Special 40th Anniversary Edition: Highlights from our Project Partners – past and present – in Chile, Colombia, India, Kenya, South Africa, and the USA

May 2014Vol. XXV - No. 1

A Publication of International Partners in Mission

FORGING CONNECTIONS:HonorIng tHE PASt, PlAnnIng for tHE fUtUrE

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FORGING CONNECTIONS:HonorIng tHE PASt, PlAnnIng for tHE fUtUrE

line or across the breakfast table never changed. In time our friendship transcended the potentially awkward relationship we shared as time-bound stewards of IPM. We spoke more and more about our faith, our families, and our plans for IPM’s next 40 years, and the inevitability of succession-planning and physical mortality…

As I think about all that IPM means to so many people around the world and continue with the exciting plans for IPM’s first-ever General Assembly to be held in Cleveland, OH, USA this coming October, I know that Paul is pleased. The seed he, Jim Mayer, Ken Mahler, and many of you, your family, and friends planted in 1974 has now nurtured over 341 Project Partnerships from which this year’s Partners will impact more than 60,000 lives around the world. The dreams they shared of making mission more personal has allowed over 1,600 people to participate on an IPM Immersion Experience since 2003. Important and impressive numbers, for sure, and a testament to a man I’ll never forget. His life was a loving personal legacy we shall proudly build upon for the next forty years! Peace,

Joseph F. Cistone April 30, 2014

Find Joe on Facebook at Joseph F. Cistone Follow Joe on Twitter @JosephCistone

on tHE CoVEr: IPM Foundress Sammy Mayer and co-founder Paul Strege pose for the camera just moments after blowing out the candles atop IPM’s 38th birthday cake in 2012. Paul’s genuine & heartfelt commitment to IPM’s mission throughout his life was an inspiration to the organization and everyone he met; his legacy will not be forgotten.

Sadly, I had no such time for end-of-life sharing with the other vital members of the IPM Family who were lost to us in the past year. Former Board member Paul Bente; former Project Partner Founders Derek Jenkins and Ken Mahler; generous friends Linda Diedrich and Eldon Heck; and the remarkable Project Coordinator Dr. Vimala Charles, were all remarkable examples of the deep personal commitments that have nurtured and sustained IPM these past forty years. As I have spoken and met with their surviving family members and friends, I have been reminded of the ties that bind the entire IPM Family.

I learned of Paul’s passing on my way to India from England where I had spent a jam-packed 24 hours with the surviving members of the Derek Jenkins-founded London Committee of the Kanyakumari Health Trust, and prepared for time in India with Doctor Charles’ surviving family, her fellow Trustees, and still-grieving colleagues. As I reflected with Paul’s son, Tim, on his father’s life and legacy, I knew that what he and Vimala shared was the same unfailing love and strength of purpose that lights up Sammy Mayer’s eyes on the cover of this issue of Connections and steels the spirit of the remarkable duo of Martha and Jennifer in Colombia.

Very few people have had as great an influence on my life as Paul and Vimala. But the beauty of IPM is for every one lost, another Sammy or Martha fills the void. IPM’s legacy of mission as a two-way-street – where we gain and learn as much as we ever offer our Project Partners from our material

abundance – is just as clear when it comes to the two-way-impact of the deep personal relationships we have with one another. Such relationships are made possible through our unique commitment to accompaniment, solidarity, and trust that Paul helped conceive and that is lived out, as the final stanza of our current Mission Statement proclaims, “across boundaries of culture, faith, and economic circumstance.”

I remember Paul’s first call to me in Rome in 1992 as if it was yesterday. It started in Paul’s always humble manner with: “Hello, Joe. Joe – (silence from the bad connection) – Joe this is Paul Strege…” His concluding lines went something like: “We received your letter and we think partnering with an inter-religious centre for refugees, in the crypt of an American Episcopal Church in the center of the heart of Roman Catholicism, is exactly the type of Project this formerly Lutheran organization should be a part of.”

