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In 1992, the Government
of Thailand established the Urban Community Development Office (UCDO)
to introduce a new approach and develop a new process to address
urban poverty. UCDO was placed in charge of the Urban Community
Development Fund that supports activities of urban low-income
communities. In 2000, the Government merged the Urban Community
Development Office and the Rural Development Fund into the Community
Organizations Development Institute (CODI).
CODI promotes the
development of community organizations and coordinates civil society
efforts in the rural and urban areas of Thailand. Its structure and
approach emphasize the participation of people, particularly those
people living in poor communities. Its objective is to improve the
living conditions and increase the organizational capacity of
communities through the promotion of community savings and credit
groups and the provision of loans at favourable interest rates as
wholesale loans to community organizations.
The community savings
and credit group is not an end in itself. It is a means to engender
a holistic development process that enables the community to deal
with the root causes of poverty. More important than the loans is
the development of managerial capacity and strong organization among
urban poor communities. The development process therefore includes
community action planning and the establishment of partnerships
between local public, private and non-governmental development
actors. |
