Self-Development of
People approves 44 projects
Committee invests $662,198 in a broad range of
programs
by Evan Silverstein,
Presbyterian News Service
LOS ANGELES -- January 31, 2003 -- The National
Presbyterian Committee on the Self-Development of People (SDOP) approved
funding for 44 projects totaling $662,198 during a meeting here Jan.
24-25.
Money for the projects will come from the One Great Hour
of Sharing Offering.
SDOP gives members and non-members of the Presbyterian
Church (USA) opportunities to establish partnerships with poor, oppressed
and disadvantaged people in the United States and around the world. The
committee's investments are intended to help people reach their potential
and gain independence.
These projects were approved:
·
Lagrange Village Council (LVC), Toledo, Ohio, $10,000: to
help fund development of a community Citizen's Patrol to monitor and
report on neighborhood crime.
·
Alliance for African Assistance Minnesota, Moorhead, MN,
$10,000: to empower African refugees for self-reliance and community
growth.
·
Committee for the Preservation of Immigrant Families,
Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN, $10,000: to provide training emphasizing
leadership development, community building, self-esteem and advocacy for
Latino immigrants.
·
ECOVIDA, Chicago, Illinois, $30,000: to help a group of
community residents, mainly young adults from Latin America, buy a vacant
lot for expanding an urban farming program in low-income neighborhood.
·
Anishinaabe Center, Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, $10,000: to
empower the Anishinaabe people with knowledge and skills to overcome legal
and political oppression and advocate for government and democratic reform
on the White Earth Reserve.
·
Wabanaki Arts Center, Old Town, ME, $20,000: for a display
and sales center for Indian ash and basketry made by members of the Maine
Indian Basketmakers Alliance.
·
Bridgeport ACORN East Side, Bridgeport, CT, $35,000: to be
used for increased police protection and revitalizing the east side and
east end of Bridgeport, among the city's poorest areas.
·
Rhode Island ACORN, Providence, RI, $20,000: for
neighborhood-organizing project seeking "to gain more dignity, respect and
power" for members and other low-income Rhode Island residents.
·
Strengthen Our Sisters Inc., Hewitt, NJ, $25,000: for the
Spirit of the Law Self-Help Clinic, a group of economically poor,
physically and emotionally oppressed homeless and battered women seeking
legal support and guidance in court procedures.
·
Cooperative Action Program of Southern McDowell County,
(CAPS), Panther, WV, $20,000: to help fund CAPS, organized to raise
members' standard of living by focusing on health, nutrition, education
and advocacy.
·
Bay Area Women Coalition, Inc., Mobile and Pritchard, AL,
$25,000: for organizing a community development cooperation to focus on
job development, job training and educational awareness for residents in
the Trinity Gardens section of Mobile and Pritchard, AL.
·
Eastside Concerned Citizens Inc., Savannah, Georgia,
$26,000: for a project designed to strengthen the family by focusing on
health care, youth development, continued adult education, employment
training and placement, environmental and economic education and
homeownership.
·
Farmers Cooperative & Community Development Association,
Greeleyville, SC, $20,000: to provide employment, income, training and
increase food supplies for low-income farm families.
·
Bandy Community Center, Bandy, VA, $10,000: to buy heating,
ventilating and air-conditioning equipment for the 12-year-old Bandy
Community Center in rural southwestern Virginia.
·
The Mayan People, Lake Worth, FL, $15,600: to hire an
employee and help fund communication information through a three-hour live
radio broadcast each week using at least three-to-five language
translations. Guests will provide information about immigration
regulations, obtaining a driver's license, medical assistance, jobs and
starting a business.
·
Between Ages Community Organization, Hollister, NC,
$33,468: to purchase van for a senior citizens health-focus group.
·
Concerned Citizens of Tillery, Tillery, NC, $30,000: for
focusing on four broad but connected themes: commitment to the struggle
for racial justice; initiating and nurturing community-based economic
development; encouraging political participation and empowerment; and
developing community-based health care.
·
Immigrant and Refugee Asian Seniors, Miami, FL, $15,000: to
reduce isolation and gain skills in English and create income for
self-sufficiency.
·
Lao Iu Mien Cultural Association, Inc., Oakland, CA,
$25,000: to complete cultural center facility.
·
Ksanka Language Commission, Elmo, MT, $30,000: language
restoration project to revive and preserve the Ksanka Native-American
language.
·
Klamath-Trinity Non-Emergency Transportation, Willow Creek,
CA, $30,000: to establish a feeder transportation system linking nine
northern California communities within a 50-mile radius of Willow Creek to
the county bus system.
