Community Centres: Employment, Job Descriptions and Finance

Community Centre Report

After Implementation


Employment

In order to run a functioning business employees should be hired in a process that is fair and impartial. Due to the severe economic conditions prevalent within a community like Monwabisi Park, people can become jealous or even offended if certain people are receiving job opportunities that they are not. Animosity between sections will be fostered if hiring is seen as favoring one section over another.

To address this issue and to ensure that the hiring process is unbiased, the Indlovu Project is undertaking to create an employment committee that would hire new employees for the Indlovu Project and any future community centres it is responsible for operating. To ensure that hiring is unbiased, each section of Monwabisi Park will be represented on the committee.

Another aspect of hiring is making certain that the employees are well trained. It has been proposed that the community centre should offer training opportunities to the community so that they can develop needed skills for the community centre to flourish. The opportunity for community members to develop skills will help them get involved in the evolution of the community centre (Womersley, 2009).


Job Descriptions

Community centres create several job opportunities for employees and volunteers. The Indlovu Project is just one of many community centres that could have been studied as a model. In Harare, a neighborhood near Monwabisi Park, the VPUU recently developed communal area.  Community members work shifts in the watch tower and a park maintenance has been hired.  Despite our short visit to Harare, the team focused primarily on studying the Indlovu Project Centre as a prototype.

The community centre being constructed in Section C will have a learning centre, youth centre, soup kitchen and clinic among other services. With each service there is a need for an overseer. With the crèche and youth centre, trained Montessori teachers have been hired. This job includes watching, teaching and playing with the children. The safety and the care of the children are in the hands of these teachers. The clinic will provide primary health care to the community. Nurse Glen Vondo, the general nurse for the clinic, is trained in basic medical procedures, first aid and administration of drugs. Medical volunteers are also welcome to give consultation to patients.  The soup kitchen has employees and volunteers that cook and serve food to the community. It is helpful if these people are skilled at cooking for large numbers of people and know some basic nutrition. The centre will hire someone for tourism and hospitality. This person will be responsible for the guest house, volunteers and other tourism.  Bringing tourists into the community of Monwabisi Park could potentially increase revenue. This staff member will be hospitable and have good people skills. Another job that is needed to ensure that the community centre is kept running is a general caretaker. This person is responsible for the maintenance of the building. This is important to extend the life of the building as well as the project efforts as a whole (Womersley, 2009).

The team has provided an outline of services and the job opportunities offered at the Indlovu Centre so it can be analyzed when other community centres are planned.  The Indlovu Project Centre provides a foundation for future plans to work from.


Finance

One option for financing is through private donations. Donations can be used to fund supplies that are needed and salaries that are paid to employees.  This is one way in which the Shaster Foundation is funding the Indlovu Project Centre.

Another option is for the city to provide financial aid. Hopefully, this is how community centres in other sections of the settlement will be financed.

To offset some of the costs to run a community centre, one can charge minimal fees to the community. For example, if a community member wanted to use the community hall for a wedding, the person might pay a small fee to rent space for the event. Such fee should be low enough or occasionally waived, so that facilities would still be accessible for all members of the community.

These are viable options that are being considered when financing community centres (Womersley, 2009).


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Author: WPI CT09 Buildings