Community development workers: Four lessons from international experience of community-based workers

Abstract

The South African government initiated a Community Development Worker Project in 2003. The aim of these workers is to maintain direct contact with people where they live, and to assist in rendering development initiatives embedded in communities. Although the current documentation provides an overview of what is expected of these workers, the question remains what one can learn from international experiences in relation to having a cadre of dispersed and locally accessible pool of community-based workers. This article highlights these important lessons, which should be taken into account in the conceptualisation of the role of community development workers.