Angela's Reflections

by Angela Hernandez

Community development will always carry slightly different meanings to those who use the term. And that is okay. Whatever the meaning, it must be what those of a certain community define it to be.

As with a business, a community organization must have a mission statement, a clear set of goals that will allow the new neighbor who walks into the center the opportunity to pick up where the founding neighbor left off. The most effective leadership I have witnessed in community technology centers has succeeded in building this into their organization. Every person, from the executive director to the newest participant, has a specific idea in mind for what she or he believes they can achieve. They do not and likely should not be the same tasks or goals-rather, each of these individuals should work toward accomplishing goals that collectively will lead to a community with greater capacity.

Greater capacity is more than a dense social network. It is more than simply teaching a few individuals on your block how to operate Microsoft programs. It is understanding that the skills one develops, the individuals with whom one builds relationships, and the resources that a CBO provides, collectively contribute to developing an individual, who in turn contributes to the development of their family members and friends. These individuals, activists hope, will understand the time and resources invested into them, and in turn, make a conscious decision to reinvest those resources into fellow community members.

Our year spent engaged in participatory research has permitted me a glimpse of how university partnerships with community organizations can prove beneficial to both parties. As our country is immersed in war and global changes, I can only imagine the amount of money being spent on research for defense. I support such funding and believe that our democratic society is one worth saving. I want to make sure that our society remains a society worth saving, and therefore I believe substantially greater investment in community action research and civic engagement is just as pivotal as scientific research.

Because in the end, without community capacity, would our world really be one worth defending?