This was pre-Skype and FaceTime, but over the past two decades that frisky demeanor and considerate voice on the other end of the

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the IPM family celebrates our 40th Anniversary this year, honoring the extraordinary contributions of those who have gone before us, and inspiring our continued planning for the next forty years. the spirit of IPM was never more evident than in the lifelong work of Paul Strege, who passed away earlier this Spring and whose death has left a hole in my soul and in that of this organization which he so loved. My colleague, Ilze fender, and I visited last with Paul a few days before his passing. Alone with him in St. louis it was clear that Paul never lost his zest for life and IPM. He peppered us with questions about our families and my recent travel to Colombia, (see related story on page 9). We assured him that he was loved and that his legacy had a reach far beyond measure.

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Martha and Jennifer in COLOMBIA are working with women and children to empower the local community. Read more about IPM Project Ser Mujer on Page 9.

Joe with Dr. Vimala Charles and Dr. Derek Jenkins, with Dr. Jenkins’ lifelong friend, Gesolmina, in Kent, ENGLAND in 2005.

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BOARD PROFILE – Margie Hojara-Hadsell

My bachelor’s degree is from the University of Notre Dame, where I graduated in the 2nd graduating class of women. My master’s degree is from Andrews University, and my major was educational psychology.

Personal life Statement/Mission: To live my life as an expression of the principals I believe in: Challenging myself to grow and learn, and openly appreciating the gifts of friendship, family, and teachers.

Skills/interests I bring to IPM: I believe I can be of assistance to IPM by utilizing my counseling and communication skills, and also through my experience with strategic planning techniques. I have some knowledge of disabilities that may be useful. I have a heart for the work of IPM.

How I think IPM is unique: IPM raises awareness of international social issues by creating understanding and awareness through Immersion Experiences. Funds are used to seed opportunities for individuals, particularly women.

Professional Background: 1994-present Michigan rehabilitation Services (MrS)MRS is the public entity that assists people with disabilities into employment through vocational counseling, accommodations, training/education, and personal support. I began as a counselor in a field office, and I was promoted to site manager, district manager, and finally to state division administrator. I support the field offices in their efforts in the provision of excellent counseling and guidance, and have responsibility for staff training and development for the agency which employs 460 people. I have loved helping people move into a world of independence and being part of the realization of their dreams. I have responsibility for a budget of approximately $12,000,000 in case services and for more than 75 staff members.

Prior to 1994, I worked with horses: riding, raising horses for racing purposes, and instructing. I became a therapeutic riding instructor in 1991, working with horses and children with disabilities where the horse is used as a therapeutic modality. This changed the course of my career.

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Where IPM should be heading: I believe that IPM offers powerful learning, and a spiritual journey that can be life-changing. I hope that IPM can continue to grow to be useful to more individuals, so that the Partners and donor base can continue to diversify.

My hope for IPM: …is that IPM continues to raise awareness of social issues throughout the world, and continues to empower individuals everywhere.

family and hobbies: I am married to Ron Hojara. He worked as a policeman in our home town of Niles, Michigan. He has great building and remodeling skills. We have three dogs and a horse. Ron’s son and his wife, Brad and Kari Hojara, are expecting their first child in June. We enjoy traveling, horseback riding, and shooting. We team-teach therapeutic horseback riding at Reins of Life on Saturdays. My mom, Emily Egan, supports IPM and has traveled with them numerous times.

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Margie Hojara-Hadsell (fourth from the left in purple) travelled to KENYA last September during an IPM Board & Friends Immersion Experience. IPM International Board Members, Staff & Friends are pictured against the majestic backdrop of Masai Mara, named in the indigenous Maasai people’s tongue for the “spotted” land.

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IPM MEMORIAL, TRIBUTE & SPECIAL GIFTSgifts received november 1, 2013 – April 13, 2014

We remain profoundly grateful to our friends and donors for their financial generosity in support of IPM’s mission. All gifts, whether made as a tribute or memorial remembrance, in succession as regular Monthly Partners in Mission or as a one-time special gift, are deeply appreciated. We are pleased to recognize the following contributions received in recognition of:

In a collaborative effort with The Central Michigan University (CMU) Clean Water Initiative and other NGO, institutional, and corporate partners, this past year IPM helped to implement a sustainable model for water purification in India in late October of 2013. Working from Ahmedabad, the location of IPM’s South Asia Regional Office, the Sawyer Water Filters were successfully distributed by IPM Regional Staff and student volunteers from the Biochemistry Department of St. Xavier’s College. Necessary research that validated the water purification model was done through St. Xavier’s Research Foundation, who also facilitated health and hygiene trainings throughout Ahmedabad communities. IPM is proud of our international partners, and grateful for their collaborative support!

