by The Rev. Deacon Clare Barry
With deep appreciation to the Diocese of Western North Carolina for its support of the Global Mission/Sustainable Development grants. Thank you for your sponsorship of this invaluable ministry to our brothers and sisters across the world, but also for our neighbors in our own Diocese. Outreach enables us to act as Christ’s hands and feet for those we will never meet or may not know God. In doing so, we act as Jesus’s evangelist as we live out the Gospel values into the world.
Name of Project: El Eden microbusiness Phase 2
Sponsoring parish: St. James Hendersonville
Grant Amount: $5,200
Project description: This Phase 2 project will advance a microbusiness (Preserving Fruits and Vegetables (Dehydrated, Precooked and Frozen), in the province of Guantanamo, Cuba under the auspices of All Saints Episcopal in Guantanamo, Cuba. The Diocese of Western North Carolina also funded this project in 2023 (Phase 1) through the Sustainable Development/Global Mission Grant. There is need for additional funding because of the recent events in Cuba: big demonstrations and unrest in Cuba (Nov. 2023- to the present), rolling power outages, even greater food shortages, rise in diesel fuel and petrol prices close to a 400% increase and shortages of close to every commodity. The goals for Phase 2 are to provide nourishing year-round food for the most vulnerable in the parish and in the community. This year will focus on food preservation being fully established. This project will serve at least 200 families (300 to 400 individuals) and provide new employment opportunities for another 2-4 local residents with skills to run micro-business. In addition, at least 50-75 families will receive year abound fruits and vegetables. The Church in Cuba has the potential to solve the humanitarian crisis in Cuba.
Name of Project: Emergency Support for the Al Ahli Arab Hospital, Gaza City in Northern Gaza and the Al Ahli Satellite Clinic in Rafa in Southern Gaza
Sponsoring Parish: St. James Hendersonville in partnership with the American Friends of the Diocese of Jerusalem.
Grant Amount: $7,842
Project Description: As the only Christian Hospital in the Gaza Strip. Episcopal Al Ahli Arab Hospital remains committed to staying open and caring for all people in need. Currently, this is the only charity hospital open in Northern Gaza, caring for all individuals treating 300-400 persons per day and performing 20 surgical operations a day. Since the current conflict began on October 7, Gaza’s health sector has faced catastrophic consequences. This hospital has treated over 18,000 patients The hospital’s Diagnostic Cancer Treatment Center and critical areas have sustained severe damage from Israeli airstrikes. This war has brutally impacted access to essential necessities like food, health and shelter. The health system is teetering on the brink of collapse with most hospitals non-operational. The conflict causes acute shortages of drinking water, food, fuel and crucial medical supplies. The outreach clinic in Rafah was established in April 2024 by a group of resilient doctors and staff displaced by the IDF operations in Gaza City. These individuals created a treatment center as a refuge for the 1.4 million Gazans fleeing the conflict. At this clinic, patients can receive specialized care and a pharmacy stocked with essential medications. The objectives of this grant include securing necessary resources, addressing emergent needs swiftly, and maintaining resilience in the face of evolving circumstances. The primary goal of this request is to help insure support for the Al Ahli Arab Hospital’s continuous operation to provide essential medical care in Northern Gaza and in their outreach clinic in Rafah.
Name of Project: Hart Veterans Rehab Center in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine
Sponsoring Parish: Grace in the Mountains Waynesville
Grant Amount: $7,843
The immediate objective of the Rehabilitation Center in Kyrvyi Rih involves providing physical, psychological and social rehabilitation for those affected by the current war. In particular, physical rehabilitation will include, but is not limited to the following: exercise therapy, therapeutic message and aqua therapy. The psychological support will incorporate, but is not limited to, the following: crisis counseling, group therapy and psychoeducation. Social rehabilitation will involve but is not limited to assistance in employment, integration into communities, referrals to necessary training activities and institutions. Currently, Ukraine has inadequate Veterans or Rehabilitative Services. The longer-term hope is that the HART Center will be a model for other locations throughout Ukraine. The Heart Center expects to serve about 400 persons a month or about 5,000 people a year. This grant can cover the costs to upfit two rooms which will provide psychological counseling, one cloak room and a day room for people to gather after psychological counseling or physical rehab sessions and toward a program shortfall of around $150,000-$160,000 toward purchasing a building. The project directly emanates from two Grace parishioners, John and Donna Culp, who felt called to go to Ukraine after an Adult Forum Study of Deitrick Bonhoffer’s book Life Together at Grace in the Mountains
Total Grant Amount Available: $20,885
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