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harvest in Central Asia.The goal of Community Development Education (CDE) is to establish a development program whose purpose is to produce people of strong moral character to work with the sick and needy. This is accomplished through the training of local people as Community Development Educators (CDEs). The CDEs will in turn serve their neighbors by teaching disease prevention and health promotion. CDE includes water purification, sanitation, agriculture, nutrition, maternal and child care, home care and prevention of disease, as well as how to live a life that cares about and assists our neighbors. CDEs may also treat basic diseases and assist in immunizations. The intent of a CDE program is to raise up local nationals as volunteers who will be models and share the truths they have learned with their neighbors in the home setting. The program is designed to go to the people, being transferable, multipliable, and ongoing after the training team leaves the area. Community development is approached from a moral perspective, one which commands us to love our neighbors as ourselves. Therefore, if we love one another, we will truly be concerned with the whole person - mind, body, and spirit. We want to help people live a more meaningful, abundant life. If people are to reach out to their neighbors, they must be willing to do good to their neighbor and see their neighbors as having ultimate worth. To facilitate changed behavior, a modification in knowledge and attitudes needs to take place. This involves how we view ourselves and relate to our neighbors. Therefore, teaching human values is included in the training to foster a cooperative approach of all people in the community. Teachings in the Holy Books tell us we are to give food and drink to those in need, take in strangers, clothe the naked, visit the sick and those in prisons. Most of us would find it easy to do these things for our own family, but we must do them for even the lowliest of people, including those we do not know or may even scorn or disdain. We are called to serve all men. We are called to serve the whole needs of a person. This involves dealing with health needs and training others to do so also. Multiplication occurs as each one continues to teach others who teach others. © CDC2005 |