54
Participation as an Essential Element of an Active Civil Society
demonstrated that big social problems can be solved at the local level.
In this case, a government agency was strengthened, one which was
responsible for promoting the creation of community boards and
working with these boards to determine contracts for the construction
and maintenance of water systems. The inclusion of communities
enabled these to contribute 21 percent of the total construction costs
(six percent more than the original estimate) and the project served
20,000 more people than was originally estimated. The community
boards had great motivation, managed the systems satisfactorily, and
complied with the financial commitments.
14
The Villa El Salvador Project in Peru is a successful participatory effort
of an impoverished community working to build a city with basic
services. In the 1970s, 50,000 squatters settled the property currently
occupied by this municipality. The area had no resources of any kind
and lacked access to roads. The population of the area soon increased
to 250,000 inhabitants. Citizen participation played a key role in the
adoption of a peculiar urban design that was highly decentralized. The
municipality is organized by blocks and every set number of blocks has
its own central park and areas designated for community meetings,
entertainment and culture. Citizens used a model that was highly
participatory, establishing a board for every set number of blocks and
more than 1,000 designated areas where the Villa’s basic activities are
conducted.
Over the course of two decades, even under very difficult socio-
economic conditions, most of the physical infrastructure was built
through community efforts. They built 38,000 households, 60
community centers, 64 schools, 22 public libraries, 41 health centers
with integrated services that included education and nutritional
recovery centers, four health centers and pharmacies. Important social
goals were achieved through their community efforts. The illiteracy
rate is 3.5 percent, much lower than the national average. Nearly all
children attend elementary school and the percentage of those enrolled
in high school is much higher than the country’s average. Child
mortality is markedly lower than the national average, as are general
