Partnership

During one of our classes, we discussed the different degrees of participation and where our organizations lied on that spectrum (Duraiappah et al. 173).  After working with many nonprofit organizations and hearing explanations from other students, I began to think that there was no such thing as an organization in which the degree of participation exceeded that of interactive participation.  However, during my Public Health 150A lecture, there was a guest lecturer that presented a NGO that made me believe that participation beyond interactive participation was possible.
Dengue fever can be caused by four different strains of viruses.  After getting dengue once, it is possible to develop dengue hemorrhagic fever--whose symptoms are a lot worse--if infected by a different strain.  This is because the antibodies from the first strain will try to attack the second strain, causing hemorrhagic fever.  Because of this, there is no vaccine for dengue because of the need to have a vaccine that protects from all four strains of the virus.
As a result, SEPA (Socializing Evidence for Participatory Action) has attempted to address the problem with a bottom-up community based approach that prevents mosquito growth in homes.  SEPA works by forming groups called barrios who go around the community checking stillwater for larvae and educating children and families about dengue fever and the mosquito life cycle.  After SEPA initially shows the barrios how to monitor and educate the community, SEPA steps back, as the barrios take the initiative, later passing their knowledge down to others who want to become barrios.

The level of participation with SEPA is that of at least interactive participation, because it is the community who essentially takes the initiative to prevent the growth of mosquitoes.