MDG Grants Awarded - The Episcopal Diocese of Northern California

by Thea Mangels, Office Manager & News Editor 

The Millennium Development Goals Steering Committee of the Episcopal Diocese of Northern California is pleased to announce the names of the 2012 Millennium Development Goals Grants recipients. The funding of these grants comes as a result of the passage of ( R1-07), which promises 0.7% of our budget to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). There were three projects awarded grants, for a total of $8,000. Each project focuses on multiple goals.

1. St. Timothy’s in Gridley – The Liberian Children’s Schooling Project – was awarded $4500 to help build a permanent mud brick building based on the temporary World Food Program warehouse tent in Garmue. This building will act as a meeting hall, a rice mill processing place, and a food storage place for the village of Bellemue. This will meet many of the MDG Goals:

· Goal 1 – More quantity and quality of rice production will reduce poverty and hunger
· Goal 2 – Children presently mill the paddy basis rice into milled rice by pounding it on the ground using 6” diameter wooden posts; this project allows the mill to go into production, which frees student time for study.
· Goal 3 – Girls are first to be called upon to hand mill the rice, so this project helps with gender equality.
· Goal 4 – More, higher quality rice will reduce child mortality.
· Goal 6 – Modern rice farming techniques put rice in areas that previously were breeding grounds for mosquitoes, thus reducing the spread of disease. Presently rice is kept in mud huts with no doors and open rafters, this new building will keep the rice dry and protected from rodents, which will also prevent the spread of disease.
· Goal 7 – New rice farming technology replaces the old “slash and burn” agriculture that provided low yield and caused bad erosion.

2. Episcopal Diocese of Northern California - Global Episcopal Mission Network (GEMN) – was awarded $500 to fund continued action working to meet goal 8. This organization offers Episcopalians meaningful resources to spark energy and engagement in mission ministries throughout the world. GEMN provides effective networking, training and information exchanges on mission action through:

· international and regional conferences/educational institutes
· mission leader formation and fieldwork mentoring
· advocacy and consulting
· e-mail info alerts, Facebook posts, links to mission blogs and websites, FACETS newsletters and an up-to-date website (www.gemn.org).

3. Episcopal Diocese of Northern California – The Holy Land Institute for the Deaf in Salt Jordan through Episcopal Relief & Development – was awarded $3000 to fund projects like a second school bus to bring developmentally and physically challenged children and young adults to the center. This project also meets many MDG goals, including:

· universal education,
· promoting gender equality,
· and reducing child mortality.

Many thanks to the generosity of the people of the Episcopal Diocese of Northern California who have dedicated 0.7 percent of the diocesan budget towards the Millennium Development Goals. It is our hope that every church in our diocese will be able to sponsor a program dedicated to the relief of poverty around the globe. To that end, this year we will be offering a second grant opportunity. Congregations wishing to apply for a Fall MDG Grant should review the grant requirements and their project and submit their application no later than noon on Monday, October 1, 2012.

Grant requirements are:

1. Involvement with a program or project which focuses on the issues of Global Poverty as addressed in the Millennium Development Goals.
2. The program or project should allow for involvement of members of the congregation in a variety of ways.
3. The congregation’s involvement should offer opportunity for nurturing of spiritual growth and expansion of the vision of God’s mission in the world.
4. The ministry should be available as a model for other congregations in the Diocese of Northern California and/or the larger Episcopal Church.

Click here to view the application.