Introduction

Welcome to the Community Development Capacity Building Toolkit for the Mount and Ballymacarrett areas of East Belfast.

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This toolkit is a resource for community organisations in their day to day work.
It provides support, methodologies, session outlines and helpful information to aid community organisations in their local communities.

This toolkit is split into two sections, which provide guidance, resources and worksheets in key areas of community work.

Sections 1-5 include strategic guidance for your organisation and sections 6-10 provide more practical guidance, with exercises and scenarios to help you think through the processes that you may experience in your journey.

The Communities in Transition Capacity Building Programme in the Mount and Ballymacarrett areas of East Belfast, was funded by The Executive Office and delivered by Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action (NICVA), with East Belfast Community Development Agency (EBCDA) as their community partner.

In producing this Community Development Capacity Building Toolkit, our goal is simple, we want the Mount and the Ballymacarrett areas of East Belfast to become better places to live. As part of the Communities in Transition Capacity Building Programme for these areas, we want to promote and support positive behavioural change.

The title of the Toolkit, ‘The time is always right to do what is right,’ is inspired by the words of Martin Luther King Jr. We believe that it is never too late to stand up for justice and strive to change what is wrong or has gone wrong.

Do what is right, simply means what it says – people by their actions and language are to do the right thing. This means in every situation from the workplace to the social club; from the sports field to family life, people should always seek to do the right thing; in doing so, community life will improve and active citizenship will be encouraged. Doing the wrong thing means breaking the rules, flaunting the law and often having no regard for the feelings or rights of others.

In doing what is right, it does not impinge or change one’s views morally; politically; religiously or socially, but simply encourages people to express their opinions and act in ways that are acceptable. The outworking would be a more caring, tolerant, lawful and responsible community focussing on a non-violent approach to social justice, protest, objection, negotiation and working with people.

We want this toolkit to provide guidance, to engage, educate and empower the individuals in our community, we want to instil confidence, boost self-esteem and inspire them to want to do what is right, to benefit themselves and others around them.

By offering projects that help groups to make sense of their behaviours and understand triggers, it will help them on the road to change, offering an alternative route to take, as well as the skills to manage that new life, both mentally and practically.

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