NPC to Support 44 Projects

LOS ANGELES - The National Presbyterian Committee (NPC) 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.

By Albert H. Lee
chtoday_editor@chtoday.com