Thursday, May 13, 2010

Introducing CaribDE

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

I blog today from a convent. I’ve been in St. Lucia now for a few days as we prepare to start the Caribbean DE Program. Our location is the peaceful and beautiful Villa Santa Maria, also known as Our Lady of the Assumption Abbey in Coubaril, St. Lucia (and yes, this abbey was formerly a monastery.) As you longtime DEs may attest to, there is a certain kind of symmetry to acknowledge here. The abbey is located on one of the high points on St. Lucia and looks over the town of Castries and the ocean. It is a breathtaking view that is nothing short of spectacular. The good and kind Benedictine Sisters run the abbey and are taking excellent care of us. No doubt some will feel the pinch of the lack of air conditioning, no television, and the very remote location…not to mention the packs of wild dogs that roam the area at night. Yet someday, much like those groups of our own early DEs who weathered St. Bennies, they will take pride in how hard they had it and how the groups of now have it easier…but that is later, much later. And like all the other DE classes, whether in Australia, the UK, the Philippines, Asia, or the U.S., this class will find camaraderie, they will find a community, a family…only to find once they are designated as CaribDEs, an even larger community and family that awaits them.

Our morning was spent in Mentor Orientation which included two cloud outbursts of soaking rains. Now, having gone through the morning and part of the afternoon, I am pondering the significance of starting a new DE Program. To write that this is a momentous occasion in the DE annals would be a profound understatement. A new DE Program is something we don’t see very often. In fact, since the U.S. program and the beginning of this program, it has only happened four times before. This is the first new DE Program since PhDE in 2004 was spearheaded by Dudz Samson, Mike Beall, and Lois Kitsch…and now the sixth DE Program operating world-wide. The Caribbean DE Program (CaribDE) with an inaugural class of 24 participants from eight Caribbean countries is Melvin Edwards’ DE Project. Exactly one year after Melvin’s graduation in May 2009, the program is now a reality. An amazing feat made possible with key support from fellow Caribbean DEs David Marquez (CUDE 2007) and Dorwin Manzano (CUDE 2008), and a crew of U.S. CUDEs who have been working arduously to make history.

I’m most proud to acknowledge that once again Development Educators continue to pioneer and lead the way in education pertaining to credit union/cooperative development. Please stay tune to our daily updates!

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