Paola Tognarelli’s [Tog-na-rē-le] connection to Mother Earth is sacred.
Just like the bond she now shares with the other significant women in her life.
To the people on the edge of exile, the prophet Isaiah makes a startling promise: You shall be the ones to repair your world. Of course, the energy of God will be a solid partner. Despite God-energized human efforts, sadly, conditions of exile still exist — joblessness, food scarcity, hopelessness and oppressive racial tension, to name a few.
From helping women to start businesses in Panama to amplifying the voices of unhoused people in California, partners of the Presbyterian Committee on the Self-Development of People are making an impact worth celebrating.
For over two decades, Why Not Prosper has been showing up in support of formerly incarcerated women in Philadelphia. Why Not Prosper is uniquely and intimately aware of the challenges facing these women. How? Because Why Not Prosper was founded and continues to be run by women who have, themselves, been incarcerated.
While the economic and social status of women may be improving marginally worldwide, the lives of many women in India — like Smitha Krishnan — have remained virtually unchanged.
From youth empowerment programs to leadership and family support initiatives, Ciudad Nueva is working hard to enact long-term change in the Rio Grande neighborhood of downtown El Paso, Texas.
From opposing potentially harmful ordinances to distributing a street newspaper, the Sacramento Homeless Organizing Committee (SHOC) keeps issues that affect its constituents in the forefront so that living conditions can be improved.
For over two decades, Why Not Prosper has been showing up in support of formerly incarcerated women in Philadelphia. Why Not Prosper is uniquely and intimately aware of the challenges facing these women. How? Because Why Not Prosper was founded and continues to be run by women who have, themselves, been incarcerated.
In 1970, the National Committee on the Self-Development of People (SDOP) began with a question: How should the Church respond to the growing disparity between rich and poor across the globe? Half a century later, the Covid pandemic and a canceled 50th anniversary celebration became an unexpected opportunity to answer that founding question in a new way.
The Damayan Migrant Workers Association Baklas project is an organized effort to rescue Filipina women from labor trafficking and involuntary servitude. The Damayan group consists of about 800 Filipina women. They experienced labor trafficking upon immigrating to the U.S. and they wanted to help themselves and other women like them. The organization was founded in 2002 and has grown since then. The Presbyterian Committee on the Self-Development of People awarded Damayan $85,000 for three years in 2002. In 2003, Damayan (a Filipino word that means “helping each other”) became a grassroots nonprofit organization.
