Grant recipients announced
by Margaret Mwale
The Presbyterian Committee on the Self-Development of People (SDOP) has approved grants totaling $301,710 to 12 self-help projects  in the United States. The money is from the One Great Hour of Sharing (OGHS) offering. Self-Development of People receives 32 percent of undesignated OGHS gifts.
Workers build homes in Dignity Village. Photo courtesy of SDOP. Grants were approved at a meeting of SDOP’s national committee in San Diego, California, in mid-January. SDOP is constantly looking for ways to engage communities of economically poor, oppressed and disadvantaged people in partnership. This year also marked SDOP’s first retreat “Engaging Our Neighborhoods: Vision and Mission” held in conjunction with previously funded partners and local middle governing body Self-Development of People committees. Local SDOP committees in attendance included the Presbytery of Los Ranchos, Presbytery of the Pacific, Presbytery of San Gabriel and Presbytery of San Fernando. Retreat speakers included the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the Reverend Bruce Reyes-Chow and Sara Lisherness, director of Compassion, Peace and Justice. Workshops on a variety of topics facilitated by National Committee members and funded partners were offered on challenging issues facing communities today such as homelessness, the global food crisis, water and health care issues. Community partners Dignity Village and Butterfly Network for Lupus Patients were involved in these workshops. A member of Creative Impressions, another SDOP funded partner that gave an impressive performance at the 2006 GA in Birmingham, Alabama, shared their project story/success. The weekend culminated with a performance by transcenDANCE Youth Arts Project. The group is not funded by SDOP but has a mission of empowerment similar to that of SDOP. The transcenDANCE Youth Arts Project believes that art is not a privilege but a necessity of life. The group’s mission seeks to empower multicultural inner-city youth to create healthier communities through the transforming and life-affirming power of the arts and performance.
Bruce Reyes-Chow
Sara Lisherness SDOP enables members of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and non-members to form partnerships with oppressed and disadvantaged people in order to help them achieve self-sufficiency.
For further information on an upcoming community workshop for community-based groups interested in learning about possible future partnerships in your area, to set up a workshop or to learn more about Self-Development of People, please contact the National Office at:
Self-Development of People
100 Witherspoon Street
Louisville, KY 40202-1396
Toll Free Telephone:
English (888) 728-7228 x5782 / 5792
Spanish (888) 728-7228 x5790
Fax: (502) 569-8963 |
