Editorial

I welcome you to the second issue of the eighth volume of the International Journal of Community and Social Development. Before I introduce the issue, I would like to thank all the contributors, reviewers and the Sage production team for ensuring the quality and timely publication of the issue.

Around the time of writing this editorial, Yugadi, Eid and Easter celebrations were being observed. Yugadi is a Sanskrit term comprising Yuga (age, time, era) and Adi (beginning), connoting the beginning of an age or time. On Thursday, 19 March 2026, Yugadi was celebrated as the new year in some states of Southern India, and a pinch of the mixture of neem leaves or flowers and jaggery is shared within the family and with friends and relatives, symbolising that life is made up of both sweet and bitter things, which we should embrace, overcoming the bitter things in life with resilience (Preston, 2026). It is the same neem tree leaves for which intellectual property was claimed and revoked, as they formed part of the Indian traditional knowledge system (Shiva, 2001). Although it might appear to be a meaningful ritual, it is linked to astronomical and calendrical concepts in classical Indian science. On Yugadi day, the sun and moon start a new cycle, and nature renews itself as spring begins (Kane, 1941; Michaels, 2004). On this Yugadi, the beginning of a new age, it is critical to convey wishes for a peaceful world, an end to the death of innocent lives, and the hope for sweeter days for millions of people who have been displaced or injured. Rather than wilful, deliberate destruction, we should wish for nature’s creation and sustenance.

During the same time, on Friday, 20 March 2026, Eid al-Fitr was observed, marking the end of Ramadan. In addition to fasting, deep reflection, sharing with family members, friends and neighbours, Eid also symbolises renewal through compassion, generosity, reconciliation, peace, gratitude and hope. This is particularly relevant for the current context and the millions of suffering lives referred to above (UNESCO, 2024).

While observing Easter on Sunday, 5 April 2026, Pope Leo called for world peace. He appealed to world leaders: ‘Let those who have weapons lay them down!’, and ‘Those who have powers to unleash wars, choose peace’. This should not be a peace imposed by force, but achieved through dialogue—‘not with the desire to dominate others, but to encounter them’. ‘We cannot continue to be indifferent!’. ‘We cannot resign ourselves to evil’ (Tulloch, 2026). Like the beginning of Yugadi, when spring arrives and nature creates, ‘love creates and generates’. We should not be indifferent to the socio-economic consequences impacting the whole world. There is an imperative for concrete action, a turning toward peace, creation, compassion and sweeter days. Common ideas, themes and hopes embedded in these and other cultural and spiritual practices may influence the global order.

With this hope, this issue includes five articles relating to community development in collaboration with universities in India, access to water and sanitation for school children in Sri Lanka, caring for care leavers in Sweden, Norway and Australia, agriculture in Ghana, and research and publications on cultural sensitivity in social work practice in the USA, and two book reviews.

Responding to the call to significantly engage with and contribute to communities, some institutes of higher education have attempted to work with their local communities, with varied experiences and degrees of success. Ajay Kumar Pandey and Neetu Choudhary have looked at their institute’s experiences of working with local communities through the Unnat Bharat Abhiyan, a Government of India programme to bring together higher educational institutions and communities to facilitate local-level development. Drawing on the implementation and supervision of development activities under the programme and reflections on them, the authors’ analysis brings out certain synergies and tensions in achieving its development goals. It calls for systematic planning and effective training and awareness-raising programmes for the senior management staff and students to meaningfully develop partnerships between institutes of higher education and communities to ensure people’s participation and development as determined by them.

Access to safe water and proper sanitation facilities, hygienic practices, including menstrual hygiene management (MHM), are critical issues for billions of people worldwide. These services are especially crucial for growing children, but not all children have them. Dassanayake D.M.J.L. and co-authors surveyed 500 children attending rural schools in Sri Lanka to find out the extent to which children have access to safe drinking water and sanitation facilities, engage in hygienic practices, and whether they are aware of MHM. Their analysis shows that a large number of children do not have access to these basic services, and a significant number of girls do not use existing sanitation facilities due to quality and safety concerns. Their analysis has important implications for education and training programmes, raising awareness, and for policy as well as programme development and implementation in this area, both from a gender justice and a children’s rights perspective.

Young people transitioning from out-of-home care, generally known as care leavers, are among the most vulnerable groups and need critical support to lead independent lives. Yet, such support is often unavailable to many of them. Philip Mendes and co-authors explore this issue by comparing the current legislative, policy and practice support available for care leavers in Sweden, Norway and Australia. Their analysis identifies barriers and enablers to developing necessary policies and programmes and highlights what each country can learn from the experiences of the other countries in the comparison. Their recommendations have implications for ensuring continuity of quality care beyond the three countries.

In the so-called modernisation process, due to changing production and capital formation practices, a change in the occupational structure is often commonly observed. Generally, some people try to move from the agriculture sector to the manufacturing and service sectors. Although this has been the trend with varied degrees in many societies, what motivates some farmers to continue in agriculture? Richmond Acquah-Coleman and his co-authors explore this question by interviewing a small group of farmers in Ghana. His analysis suggests that multiple socio-economic and cultural motivations together, in a complex way, engage some farmers and their families to persist in agricultural activities. The author argues that these interplays of factors need to be heeded in maintaining and promoting sustainable agriculture and development.

Social work professional standards and codes of ethics have been emphasising cultural competency (Pawar & Thomas, 2017) and sensitivity, and many social workers develop and practice cultural sensitivity skills while working with people from diverse ethnic backgrounds. Chathapuram Ramanathan and his co-authors explore to what extent this is reflected in research and publications in select journals in the US context. Their analysis shows that the number of articles published in the chosen journals does not commensurate with the growing size of diverse population groups and the level of importance and commitment that the profession of social work has for cultural competency. To address this gap, they make several useful recommendations, which are applicable beyond the USA.

Finally, the issue includes reviews of two books: From Resistance to Reform, reviewed by Ruth Philips, and Everyday State and Development in Northeast India, reviewed by P. S. Somingam and Ingo Mitalo.

I hope you will find these scholars’ analyses useful in your research, writing, teaching, training or practice.