diseases, then it might be suggested to focus a bit more on malaria activities. Looking at the tables, on average, the age group (0-5ans) are the group most at risk for IRA and other illnesses. This is an opportunity to create causeries on those following illnesses and to work with mothers. In a given month, the health hut accounts for between 24-100 patients. Note: “Autres” includes fièvre, céphalus, plaie, conjonctivitis, règles douloureuses, parantosé, uthérie, varicelle, maux de ventre et fatigue
The primary crop cultivated in my village is rice. They use it to feed their families. My village owns about 40 hectares of rice fields. Some people cultivate in the same parcel or they have their own piece of land to cultivate.
If we look at the household as a system, women tend to be the caregivers and the husbands tend to be the providers and decision makers. Although some women cultivate and sell cashcrops, the financial responsiblilty lies mostly on the men. This has made me reflect that if I wanted to apply behavior change on a particular health issue, I would have to sensitize the men and the women, with a particular emphasis on the men because women follow orders from them.
Based on my observation, I have noticed that people tend to behave the way you approach them. If you approach them negatively, they will tend to neglect you. Greetings are an important part of the Senegalese culture so one has to learn to take the time to greet people. It is a sign of respect. Although villages vary in size and density, because you are living in such a close-knit community, people tend to be very engaged in others’ lives versus like volunteers placed in towns where you seem to pass unnoticed. Talk a little bit about the strategies I developed during the first three months I have been in my village
Talk a little bit about how you approached the meetings you have had for the past three months. Before each meeting, the Imam or a respective community member prays to bless the meeting. I usually ask open questions so that they provide more information. I have noticed that people talk in context because I always speak using “we” rather than “I”. For example, I will say phrases like “As you mentioned in our previous meeting” and that will put the focus on them. As a result, they feel this is their initiative, which facilitates the conversation between us. This strategy puts them in charge of the decision making and the direction of the meeting. Members are more willing to share ideas and ask questions. The meetings are conducted in Wolof and Mandinka and translated to me by my counterpart. I set up the meetings as an exchange between both groups. Both sides are able to ask questions and debate on the best outcome they would want to see in the village. I put them in charge of the decision-making of the meeting. I have noticed that I would jump into the next question and they would immediately tell me that they have not settled on the first question. They view this behavior as a sign of impatience. Therefore, they need to all come into agreement on their answers before moving into the next question. The exchange also allows them to give me insights of the bigger picture of a theme (i.e. education in Senegal). I listen more than I talk. Silence almost follows between each question. In the end of the meeting, we summarize the next plan of actions my counterpart and I will take to start the process. I also tell them that I would keep in touch with them of each phase I take. In my village, if you say that you will do something, you have to keep your word and do it because that increases your PCV credibility in the community. Overall, their attitudes towards foreigners are positive as long they see the equal benefit of the collaboration. They will conform themselves depending on how you approach them.
All these crops are sold except rice which is used to feed the families.
The village owns about 40 hectares of rice used to feed the families. Some people cultivate on the same parcel of land while others had their own land. Rice is not sold in the market.
The principal activities in the villages are agriculture during the rainy season. During this time, both men and women go the fields to cultivate cashcrops. Maraichage is the cultivation of legumes during the rainy season. Women and men engage in these activities for subsistence and income-generating labor. Most of these men and women are not literate so their technical skills are limited to agriculture The only difference noted in the village is that women mostly do all the work and do not rest because they are responsible for the household chores as opposed to the men who get to rest when they come back from the fields.