Values II: Community Service – SS1 Civic Education Lesson Note (First Term)

Community service is unpaid work done by one person or a group of people for the benefit of the community or its institutions.

Behavioural objectives

By the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

1. Define community service.
2. State the difference between community service and volunteering.
3. Name the types of community service.
4. Give examples of community service projects.
5. Outline the steps and safety rules for carrying out a community service project.
6. State the importance of community service.

What is community service?

Community service is unpaid work done to improve life in a community.

• Community: a group of people who live in the same area or share common interests, such as a town, a street or a school.
• Service: work done to help other people.
• Who does it: an individual, a class, a club, a religious group or a youth group.
• Who benefits: the whole community and its institutions, such as schools, markets and health centres.

What values are linked to community service?

Community service is linked to four main values: selflessness, patriotism, philanthropy and hard work.

• Selflessness: putting the needs of others before your own.
• Patriotism: love for and loyalty to your country, shown by helping to develop it.
• Philanthropy: giving time, skill or money to help people in need.
• Hard work: readiness to put in real effort without expecting payment.

What are the types of community service?

There are three common types of community service: voluntary, school-required and court-ordered.

• Voluntary service: a person or group chooses to help, for example a youth club cleaning a market.
• School-required service: a school asks students to take part, for example a class clearing the school compound.
• Court-ordered service: a court orders it as a penalty for a minor offence.

How is community service different from volunteering?

Community service is unpaid work for the benefit of a community, and it may be required or chosen.

Volunteering is work done by free choice, usually without pay, to help a cause or people.

• Required service: a school may require community service from students, or a court may order it.
• Volunteering: always done by free choice, so not every community service is volunteering.

What are examples of community service projects?

Examples of community service projects fall into environmental, education, infrastructure and other forms of service.

Environmental projects

• Clearing pathways: cutting grass and removing waste from footpaths.
• Clearing street drainage: removing refuse from gutters to prevent flooding.

Education projects

• Building community libraries: giving people a place to read and borrow books.
• Tutoring young ones with learning disabilities: helping children who need extra support to learn.

Infrastructure projects

• Constructing signposts: putting up signs that show street names.
• Building community halls: providing a place for meetings and events.
• Constructing wooden bridges: linking streets within a community.

Other forms of service

• Visiting the elderly: keeping company with old people and helping with small tasks.
• NYSC community development service: corps members take part in projects in the communities where they are posted.

How is a community service project carried out?

A community service project is carried out in seven steps, from finding a need to reviewing the work.

1. Find out the needs of the community, for example by talking to elders and leaders.
2. Choose one project that the group can complete.
3. Seek permission from the community head or the school authorities.
4. Plan the work: set a date, share duties and list the tools needed.
5. Carry out the project together.
6. Clean up and keep any tools safely.
7. Review the work and note what can be done better next time.

What safety rules apply during a community service project?

Safety rules protect everyone taking part in a project.

• Supervision: work with a teacher, leader or other adult present.
• Protective wear: use gloves and covered shoes when handling refuse, grass or tools.
• Careful use of tools: only older, trained students should handle cutlasses and similar tools.
• First aid: keep a first aid box nearby for cuts and small injuries.
• Road safety: keep away from traffic when working near roads.

Why is community service important?

Community service benefits the students who take part and the community and society as a whole.

Benefits to students

• Social responsibility: it teaches students their duty to society.
• Leadership skills: it helps students learn to plan and lead others.
• Self-knowledge: it helps students learn about themselves.
• Learning experience: it gives practical lessons outside the classroom.
• Multiculturalism and diversity: it exposes students to people of different backgrounds.
• University applications: it helps students when they apply to university.
• Civic awareness: it helps students develop civic and social responsibility skills and become more aware of what their community needs.

Benefits to the community and society

• Unity: it brings people together.
• Team spirit: it promotes working together.
• Improvement: it improves the community.
• Hope and joy: it gives hope and joy to those in need.
• Well-being: it helps to improve the well-being of society.
• Selflessness: it encourages people to think of others as well as themselves.

Evaluation

1. What is community service?
2. How is community service different from volunteering?
3. List four examples of community service projects.
4. State five reasons why community service is important.
5. Outline four steps for carrying out a community service project.

Assignment

Choose one community service project from the examples in the lesson. Write a short paragraph on how it would benefit your community.