Community Participation in Social Development: A Study of Volunteerism in the Hohoe Municipality

Abstract

This study sought to examine community participation in social development in the Hohoe Municipality. Adopting a qualitative approach to data collection, 26 key informant interviews and 16 focus group discussions were held. Data was analyzed based on themes using the three stages of data analyses. It came out of the study that communities in the Hohoe Municipality engaged in many self-help projects on their own and collaborated with government and non-governmental organization (NGO) in many projects. In few cases, however, some external projects were seen to have been imposed on the communities. In such situations, involvement of community members was not encouraging. It is therefore recommended that more consultations are carried out with the communities when introducing externally initiated projects in order to enhance acceptability and participation.