On April 19th, a Community Transformation Focus Group took place in Clarkston in partnership with and hosted by the Clarkston First Baptist Church (CFBC). This focus group served the purpose to bring people together to listen to what they were interested in talking about and focusing the content of their training that would take place later in May and June. All of this is a part of a broader effort of working to support and encourage community empowerment skills. We believe that community change is dependent upon truly listening to and working with community members, not from transferring wisdom from leaders to followers.
On May 18 & 19, CDF’s Sumaya Karimi and CFBC’s Angela Moore lead the first of three sessions of the Community Transformation Training (CTT) at the Clarkston Community Center. In this gathering, they worked to bring together people of Clarkston who are of different faiths and cultures.
Each day was focused on a hands-on participatory learning style designed to strengthen participants ability to organize community and provide skills in responsible, ethical, inclusive methods of engaging community members. In addition, this training works to encourage individuals who are committed to bringing about positive change in themselves and in their community.
Over the course of the training, participants will discover some of their personal strength and motivation for the work they are interested being involved in and discover additional ways to effectively use their personal skills for community transformation. 
Participants also learn:
- to listen for themes during conversations where people show strong emotions
- to make connections between strong emotions and motivation
- to break through apathy and bring community transformation
- the Training for Transformation principle
- to facilitate community dialogue
Through all of this work together, participants develop a critical awareness of the root causes of community problems and are better equipped to address concerns emerging in the communities in which they live and work.
The next two days of the course are June 22 & 23. If you are interested in being a part of a future Community Transformation Training, please contact Sumaya Karimi at sumaya@clarkstondevelopmentfoundation.org to be added to future mailings or for more information.