Step III. Small Group Discussion or Skit on Roles

of Community Facilitator

(30 minutes)

Option A Small Group Discussion on Roles

A. Ask participants to form small groups with people they do not

know well. Each group should have four to five members and

include a good mix of Volunteers and Counterparts. Ask the

groups to use their community experiences to date, along with

the successful characteristics list to help them address the

following questions:

  What role should a Volunteer play in a community based

project?

  A Counterpart from outside the community?

  The community members themselves?

Allow approximately 15 minutes for the discussion.

B. Poll the groups for their answers to the question. ( Group 1, what

is the Volunteer's role? Group 2, do you agree with that? What

would you add? Group 3, what about the Counterpart's role? 

and so on.). Write their key ideas about roles on flipchart, using

the following probing questions as appropriate:

1. What is the difference between a community facilitator and a

community leader?

2. What can Volunteers, Counterparts and other outsiders do if

the community pushes them to assume a strong leadership

role on some or most of the activities?

3. What kinds of skills and information do community facilitators

need to be effective in their role?

Option B Skit on Roles

Trainer Note:  This option requires some preparation work prior to the

session. Read the Preparation section at the beginning of this session plan

for more details.

A. Set the stage for the skit:  You are about to watch several minutes

of a meeting involving community members, a Volunteer, and a

Counterpart. Please observe and listen closely as they discuss

some items about a project they are currently planning. As you

see or hear things that indicate roles and responsibilities, jot these

down on a sheet of paper. 

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