IPM Regional Director for South Asia, Mahesh Upadyaya, (third from left in yellow) with student volunteers after successfully surveying the participating members of the Sawyer Water Filter distribution in the project’s initial stages.

The UN named 2013 an International Year of Water Cooperation. Working towards development goals and partnering with our indigenous Staff, IPM proudly announced our admittance into the United Nations Economic and Social Council in 2011, a premier international group of prominent academics, business sector representatives, and over 3200 NGO’s.

HonorAry gIftS:Art BusekistJoseph F. CistoneCarol FindlingJoan HoughMace Security InternationalKen* & Rhoda MahlerJim* & Sammy MayerGary MeadorFlo & Vic Saeger

MEMorIAl gIftS:Ralph BrodyVimala CharlesKathy Haase-FalboRon KwiloszKenneth L. MahlerKim McElaneyRaymond Moelter

Anna & William S. Smythe, Jr.Paul H. Strege nEW MontHly PArtnErS In MISSIon:Sarah GauvinMelanie Strout

MAjor & SPECIAl gIftS rECEntly rECEIVEd:AnonymousClaire BedardBrian & Julie BowersAlice & Charlie ButtsThe Camiener Foundation, OHPeter & Rita CarfagnaThe Char & Chuck Fowler Family

Foundation, OHClark Hill, PLC, MI

John & Laurie CunninghamLinda* & Fredrick DiedrichHank & Mary DollEaton Corporation Charitable

Fund, OHThe Ganlee Fund, NYGilmour Academy, OHCarolyn & Herbert GishlickGrace Lutheran Church, ILHyland Software, Inc., OHBev & Jim KamphoefnerKansas City Southern Matching

Gift Fund, MOEileen & James KeaneMarilyn & Ronald KoepkeLutheran Church of the Good

Shepherd, MOPatricia & Peter MayerJohn Mazza

Alice & Tim McCarthyJay & Jennifer McNallyDianne & Roger NeiswanderRPM, Inc., OHLarry SehySaint Joseph Academy, OHSt. Ignatius High School, OHConstance ValkIola & Neal VanstromGrace WeberYale University – St. Thomas

More Center, CTSenlin Zhang

*Deceased

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together, We Can transcend Borders of faith, Culture, and Economic Circumstance

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Steve Cullen (pictured above) was one of the first student leaders to take on a proactive role in assuring the water filter distribution’s success. Seeing the project entirely through, he is pictured here taste-testing water processed through the generously donated water filters. Cheers to collaborative initiatives!

Planned giving opportunities & IPM’s 1974 SocietyJoin us in celebrating our 40 year legacy of nurturing life-changing global partnerships, ensuring that IPM’s programs continue into the next 40 years by becoming a member of our 1974 Society. Planned gifts provide IPM with much-needed resources, and allow your commitment and dedication to IPM to be carried out as we celebrate our many anniversaries to come!

For more information about including IPM in your estate planning, creating an endowed named fund, or other charitable legacy gifts, please contact IPM at +1.216.932.4082.

Wish listSupport IPM by donating some of our “wish list” items! Contact the IPM Office for more information at +1.866.932.4082 (toll-free).

• Computers/Laptops (new or like-new condition)

• LCD/LED Projector• Office Filing Cabinets• Skype-friendly headsets• TV with built-in DVD player

A two-Way Street: giving Hours & Experience IPM remains profoundly grateful to our dedicated volunteers who continue to give so generously of their time and talent to help us grow and expand IPM’s reach of global partnerships. There are countless opportunities to volunteer with IPM: Lend your energy and ideas to our Global Citizens Program, International Visitors programs, and PR/Marketing campaigns, or help to expand IPM’s impact through social media, by joining a special event planning committee, or through general office & technical support.

