The Christian Commission for Development in Bangladesh (CCDB) has developed a wide range of programs for addressing development challenges.  Some are aimed at capacity building for leaders; some at economic development -- particularly for women and youth; and some aim to strengthen democratic people's organizations to enhance the abilities of minority communities to assert their rights and access resources.  CCDB is a partner of Global Ministries.

One of the primary challenges to development in poor rural communities in Bangladesh is the tremendous ethnic/cultural diversity of the population.  Many of these remote minority communities have lagged behind the mainstream for many years.  Many children do not attend government schools because of the language barrier.  Local people's organizations are not effective if the leaders lack basic organizational skills.  Women do not contribute much to their community or their family's support for lack of education and opportunities to gain employable skills.

In one recent year the CCDB's program, Ethnic Community Development Program (ECDP), held leadership training events for 175 potential leaders.  Local People's Institutions (PIs) were trained in managing savings and credit programs, gender sensitivity, cultivating community/cultural pride, and participatory leadership.  The ECDP reports that 159 local People's Institutions have accumulated a joint savings of over $100,000.  ECDP held trainings on advocacy and networking to train leaders in the skills and knowledge to help them assert their rights and access resources to which they are entitled.  Leadership in local grassroots organizations used to be exclusively male, but women are now sharing leadership roles both in the PI and in the home.  Women also are using micro-credit to begin small economic ventures that enable them to help support their families.  These include tailoring; goat, pig, and cow rearing projects; running a grocery; seed production; and food preservation. As women's status in the community and their capacity to help their families thrive improves, domestic violence has decreased.  Moreover, women have successfully campaigned to reduce alcohol consumption by the men in their families.  Youth also are receiving skills training to prepare them for a career. 

Contributions to this highly successful empowerment program are encouraged.

• $25 can help provide resources for a training event
• $50 can employ a teacher for a month
• $500 can fund a leadership training event
• $2000 can provide a variety of leadership training events for one remote community

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