·
Women of the Community, Tomaulipas, Mexico, $9,710: for
group of seven low-income women to buy necessary equipment and materials
to develop handcrafts and clothing for their community to earn income for
basic necessities.
·
Mushroom Young Farmer's Group, Mekaf, Menchum NW, and
Cameroon, $13,000: to help 10 young community members develop a mushroom
production project.
·
Self-Development of People Committee, Prakasam District,
India, $10,110: to help a group of mostly Dalit Christians become
self-sufficient by establishing a training and production center for
garment production.
·
Besaniya Development Association, Kampala, Uganda, $7,058:
to provide housing and employment by building houses and raising crops.
·
Sikyomu Community Concern Group, Kabule, Uganda, $18,540:
for agricultural development program with goal of training women in
sustainable agricultural practices, including organic farming, soil and
water conservation, tree planting, animal husbandry and use of natural
pesticides.
·
Groupment Solim, Bethlehem Sok, Togo, $10,672: to expand
cooperative farm by 75 acres and purchase equipment such as plows, oxen
and vehicle for transporting produce to market.
·
Badidima Group, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo,
$28,700: for 18 women who farm together to cooperatively purchase a
vehicle to transport products to market.
·
Commune Initiative Group of Yam Producers, Adamoava,
Cameroon, $4,564: to help further a cooperative yam farm by providing
oxen, a water pump and other equipment to cultivate the land.
·
Chaithanya Women's Group, Podili, Andhra Pradesh, India,
$5,413: to help a group of 10 widows raise buffaloes for milk and dung for
fuel to sell neighbors and area residents for additional income.
·
Katekwan Farming Group, Kumi, Uganda, $6,700: to help
farming group avert famine by replacing current variety of the cassava
plant, an area food staple, with virus-resistant variety while increasing
income through excess harvest.
·
Generation de L'Esperance, Mbe, Adamaona, Cameroon, $5,241:
for a 10-acre yam farm and fruit orchard to improve resources for medical,
nutritional and educational needs.
·
Calvary Mixed Farming Group, Bamenda, Cameroon, $15,300:
for a cooperative to build a hatchery, purchase an incubator and raise
chickens to sell.
·
Rajeswari Yuvathi Mahila Mandali, Pulivendula, India,
$1,904: to purchase necessary machinery and raw materials for producing
garments.
·
Thien-Thien Phu (God's Giving), Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam,
$10,000: to help 29 people from low-income families produce and sell
dried, instant food such as squid and shrimp to local stores at reasonable
prices to improve community economy.
·
Hiluka Group, Ludema, Iringa, Tanzania, $6,166: to help 10
people farm maize for food and selling to area residents.
·
Ufunuo Women Development, Shinyanga Region, Tanzania,
$8,884: for a small-scale milk-processing project.
·
Kagando Disabled Womens Association, Kagando, Uganda,
$4,820: to help seven disabled women purchase a maize mill to grind corn
for the community to earn extra income.
·
Small World Counseling Health Education Association, Kasese,
Uganda, $5,295: to establish a"piggery" to generate income for 30 families
to improve nutritional status of the families and surrounding community
while empowering participants in community growth.
·
Nomadic Tribal Women's Group (the Indigenous People),
Chengam Taluk, India, $6,075: for manufacturing of traditional Lambadi
dresses and toys.
·
ATEK Development Association, Soroti, Eastern Uganda,
$4,856: to help eight farm families purchase 16 oxen, eight heifers,
related equipment and training to cultivate and improve yield.
·
Varalakahmi Fishermen Group, Kothapatmnam A.P. India,
$16,562: to purchase motors, boats and nets.
·
Ngandu Women's Poultry Project, Mukdno, Uganda, $9,450: to
help the group raise exotic poultry for egg production and grow sunflower
and maize for feed.
·
Women's Union of Ococa (Grupo UMO), Ococa, San Jose, Costa
Rica, $3,110: to help a cooperative of four women, who produce and sell
homemade tortillas, incorporate four new women to meet expanding
client-base.
The national committee also certified 29 presbytery and
four synod-level SDOP committees to allocate funding for local projects.
The synods are Alaska-Northwest, Lakes and Prairies, Southern California
and Hawaii, and The Sun. The presbyteries are Albany, Cayuga-Syracuse,
Charlotte, Detroit, East Tennessee, Geneva, Giddings-Lovejoy, James, Lake
Erie, Lake Michigan, Los Ranchos, Miami, Monmouth, New Brunswick, Northern
Waters, Pacific, Palisades, Philadelphia, Redwoods, St. Augustine, San
Diego, San Francisco, San Gabriel, San Jose, Santa Fe, Sierra Blanca,
Sierra Mission Partnership, West Virginia, and Western North Carolina.
