The study was qualitative in nature as it helped to understand and give interpretations to the behaviors, emotions, beliefs, texts, discourses and relationships of individuals in the community studied. The case study design, one of the formats used in qualitative research, was used primarily to determine the potentials for participation in decision-making to demonstrate power. The ability to describe and explain in detail certain aspects of processes within a social unit in their real social context is the main reason why this research adopted the case study model (Feliciano, 1994). Yin (2003) also promotes case study as the method of choice when the case studied cannot be distinguished from its context. This is the situation of this particular study. Stake (1995) suggests that although there is little point in "generalizing to the species...the researcher is looking at a part of the whole, seeking to understand what the specimen is, how it functions" (pp. 36 -37). Yin further explains that case studies can be exploratory aimed at defining questions and hypotheses for further study and descriptive, explaining how events occurred. Additionally, case studies have become particularly useful for gaining valuable insights from respondents. This helped to better understand the situations as the researcher asked what information was most useful in providing insight into the community being studied (Denzin and Lincoln, 2005). Case study researchers focus specifically on the cases of interest and not on the methods used (Stake, 2003 cited in Denzin & Lincoln, 2005). This then led the researcher to be pragmatic in choosing the most appropriate method to gather relevant details. Unlike other formats, case findings...... middle of article ......appropriate in the context of the study. The approach isolates particular problems within a community, examines them in detail, and then evaluates the relative influence of variables (such as groups, individuals, and activities) that contributed to their outcomes (Dahl, 1957) . During the decision-making process, the approach guided the research pathway by determining who successfully initiates, modifies, or vetoes decisions being made. Much of the work based on this approach describes how competing groups or individuals struggle within a community by creating a balanced, although perhaps unequal, distribution of power. Additionally, studies using this approach tend to develop findings that support diversity within a community power structure. It should be emphasized that this approach was used to complete the case study in order to give different dimensions to the research..