There is nothing great in life like giving back to the community that nurtured and molded us to whom we are and who we have become. Some people see this a right, others a favor while others think everything should be left at the mercy of nature. The human character is shaped by historical evolution and by the immediate environment where we pursue our day to day intereaction. Community participation in the early days of mankind gave more meaning to equity, rationality and the believe that every contribution that sorted to identify the ideals of freedom inspired minds to fight for changes that were not only short lifted but changes that gave meaning to the course of struggle writing the wrongs of the past.
Every society or community has a history and until we trace the historical diversity that characterize that community, we cannot understand why they apply the modus operandi which is different from others. My inspiration to write this article comes from the koreans who toiled and suffered invasion from their powerful Japanese neighbors and few years later the Korean War devastated most of the peninsular country. The losses encured by Koreans were enormous from economic, cultural, human and the reduction of arable land. Kingdoms and dynasties were destroyed and are today mere shadows of the past. Dictatorial regimes that followed in the 70′s and 80′s further exacerbated the situation but this never distracted the people from the ideology of ” United we stand and divided we fall”.
Civil society movements in South Korea made community participation to be recognized as a national anthem as they stood their grounds protecting minority rights, inculcate confidence building within members of the society, and above all their endeavor to encourage local ownership. Civil society involvement in party politics and th general perception of democracy shaped the ideology of not only scholars but tthe common man on the street. Political, economic and cultural turbulence gave Koreans brevity and this promoted the culture of hardwork, volunteerism and a strong feeling and attachment towards their feeding culture. If community participation is anything to go by then volunteerism in the Korean society is one of the main ingredient that kept the progressive pace of development and unity in this peninsular country. In the words of Mccurley and Lynch (1996) ” A volunteer is a citizen who freely not in performance of specific moral obligations or legal duties, bases his public and private life on the pursuit of solidarity. Once the civic, civil and personal duties have been performed, the volunteer therefore places himself disninterestedly at the disposal of the community, forstering a creative response to newly emerging local needs, giving priority to attending to the poor, the deprived, the marginalized and the powerless.”
Even if other factors contributed to the rapid development South Korea has attained in the last fifty years which recently raised her status from a recipient to a donor nation among members of the Organization for Economic Development and Cooperation (OECD), praises can be attributed without any fear of contradiction to the fundamental principles of community participation that brought hope to the despair. World friends of Korea, the Korean version of the American peace corps created in May 2010 has been working around the world to encourage the spirit of community participation. The Korean culture of community participation if emulated by other communities will break through the existing silence and stamp out the laissez-faire attitude that has greatly contributed to stagnant economic growth and development and over reliance on foreign aid especially in developing countries.
Written by Nfor Canicius
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