Community Action and the Test of Time: Learning from community experiences and perceptions

In 2006, the Displaced Children and Orphans Fund (DCOF) and the Africa’s Health in 2010 Project of the Academy for Educational Development commissioned a series of case studies to examine the Malawi and Zambia community mobilization experiences.  The case study examined community groups in Malawi and Zambia most of which been functioning for eight to 10 years. The review team used a qualitative approach—based on focus group discussions and Participatory Learning and Action (PLA) tools—to understand community members’ issues, as opposed to the researchers’ constructs of their issues. The case study review aimed to identify lessons learned from community experiences and perceptions and to share these with a wide audience of policymakers and program designers.