For more information regarding volunteer opportunities, please contact IPM at +1.866.932.4082 (toll free) or by visiting our website at www.ipmconnect.org. Please be sure to bookmark us as a “Favorite.” Also, “Like” us on Facebook! Visiting us online is an incredible way to get on-the-ground updates from our Regional Staff around the world, the latest information regarding our Immersion Experience travel opportunities, and all the recent news in IPM happenings around the world!

IPM HonorSIPM Celebrations in the United States

On November 8, 2013, IPM held its Annual Luncheon at Windows on the River (Cleveland, OH) with over 200 guests in attendance. Randell (Randy) McShepard, of RPM International Inc., was honored with the Richard E. Sering Award for his remarkable personal and professional support of IPM since 2001, and especially for his vision and dedication to IPM’s Cleveland Municipal School District scholarship Immersion Experience Programs. IPM Project Partner, Speranza II/Project of Hope (Castel Volturno, ITALY) received the 2013’s Kathleen T. Mink Project Partner Award for its exemplary work of providing a safe-haven, coordinating educational programming, and creating microenterprise opportunities for West African women who are survivors of human trafficking and exploitation.

May 2014

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IPM’s Annual luncheon reflects Another Successful year of IPM Partnerships & Progress!

IPM Luncheon Co-Chair & new International Board Member, Larisa Goldman of Eaton Corporation, (center) pictured with honorees Sr. Anthonia Ugheighele and Sr. Cecilia Dimaku of IPM’s Speranza II/Project of Hope, recipient of the 2013 Kathleen T. Mink Project Partner Award.

Luncheon Co-Chair, Jan Roller of Davis & Young (left) presents Randell McShepard with the 2013 Richard E. Sering Award. Dick Sering was a personal inspiration to Randy.

Wanda M. Shealey, Educator: Flexible Content Expert, Library & Textbook Services, of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD), shared a heartfelt reflection of the transformative growth she has witnessed in students she works with daily upon returning from an IPM Immersion Experience Program (IEP). In January of 2014, CMSD students completed their third scholarship Immersion Experience Program, made possible through a 3-year grant provided by The Cleveland Foundation and members of Northeast Ohio’s corporate and philanthropic communities. On behalf of CMSD, Wanda expressed her gratitude to Randy and RPM, Inc. for their leadership in launching this initiative. IPM continues to pursue scholarship funding opportunity so that such life-changing experiences may continue to be available to public school students nationwide.

Women of Project Partner ACACCPAMU (El SALVADOR) were thrilled to receive one of the six digital cameras donated by our generous supporters in response to our recent Wish List request.

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May 2014

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IPM Celebrates its 40th Anniversary In SAInt loUIS, Mo, oUr foUndIng CIty!

Over the years and with your support, IPM has helped seed more than 341 life-changing Project Partnerships across five continents, impacting more than 60,000 people annually! Through our Immersion Experience Program, over 1,500 people have seen the world through the eyes of our Project Partners, and learned firsthand that giving and receiving are part of a “two-way street” model of living made tangible through travel facilitated by IPM. We may have provided more than $10 million in Project Partner funding to date, but our most important contribution far exceeds anything that can be measured monetarily: We have built lasting connections that transcend the barriers of faith, culture, and economic circumstance.

We are delighted to begin our series of celebratory 40th Anniversary events in Saint louis, the city where it all began, on May 10, 1974! As we celebrate our milestone this year, we look forward to building upon the extraordinary legacy propelled by the inspiring vision, leadership, and commitment set forth by our co-founders, jim Mayer and Paul Strege.

Peter & Jim Mayer performing at IPM’s 2009 Brunch. Their sound and artistic presence was appreciated by all in attendance. Thank you, Peter & Jim, for your continued & gracious support of IPM!

Ellen Hilgendorf-Mead with her late husband, Dennis Hilgendorf.

A special thanks to International Board Members Stephanie Hiedemann, donna Kwilosz, Michael Mayor, and larry Sehy, who concluded their service on the IPM Board in 2013. your time, energy, and enthusiasm is deeply appreciated!

Current IPM International Board Member, Gary Meador, presents a small token of appreciation to Mike Mayor at IPM’s Annual Luncheon in November in recognition of Mike’s generous service to IPM as Treasurer & as an active member of the Executive Committee.

