Posts Tagged: sdop

OGHS – Fideicomiso, Puerto Rico

  ‘We saw you’ In all her 66 years, Magda Cruz had never witnessed anything like Hurricane María’s power to destroy. The Category 4 hurricane ravaged the island of Puerto Rico. Many residents lost large parts of their roofs, so they had to either abandon their homes or sleep in unsafe conditions. Thankfully, Fideicomiso [fee-day-cō-mē-sō],… Read more »

OGHS – Self-Development of People

Embodying Kindness   For Shawn Duncan, it’s the little things — like getting a birthday card — that mean a lot. Perhaps it’s because Shawn, a military veteran living in Las Vegas, hadn’t had a mailbox in years. Or a home. A native of Michigan with no strong family ties, Shawn had been struggling for… Read more »

OGHS – Presbyterian Disaster Assistance

    Living on the Brink of Disaster   Bernadette thought that she had seen the worst of it. For well over a decade, she and her family withstood Syria’s ever-worsening humanitarian and economic crisis, the country’s ongoing localized hostilities and its collapsing infrastructure. But following the devastating 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Syria and Turkey… Read more »

OGHS: We Are There

During One Great Hour of Sharing, we hear the call in Isaiah 58 to become “repairers of the breach, restorers of streets to live in.” During this Lenten season, we have heard stories of empowered and empowering women. Tenacious and faithful women, binding their families and communities together in strength. In every time and in… Read more »

OGHS: Sowing Seeds of Hope

Paola Tognarelli’s [Tog-na-rē-le] connection to Mother Earth is sacred. Just like the bond she now shares with the other women in her life through an organization based in Panama City, Panama, called Women’s Meeting Space. Women’s Meeting Space is a non-governmental organization that advocates for the rights of Panama’s women, both Indigenous and from its… Read more »

OGHS: A New Day for Farmworkers

Lupe (loo-pay) Gonzalo understands all too well the hardscrabble life of a farmworker. She often had to wake up at 4 or 5 o’clock in the morning to travel to a farm, where she was handed a bucket and told to fill that bucket as many times as humanly possible during the day. “That’s your… Read more »

OGHS: Building Connections to Last… Advocating for Environmental Justice

What does July 16 mean to you? If you are part of the Navajo nation, or have connections near Church Rock, New Mexico, that date might stir a heartbreaking memory of a preventable disaster that continues to have disastrous impacts. Over 40 years ago, the earthen dam of a nuclear waste disposal pond broke near… Read more »

OGHS: Because Healing Empowers

“Mama O” is a survivor, a healer. Her moment of greatest need led her to Black Women’s Blueprint, a civil and human rights organization headquartered in Brooklyn, New York. Since 2008, Black Women’s Blueprint is specifically focused on the needs of Black women and girls. At 65 years of age, Mama O is among the… Read more »

OGHS: Helping Day Laborers Strive for Fair Wages and Safe Working Conditions

When Payday is Not Promised Narciso, Feliciano, and Alberto labored hard on a construction project in the hot Arizona sun for several days. Though the work was demanding, the promise of payday kept these day laborers going. They had cupboards to fill and bills to pay. But payday presented an unwelcome surprise for these men…. Read more »

OGHS: Repairers of the Breach

What is “the church?” It’s a big question. Think about this: As the wider culture becomes less traditionally religious, the church—something we share as a congregation and individually hold dear in our hearts— becomes less understood, or misunderstood, by many. Like it or not, it’s a fact. And as hard as it is to admit,… Read more »