wfn.org | SDOP Committee Funds 10 Projects Totaling $253,032

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12-June-1998 
98204 
 
      Self-Development of People Committee 
    Funds 10 Projects Totaling $253,032 
 
    by Julian Shipp 
 
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico-Meeting here May 14-16 to consider partnership 
proposals, the National Presbyterian Committee on the Self-Development of 
People (SDOP) approved the funding of 10 projects totaling $253,032. The 
money for the projects comes from the One Great Hour of Sharing offering. 
 
    The approved international projects ranged from dairy farming and crop 
production to small business enterprises in Ghana, Togo, Kenya, Honduras 
and Bolivia. 
 
    National projects approved included a free clinic in Dade City, Fla., 
staffed by volunteer medical professionals; a community center for 
residents of a housing development in Rapid City, S.D., that would also 
serve as an outlet for the sale of arts and crafts and native foods; an 
organic gardening enterprise in Kannapolis, N.C.; and addition of a fabric 
printing component to complement an established business manufacturing 
women's clothing in Albuquerque, N.M. 
 
    The projects: 
 
      Goviefe-Agordome Cooperative Fishing and Marketing Society, Kpeve, 
Ghana-  $15,000 to increase fish production through improved fishing 
methods and better smoking procedures. 
      Peeling Wheat with Home Methods and Commercialization, Mama Killa, 
Pampahuasi Area, Sucre, Bolivia-$28,602 for the growing of wheat and other 
crops and to process and market value-added products from their wheat such 
as pearled, peeled and mashed wheat, wheat flakes and cracked wheat. 
      Community Development Project, Cooperative 15 de Noviembre, Buenos 
Aires, Honduras-$18,000 to secure land for housing for members of a 
cooperative. 
      Dairy Farming, Funyula, Kenya-$4,300 for a dairy farming project 
involving the purchase of dairy cows to produce sufficient milk to sell in 
the village and provide milk for the members. 
      Ho North Community Women Cooperative Food Farmers Processing and 
Marketing Project, Ho, Ghana-$13,650 for the production and processing of 
food, maize, yams, cassava and palm soil, including a storage facility and 
milling equipment. 
      La Societ‚ des Femmes pour la Poterie et Ceramique, Palime, 
Togo-$14,000 to increase the production of pottery, tile and ceramics. The 
women potters have organized to make pottery and ceramics for sale. 
      Oyate Community Center, Community Center Board of Directors, Rapid 
City, S.D.- $45,000 to develop a community center for a group of people 
living in Lakota Homes of Rapid City, S.D., and to develop the center into 
a support system and outlet for the community through arts, crafts and 
Native American foods created by members of the community. 
      Farmworkers Self-Help, Agricultural Women Involved in New Goals, Dade 
City, Fla.- $35,000 for the establishment of a free medical clinic by 
members of the group with the help of professional volunteers. 
      Nigh Town Neighborhood Organic Garden Project, Kannapolis, 
N.C.-$29,480 to help project members gain a better understanding of and 
care for the earth, for self and for community through a program involving 
a 1,500-square-foot plot of land used for organic gardening. 
      Southwest Creations Collaborative, Albuquerque, N.M.-$50,000 to add a 
fabric printing component to complement an established business of 
manufacturing women's clothing.  The fabric printing activities will allow 
the operation to provide an array of production skills and permit them to 
expand their operations into the less competitive but more profitable home 
accessories business. 
 
    According to SDOP officials,  all accepted proposals dealt with 
increasing the self-sufficiency as well as the self-esteem of persons who 
are economically poor, disadvantaged or oppressed. 
 
    In each geographic location where SDOP meets, an effort is made to 
familiarize committee members with the culture and the needs of the area. 
The Rev. Aurelio A. Garc¡a, stated clerk of San Juan Presbytery, provided 
an informative overview of Puerto Rico as well as the activities of the 
Presbyterian Church in the locality. 
 
    Additionally, committee members took a field trip to the Museum of Art 
and History in Old San Juan, which was followed by a directed tour of the 
city. The Rev. Dr. Jos‚ R. Col¢n Rodriguez led a Bible study, noting that 
while human beings divide themselves into tribes, people, languages and 
nations, the gospel is meant for all. 
 
    He added that while Presbyterians are now dealing with cultural 
differences and actively seeking to increase minority membership, this has 
not always been the case.  Rodriguez also pointed out that different 
methods must often be used to reach different cultural groups. 
 
    A well-attended workshop in the San Juan locality provided an 
opportunity for several committee members to acquaint interested potential 
partners with SDOP's funding sources, purpose and criteria. 
 
    Site visits further provided an opportunity for committee members to 
understand the economic and social deprivation of some Puerto Ricans. 
These visits were to a collective of women dedicated to awareness of health 
issues, two nonprofit community organizations concerned with developing 
low-income housing, a nonprofit organization providing services to homeless 
people and a nonprofit organization for social and economic development of 
two rural communities. 
 
    During the meeting, the National SDOP Committee installed two new 
officers. They are Ruth Warren of Carson, Calif., chair, and Mark Wall of 
Spartanburg, S.C., vice chair. 
 
    The following 30 synod and presbytery SDOP Committees were also 
certified: Synod -  Covenant; Presbyteries - Baltimore, Cascades, Central 
Florida, Cherokee, Chicago, Cincinnati, DeCristo/Grand Canyon, East 
Tennessee, Eastminster, Flint River, Geneva, Lackawanna, Lake Erie, Long 
Island, Los Ranchos, Minnesota Valleys, National Capital, New Brunswick, 
New Hope, New York City, North Central Iowa, Philadelphia, Prospect Hill, 
Providence, St. Augustine, Santa Fe/Sierra Blanca, Seattle, Western North 
Carolina and Whitewater Valley. 

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