CBOD and the CAT (aka: The method to 'the madness')

Going off of my last post, here's an overview of the nature of my work in the CBOD Program:

Peace Corps works directly with the Thai Government in order to create technical programs that fulfill both the Peace Corps mission and the national Thai development goals/areas where the Thai Government has asked for assistance in. This is how Peace Corps operates in every country and is why Peace Corps is different in every country and changed throughout the years--to remain up to date with current development goals.

Right now, Peace Corps Thailand runs two technical Programs. One is called Teacher Collaboration and Community Outreach (TCCO) in which Volunteer pair up with co-teacher to teach English and also work to train teachers to strengthen their techniques and skills. The other Technical Program is called Community-Based Organizational Development or CBOD (to which I belong). CBOD Volunteers aim to facilitate and co-organize community development projects based on collective needs assessments and a consensus of what kind of projects the community would like to implement—most of which correlate with the volunteers area of expertise.

CBOD volunteers are paired to work directly with host-country national counterparts at sub-district administrative offices (the local level of civil service and governance in Thailand). The Sub-District Administrative level or S.A.O. has been existence in Thailand for 15 years. It was then revised in 1997 shortly after the implementation of Sufficiency Economy (Thailand's current approach to development) in efforts to further decentralize power and promote more local participation in governance. Sub-District Administrative offices are comparable to city councils in the United States. These governing bodies cover 6 areas of responsibility: infrastructure, quality of life, investment promotion, tourism and the local economy, environmental conservation and natural resource protection, and security/local wisdom, and culture. 

 SAO's  are comprised of elected and appointed officers from three governing branches consisting of: administrative (appointed), executive (elected), and community council members (elected). The Chief Executive Officer or Nayok and Chief Administrative Officer or Balat serve as supervisor counterparts to CBOD Volunteers. There is also a new position within the S.A.O. known as Community Development Officer whom is often assigned to work as a field counterpart with the Volunteer. Depending on the community, the Balat or Nayok may take on active roles with the volunteer and choose to assist them more directly or choose not to. Therefore, when I talk about my counterparts, it is either my Balat ( the man who is the Chief Administrative Officer) or my field counterpart ( the woman who is the Community Development Officer.

The CAT

CAT stands for Community Assessment Tools. It entails collecting community information and eventually assessing needs/ potential project areas for the Volunteer to help with. It provides detailed methods of collecting community information and suggests many methods of community entry activities for the Volunteer. Peace Corps uses the CAT in 11 other countries and it is a particular tool set utilized by Peace Corps in order to conduct community entry and needs assessment(s). Community Assessments are standard activities in the development field that are used by organizations/government agencies all over the world. We learn in Development Studies that Community/Needs Assessment Tools are a basic part of beginning development projects. Simply put, you need to know where you are before you know where you want to go in the future. The current CAT methodology is relatively new to CBOD Thailand and was established after the Program underwent formative evaluation in 2007. 

Essentially, the CAT has been my life for the past 2 months. Really, I don't think I have spent a day at site without some CAT-related activity. Here are some of the 'standard CAT activities':

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  Community mapping (meeting with villagers to draw a map of their small local area)


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  Drawing religious, school, and crop calenders with villagers


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  Inquiring about villager's daily activities


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  Surveying villagers about agriculture, education, health care, environment, occupational groups and more


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  Attending SAO sponsored activities


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  Attending community meetings, get-togethers, celebrations, etc.


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  Planting rice with villagers


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  Village 'field trips' to learn about organic fertilizers, youth development, homestays, health issues, etc.


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  Analyzing baseline community data and community development action plans


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  Meeting and discussing potential projects with District-level officers


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  Attending Health Clinic activities such as vaccination days and first-aid workshops
  
  
  
  
  

There is much more but I think you get the point when I say I have been "living the CAT!" I have a lot of information and I probably have more to collect before I can produce a final report. It takes a while to grasp everything that's going on--especially when I don't always understand the language. The final product of the CAT--to be submitted in a few months-- will be a report that villagers can use to better understand their community, give to visitors, government officials, and potential project donors so they too can understand what is going on in this community. It should serve as a tool that can help everyone understand the local community better.

In about ten days, I will reconvene with my wonderful fellow Volunteers for our second round of training sessions (about 2 weeks long). During which time, we will meet with our respective counterparts and give a short CAT presentation about everything we have collected thus far. Just in time for everyone to vent about everything that's been going on at their sites, share frustrations and accomplishments....oh and celebrate the 4th of July!