08433
June 5, 2008

27 self-help projects funded

SDOP disburses $671,604 at home and in the Dominican Republic

by Evan Silverstein
Presbyterian News Service

BOCA CHICA, Dominican Republic — The Presbyterian Committee on the Self-Development of People (SDOP) has approved grants totaling $671,604 to 27 self-help projects in the United States and the Dominican Republic.

The money is from the One Great Hour of Sharing offering.

The national SDOP, which met here May 14-18, enables members and non-members of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to form partnerships with oppressed and disadvantaged people in order to help them achieve self-sufficiency. SDOP is currently focusing significant funding on projects in the Dominican Republic under a three-year pilot program that seeks to strengthen partnerships in specific regions of the world.

The projects and grants:

• Biko Art Collective, Brooklyn, NY, $20,000 to a group of artists to provide a venue and mutual support for artists of various media and to exhibit and curate their work.

• True Colors Community Initiative, Brooklyn, NY, $20,000 to build a leadership base of former incarcerated youths who seek to address the problems of their community through education and empowerment using teach-ins and youth leadership training.

• Women Leadership Development, Brooklyn, NY, $20,000 to support a group of poor Mexican immigrant women in capacity building through education, primarily in the areas of leadership development, communication skills, employment rights and English as a second language classes.

• The Multi-Purpose Van Project, St. Louis, MO, $17,000 to be used by a group of Kenyan immigrants to purchase a multi-purpose van to provide access to health-care and employment, along with transportation for the disabled.

• Lights of the Round Table, Chicago, IL, $20,000 to a group of recovering addicts and alcoholics who seek to establish a coffee house and sober social club as a business for themselves.

• Deaf and Deaf-Blind Leadership Development and Capacity Building, North Olmstead, OH, $25,000 to support a committee that provides services and expertise in services to the deaf and deaf-blind.

• Love-N-Care, Cleveland, OH, $20,000 for a group of disabled or low income people, which includes disabled veterans, purchase a handicap accessible van and provide transportation for themselves and others to medical and therapy appointments.

• Sudanese Community Development, Mankato, MN, $18,000 to support training programs for Sudanese immigrants in basic English as a second language, basic computer skills and basic orientation to workplace culture.

• Karen Cultural and Community Center Micro-loan Fund, Akron, OH, $20,000 to create a micro-loan fund to finance small projects to be owned and operated by the Karen community (a group of refugees from Burma).

• Neighborhood Beautification and Crime Watch., Buffalo, NY, $20,000 to support a grassroots organization in planning, planting, maintaining and harvesting about 20 garden plots on the former sites of abandoned houses and unsightly overgrown trash lots.

• Community Empowerment Project, Camden, NJ, $25,000 to support an organization of neighborhood groups working to establish an organization with the ability to call upon government and corporate leaders to be responsive as well as accountable to the needs of the people of Camden.

• Youth Making a Difference, Furman, AL, $20,000, to support a project aimed at building self-esteem among youth.

• Mark Park Mobile Home Park Purchase, Burnsville, NC, $20,000 to support 14 families working to make improvements to their mobile home park.

• The Lighthouse Home Inc., Rocky Mount, NC, $25,000 to assist a group of 16 women in recovery from drugs and alcohol abuse learn how to become self-sufficient in a supportive peer environment.

• IT’S T.I.M.E., Atlanta, $20,000 to support a group of seven men and one woman in learning skills that will allow them to become more supportive parents and grandparents in order to help break the cycle of oppression, poverty and economic disadvantages in their communities.

• Women’s Group, Spruce Pine, NC, $15,000 to provide support for Hispanic women with the first steps of learning how to read and write English.

• Women Leading the Way to a Healthy Community, Atlanta, $13,500 to support a community-based program that addresses the health and wellness of the community through education and awareness.   

• One of the Kings Kids, Bakersfield, CA, $25,000 to support a joint African-American and Latino group that provides entry-level job training, in-house cleaning and lawn care.

• Empowerment People Community Resource Center, Wildomar, CA, $20,000 to help establish a resource center for a local group to share business and job skills information, develop business skills and provide transitional support for community members seeking jobs or housing.

• Cooperativa de Pan Tequio, Los Angeles, $20,000 to help a cooperative open a storefront bakery.

• BRA/MUDHA Joint Water Project, Dominican Republic, $141,726 for 2008 and 2009, to construct clean water systems in several bateys or communities, also to help rebuild two homes, repair roofs, floors and walls of 15 houses damaged last year by Tropical Storm Noel and to purchase other supplies.

• Rotating Funds for Rural Women, Hayo Mayor del Rey, Dominican Republic, $18,500 to support a revolving line of credit and training program for a women’s federation of 20 community associations totaling 900 women.

• Young Group “Nueva Vision,” San Jose de los Llanos, Dominican Republic, $6,850 to support a “pre-proposal” for education and technical training of youths in countering early pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases as well as preparing youth in learning to successfully establish a workplace and operate a business.

• Women Federation Marcelina de los Santo, San Joes de los Llanos, Dominican Republic, $15,000 to fund improvements to a cheese factory in a rural, poor community.

• CE-MUJER, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, $21,000 to support an organization that provides leadership and technical training to women’s federations and associations across the Dominican Republic, specifically to support technical training related to other projects SDOP’s International Task Force has approved for funding.

• Femucabayu, San Rafael Del Yuma, Dominican Republic, $19,000 to support a rotating funds business controlled by a women’s federation.

• Women’s Association, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, $46,028 to repair or replace the roof of a women’s furniture factory.