In conjunction with our semi-annual International Board of Directors meeting May 8-10, we invite you to celebrate this historic benchmark in St. Louis by joining us at the following events:

Peter Mayer Concert Friday, May 9th, 7:00pm • Featuring Peter, Jim, & Brendan MayerAt the First Congregational Church of St. Louis (UCC), 6501 Wydown Boulevard, St. Louis, MO 63105

IPM’s Annual donor Appreciation BrunchSaturday, May 10th, 10:30am-12:30pmAt the St. Thomas/Holy Spirit Lutheran Church, 3980 S. Lindbergh Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63127

This year’s Donor Brunch will include a special tribute to IPM Co-Founder & cherished friend, Paul H. Strege, who passed away on March 31, 2014. We are also pleased to present this year’s 2014 Mayer-Strege Award to dennis Hilgendorf* & Ellen Hilgendorf-Mead for their extraordinary commitment to IPM’s work with our Project Partners fostering justice, peace, and hope around the world, and especially through their longtime connection to Lebanon and the Middle East. *to be awarded posthumously

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this year, IPM celebrates our 40th Anniversary! through a series of programmatic, strategic, and resource mobilization activities to guide and shape IPM’s coming decade, we look forward to solidifying and expanding our existing programs while significantly raising IPM’s organizational impact and public profile!

We are pleased to formally announce a special 40th Anniversary Campaign goal of $400,000 for the coming year! A new Project Partner Reserve Fund of no less than $300,000 will allow IPM, for the first time in our 40-year history, to guarantee donations intended for each Project Partner in advance of their respective program’s implementation. Building on this momentum, by IPM’s 50th Anniversary in 2024, we hope to have secured a new $3 million Project Partner Endowment Fund.

The additional $100,000 goal is sought to plan and deliver IPM’s inaugural General Assembly in October, 2014 and to underwrite creation, distribution, and promotion of a new series of educational and marketing materials, with a special focus on social media. As of April 19, IPM has secured $135,000 toward this $400,000 goal.

We are thrilled to announce that IPM has received an anonymous commitment for $40,000 as a matching gift challenge to IPM’s friends and donors in support of our Annual Fund Campaign. Every dollar you give, up to $40,000, will be matched dollar for dollar raising crucial funds in support of our mission and vision around the world. Please consider making a special contribution to IPM’s Where Needed Most Fund today! Every dollar you give is doubled, multiplying the impact of your generous support! By meeting this match, you provide IPM with the flexibility we need to live out our mission.

The successful completion of this 40th Anniversary Campaign and the implementation of related initiatives shall substantively affirm IPM’s unique mission and position IPM to develop a major endowment campaign to coincide with IPM’s 50th Anniversary in 2024. Further information on the 40th Anniversary Campaign is available from IPM. Please contact Joseph F. Cistone at +1.216.235.3213 or jfcistone@ipmconnect.org directly to discuss IPM’s exciting 40th Anniversary Campaign!

IPM’s First-Ever General Assembly coming to Cleveland, OH this October!Become a part of IPM’s rich history by joining us at our first-ever General Assembly in Cleveland, OH, October 12-17, 2014! Building upon IPM’s three-year cycle of Strategic Planning Retreats and related annual Regional Conferences, the General Assembly will include a core group of 40 stakeholders from IPM’s international constituencies who shall come together to deepen and broaden IPM’s governance model and strategic direction in a more inclusive and international approach.

In partnership with local universities and philanthropic partners, each day of the Assembly will include at least two public presentations from recognized experts in an area of programmatic interest to IPM and our university partners. Keynote speaker, Rick Steves, a PBS Travel icon and author of Travel as a Political Act, will join us for several venues throughout the day and evening of October 17. The 2014 Annual Awards Presentation (October 15) and Namaste! Multi-Cultural Celebration (October 16) shall

IPM lAUnCHES A40th Anniversary Campaign

also take place during the week, highlighting Northeast Ohio’s connection to the world.

