Community Health Volunteer's Training Manual - Population Council

Community participatory tools
other community members. It would also demonstrate how your values may affect your
interactions with community members. Values clarification is particularly important when
it comes to relations between men and women and the roles society expects of them. Since
a man and a woman form the basis of the family, it is important to ensure that the two
coexist based on shared values. As volunteers you should encourage men to become actively
involved in promoting health and general wellbeing in your communities. We will use a
series of exercises to draw attention to the attitudes, values, and behaviours of men that
harm their own health, safety and wellbeing and that of women and children. Getting men
involved in promoting health is an area of great interest. Men as Partners (MAP) is a tool
that discuses this in detail but we will limit ourselves to only a few exercises.
No two individuals hold identical values. Each person’s values and attitudes are shaped by
his or her own culture, upbringing, and life experiences. People behave differently because of
differences in values and attitudes. The following exercise is intended to make you aware of
the values underlying your opinions so that as volunteers you do not impose them on other
community members. Exercise 2.4.9.
Exercise 2.4.9
Objective
1. To explain the words- Values and Attitude
Time: 10 minutes
Question
1. What do the terms ‘Values’ and ‘Attitude’
mean?
Box 2.4.13:
Instruction to the Facilitator
Guide participants to
brainstorm what they
understand by ‘Values’ and
‘Attitude’. After that read out
your standard definition in Box
2.4.13
Value:
This is a strongly held belief that is important to an individual. Values are not easily changed
or discarded because they are influenced by religion, education, gender, cultural factors or by
personal experiences.
Attitude:
This is a view or opinion that is formed by values and beliefs.
How values affect interactions
As volunteers you need to recognise and respect the values of the community members that
you serve. If you fail to do so the community members may not cooperate with you.
The next exercise (Exercise 2.4.10) is to help you understand how your values and attitude
can affect your interactions with others. There is no right or wrong answer. Everyone’s’ views
should be respected.
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