Capacity Building of a Community Based Organisation in Maitland Garden Village

Maitland Garden Village (MGV) is a small urban coloured community located in the Pinelands region on the outskirts of Cape Town. A formal settlement, MGV currently experiences problems common to South Africa’s historically disadvantaged communities, including high unemployment, geographic and social isolation, drug and alcohol abuse, teenage pregnancy, and idle youth. Despite these challenges, MGV is a lively community with vibrant community members who possess a variety of talents. In 2011, a WPI project team worked in MGV for the first time in Cape Town Project centre history to strengthen the community using the approach of asset-based-community development. In doing so they created a community based program known as the Green Light Project.

In 2012, our group of four entered MGV to build upon the work that last year’s WPI team started. The purpose of this project was to work with the MGV Community based organisation, the Green Light Project, to create a vision and plan for a community Help Centre which would address these problems. We sought to accomplish this by establishing a good working relationship with members of the Green Light Project, utilising the current assets of the organisation and the MGV community, and making new relationships with various stakeholders within and outside the community.With these internal and external partners we were able to analyse possible venues for the prospective Help Centre facility, construct an extensive resource book on CBO sustainability, secure a temporary venue for existing GLP programmes, develop a youth music programme connecting the GLP with a city after school initiative, and set up a system that gives GLP members the opportunity to develop proposals for future projects.

After weeks of progress through the speed bumps and setbacks, we left our sponsors and the Green light Project with a Resource book that had been adapted to their specific needs, providing structure and guidance for their organisation and future proposal writing skills. Created in a piece by piece manner, it is our hopes that the Green Light Project utilise this document and the separate sections to progress forward with new programmes as it grows. Someday down the road when the organisation is ready with organisational strength and funding, they may work towards a venue for their help centre and programmes.

Along with completing the resource book and establishing hope for building capacity of the Green Light Project, we put together an executive summary that brings together all the work and reflection that came from our time working in Maitland Garden Village.

To see the Resource book, click here!

To see our executive summary, click here!

To learn about our team, click here!

To read about how we prepared for our work in Maitland Garden Village click here!

To read about our current work in Maitland Garden Village click here!