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Question:
Dear Sir/Madam,

I'm Thomas Salima from Papua New Guinea, a developing country in the pacific region. I come from a rural area in Madang Province of Papua New Guinea. I am currently a bacherlor's degree holder and working in Port Moresby, the capital city of Papua New Guinea. My village/community had faced a lot of social, economic issues in today's world and I would like to help set up a community development framework that will assist in reducing those issues and to increase the living standard of my rural community. Would you please help me with some advise on how or where i should start, what needs to be done to get the plan in place, the different components of the community development plan or framework, which people or organistion should i seek to gain help, and any donor agencies whom I should see if I needed help in terms of finance to establish special projects for the community. I sincerely await your reply. Kind regards, Thomas Salima
Answer:

Dear Thomas,
Thank you for contacting Ask an Advisor. You've raised important questions as to how we both begin, and sustain community development initiatives. The Community Toolbox was built to help promote community health and development. I think that many different chapters, sections, and Toolkits within the Toolbox may be helpful to you. To get started, I would recommend visiting the Table of Contents. This will give you a sort of lay of the land as to what kind of information and resources are available in the Toolbox. For example, you asked about putting together a community development plan or framework. Chapters 8-12 discuss putting together and implementing a strategic plan and organizational structure for community change initiatives. You asked about how to identify people and organizations with which to partner. Chapters 6 and 7 discuss how to develop communications that can promote interest in community work, and even includes a Toolkit on Creating and Maintaining Partnerships. These are just a few examples; the Toolbox contains much more information than this that I think will be helpful to you and your work.
It sound like you've decided to take on really critical work in your community. It will be a long journey, and reaching out to and becoming familiar with the Toolbox is a great step. Take a look at our materials. If specific questions arise for you, or if when you begin the work, you encounter obstacles, are unsure how to move forward, or have other questions, please do reach out to Ask an Advisor again.
We at the Community Toolbox wish you the best as you begin this important work.

Question Date: Thu, 09/20/2018