Introduction The term community is very old one in the English language and one which is used often

and in many contexts in ordinary conversation. It is thus not surprising that ambiguous and varied meanings are attached to this concept, by professional as well as lay persons.

What is community?

The term community has two distinct meanings:

a group of interacting people, possibly living in close proximity, and often refers to a group that shares some common values, and is attributed with social cohesion within a shared geographical location, generally in social units larger than a household. The word can also refer to the national community or international community, In sociology, the concept of community has led to significant debate, and sociologists are yet to reach agreement on a definition of the term. There were ninety-four discrete definitions of the term by the mid-1950s.[1] "The word "community" is derived from the Old French communit which is derived from the Latin communitas (cum, "with/together" + munus, "gift"), a broad term for fellowship or organized society." "Community: The origin of the word "community" comes from the Latin munus, which means the gift, and cum, which means together, among each other. So community literally means to give among each other." Comamunicty is large group of individuals living together for a long time in a locality having common intrest goals ways of life and norms etc and meeting out most of their needs from local social institutions. The example of the community are village, muhallah and rural urban area. Community can be defined by physical proximity to others and the sharing of common experiences and perspectives (1)

Community participation Community participation is one of the key ingredients of an empowered commu-nity. Participation is the heart that pumps the communitys life bloodits citi-zensinto the communitys business (3) Voluntary contribution to public programmes but people do not play a role in shaping the programmes (4) Involvement in shaping, implementing and evaluating programmes and sharing the benefits. (5)

An active process where intended beneficiaries influence programme outcomes and gain personal growth. (6)

Types of community participation

"participation." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2011. 7 December. 2011. http://www.definitions.net/definition/participation

1. Olson, M. (1965). The Logic of Collective Action; Public Goods and The Theory of Groups, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. 2. Peck, M. Scott. The Different Drum: Community Making and Peace. New York: Touchstone Books, 1998, esp. pp. 59-76. 3. COOKE, B. & KOTHARI, U. eds. (2001). Participation: the new tyranny? London: Zed Books, Ltd. 4. OAKLEY, P. (1989), Community Involvement in Health Development. Geneva: WHO 5. RIFKIN, S.B. (1990). Community participation in MCH/FP programmes: an analysis based on case study materials, Geneva: WHO 6.