Community Empowerment for Managing Community Welfare in Crisis Situations

Abstract

This research article aimed to 1. study the situation of community power for managing community welfare in a crisis situation, 2. empower the community for managing community welfare in a crisis situation, and 3. present a model for empowering the community for managing community welfare in a crisis situation. This is a mixed methods research. The key informants were 60 people, consisting of community representatives, community welfare group representatives, and representatives of relevant agencies. Interviews and focus group discussions were used to collect data. Data were presented using descriptive methods and inductive analysis.

The research results found that; 1. the situation of community power for managing community welfare is a guarantee of confidence for people in Nam Cho Subdistrict, which improves the quality of life of people in the community. It does not focus on money as in welfare, but aims to build confidence to live with dignity and happiness. 2. In empowering the community for managing community welfare, people in the community play a role in developing, stimulating, and leading people in the community to take initiative in solving problems, including the disadvantaged who will receive assistance to have the opportunity to participate and be both givers and receivers with dignity. 3. For the community empowerment model for managing community welfare in times of crisis, the process is as follows: 1) creating awareness and sharing information with people in the group, 2) having work goals in the same direction, 3) emphasizing participation in work, 4) creating networks of the government, private, local, and religious sectors (developers) to exchange experiences and provide assistance between different groups. This can also be extended to career creation, and 5) good management with transparent administration.