ABSTRACT
This chapter deepens the discussion on community social labs (CSLs) by presenting case examples of how the methodology has been applied in practice and with what impact or lessons. The selected stories originate from CSLs in Uganda, Tanzania, and Rwanda, each addressing a distinct issue as outlined in the previous chapters of this publication: in Uganda, the focus was on the intersection of child abuse and school retention; in Tanzania, on the well-being of the elderly; and in Rwanda, on youth unemployment. The stories are written by master’s and bachelor’s students in social work, and they demonstrate well how the students have worked with communities to find solutions to identified problems. The stories demonstrate that, through structured engagement with communities in a participatory manner that respects local knowledge and resource systems and draws on community agency, social change is possible. The stories of change, in addition, bring to the fore the inherent structural and systemic challenges that must be addressed for more scalable and sustainable impact. Attention is also given to ethical, reflexive, and context-responsive engagement and partnerships with communities for social transformation.