The 40th Anniversary activities provide excellent avenues for the creation and distribution of educational and marketing materials that share the IPM story. A new publication with the working title of 40 Stories for 40 Years is projected for completion this Spring, a revised video and refreshed website are in the offing, and a new Strategic Planning document is one of the eagerly-anticipated outcomes of the General Assembly.

International Board Members, like Xenia Chevez of Nindiri, NICARAGUA, will join IPM Staff, Donors, Friends, and the general public in Cleveland, OH for IPM’s inaugural General Assembly.

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2014 Projected Revenue & Expense

2014 ProjECtEd rEVEnUE: Annual Giving $320,000 Grants/Planned/Special Gifts $500,000 40th Anniversary/General Assembly $ 80,000 Special Events $ 40,000 Immersion Experience Program $421,880 Earned, Investment & In-Kind $ 42,500

revenue total: $1,404,380

2014 ProjECtEd ExPEnSES: Education & Outreach $189,224 Immersion Experience Program* $482,376 Organizational Development $138,656 Project Grants & Donations $155,000 Project Development $225,681 Programs Subtotal: $1,190,937

Resource Development $ 83,064 Administration $ 55,372 Administration Subtotal: $138,436

Expense total: $1,329,373

Annual Giving$320,000

Immersion Experiences$421,880

Earned, Investment & In-Kind$42,500

Special Events$40,000

40th Anniversary/General Assembly

$ 80,000

Grants/Planned/Special Gifts

$500,000

Education & Outreach$189,224

Immersion Experience Program*$482,376

Organizational Development

$138,656

Project Grants & Donations$155,000

Project Development

$225,681

We are pleased to report that IPM received a clean audit again in 2013! The most up-to-date financial information is available at www.ipmconnect.org and via Guidestar. For the seventh straight year, over 90% of our overall budget is dedicated to programs & partnerships.

*The Immersion Experience Program “deficit” is derived from IPM charging other programmatic and operational fees, such as Indigenous Leadership Development (see photo below) to this category, and does not reflect an operational deficit for the program.

IPM Project Partners & Staff came together in Managua, NICARAGUA in 2013 for the Latin America & Caribbean Regional Conference where IPM facilitated an opportunity for information-sharing and the development of cross-cultural connection.

Resource Development

$83,064

Administration$55,372

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connections focus: Women

Ser MuJer: (Ibagué, COLOMBIA)

Ser Mujer, or “to Be Women”, aims to foster a sense of community among the women of Ibagué and to enable their social and financial mobilization. Many of the women have children in IPM’s Niños Trabajadores, also located in Ibagué, allowing the two Projects to act symbiotically; while children are provided a safe environment to play, learn, and feed their creativity, their mothers take the time to congregate and learn essential job-training — allowing them to eventually gain upward financial mobility and prevent their children from having to work to assist in providing for the family.

In its first years partnering with IPM, the Project directly benefitted over 80 women in the area, and in coming years, the women of Ser Mujer plan to establish communication with other women’s groups in order to grow an interdependent network of empowered females that can collaborate and exchange information among one another.

The two main income-generating skills trainings that Project Partners of Ser Mujer have decided to focus on are handcrafts and hair and beauty services. Recently, the women were taught how to make flowers from paper of different colors and textured materials. These crafts can then be sold at market, and the skills acquired can be applied to the creation of other handcraft items for future potential income.

Interested in learning more about becoming a participant in an inaugural 2015 Immersion Experience in COLOMBIA with IPM CEO Joseph Cistone, and meeting the women of Ser Mujer in person? Contact Melanie Strout at mstrout@ipmconnect.org.

Please consider supporting the women of Ser Mujer by donating today! For more information on giving options or to learn how you can become a Monthly Partner in Mission for this and other projects, contact Ilze Fender at ifender@ipmconnect.org.

Women of Ser Mujer are taught income-generating activities in a field of their choosing — like cosmetology or handcrafts — and use these job skills to provide for their families and keep their children out of the work force.

A cosmetology skills training course is now offered to teach the women transferable job skills of the high-demand industry. Because people employed in cosmetology can often work independently from their homes and make their own hours, the field is very appealing to a majority of Ser Mujer’s members. Due to the success of its piloted classes, the course has expanded its capacity to be available to women outside of the initial Project cooperative, growing the overall Project impact for women in the community.

