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Question:
Can you help me learn online how to do Community Development work?
I am very interested to learn all that I can to help my people and communities.
Answer:

            We are very glad you want to learn more about community development work and also to help your people and your communities. There is a lifetime of learning ahead of you, and the potential for you to do some wonderful things.
            How best to learn?  There are multiple ways. You can learn about community development from reading any of a variety of print sources; or by taking courses (which could also be part of a degree program); or by talking with people who have actual community development experience; or by gaining that experience yourself.  All these ways are important and valid.
            And you can also learn online.  Here, we do think the Community Tool Box, which is online, may have much to teach you.
            How can you best use it?  There are no fixed rules.  You could start, though, by looking at https://ctb.ku.edu/en/using-tool-box, which is a general description of how to use the Tool Box.  After that, it might be useful for you to skim through the Tool Box table of contents and the various Tool Box features to see what is available to you. Then you can go back and study more carefully those sections that seem most relevant to you, and learn a little more each day. 
            Another idea: It’s sometimes helpful to read materials in the order in which you would use them.  That is, you might start by reading about community needs, since many community actions are designed to meet those needs. You could then read about planning to meet those needs, adapting what you learn to your particular situation. 
             After planning, what often comes next in community work is bringing people together to work with you, commonly followed by deciding upon what actions to take, publicizing what you do, attracting more members and supporters, and evaluating your work. The Tool Box contains sections on all those topics – you’ll find them in the Table of Contents. You could therefore read Tool Box materials in that approximate order.
            What’s above are just examples, and only some of the many ways you could proceed.  To summarize, though, if you can plan in advance how you’d like to go about your own learning, carry out your plan steadily, and learn a little bit each day, you will soon be rewarded, and others will come to gain from your knowledge.
            We hope these thoughts will be helpful to you. And we wish you every success as you pursue your important work.

Question Date: Sat, 01/22/2022