In early March, along with tens of thousands of people all over the world — including several of IPM’s Regional Offices! — Ser Mujer celebrated International Women’s Day with the sharing of food, laughter, and life experiences, making the UN-recognized international holiday an inspiring community-building event. Most recently, the momentum from that gathering was used to pioneer a vocal campaign to combat violence against women worldwide. The women created signs, posters, and other informational material to empower people of the community to speak out against violence, with many displaying the perceptive campaign title: “Silence hurts more.”

IPM is proud of this Project’s exponential growth, and is looking forward to piloting our first-ever Immersion Experience Program to COLOMBIA in 2015!

In a recent public campaign to combat violence against women in COLOMBIA, IPM Project Partners created signs, posters, and informational material with the slogan: Caller duele mas, or Silence hurts more.

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Recent expansion and accessibility of the current training program has been made possible by the decision to relocate their main facilities near the west side of Cleveland in 2011, which has enabled the Project to reach out to local agencies and area churches, building a larger network of individuals who can now utilize the training and job placement programs. Just since January of 2014, twelve trainees have successfully completed the program, and two are already employed — one of whom was offered a job internally at Esperanza Threads! Several others have been connected with local clothing and manufacturing companies, and are preparing for interviews and processing. In the current and continuing economic downturn — both in the USA and globally — IPM and Esperanza Threads are grateful to be able to provide practical job training and a way to provide financial independence for local women and their families.

Upcoming initiatives for Esperanza Threads as the Project continues to grow and offer support for the greater Cleveland community include a three-month paid apprenticeship. The apprentice(s) would be taught skills in manufacturing, and assist

with meeting production demands for other companies that Esperanza Threads contracts with. This will provide an opportunity for continued hands-on training in the job field for individuals who complete the initial basic training, and will offer a chance to represent Esperanza Threads in workshops and in the clothing retail industry.

Support initiatives that are building employment opportunities for women at Esperanza Threads today! Visit their website at www.esperanzathreads.com to see products and where their organic, locally-made clothing can be purchased nearest you!

Please consider supporting the life-changing work of women-led initiatives at Esperanza Threads. For more information on giving options or to learn how you can become a Monthly Partner in Mission for this and other projects, contact Ilze Fender at ifender@ipmconnect.org.

Since 2003, IPM has been in partnership with esperanza Threads in support of their mission to provide free vocational training to individuals, allowing them to overcome barriers to employment and giving them the opportunity to build a career. Working with migrant workers, re-located refugees, and local women from Cleveland, esperanza Threads operates two programs: a vocational training and job placement program in industrial sewing and a clothing retail and manufacturer site that emphasizes organic materials and practices.

connections focus: Women

eSPerANzA ThreAdS: (Cleveland, OH, USA)

IPM Project Coordinator, Sister Mary Eileen, with Project Partners, providing technical assistance and a kind smile.

Women at Esperanza Threads learn to make hand-sewn bags and clothing items from organic materials.

The Project provides vocational training in transferable job skills that enable its participants to seek employment locally.

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InSErt PHotoS:

May 2014

from 1998-2004, IPM was a proud partner of hlomelikusasa, a women’s empowerment group based in rural communities around durban, SoUtH AfrICA. Meaning “skills for the future” in Zulu, hlomelikusasa provided just that to rural women who were “at the receiving end of the worst of the apartheid legacy” stated the 1997 Christians linked in Mission Connections newsletter that first introduced the project to its north American Partners.

Founded in 1994 with the support of the Episcopal Church of South Africa, the organization’s original intention was to train paralegals to aid women suffering from domestic violence and to open domestic abuse

connections focus: WomenSpecial feature: Celebrating 40 years 1974-2014

hloMelikuSASA: (Durban, SOUTH AFRICA)advice offices in the Eastern Cape provinces of Kwazulu and Natal. Over the next few years, Hlomelikusasa expanded not only its regional offices, but also began to offer new programs to empower women with three primary goals: HIV/AIDS awareness & education, skills-training for financial independence, and the empowerment of women through leadership roles within society.

The HIV/AIDS campaign worked to de-stigmatize the pandemic while providing workshops on the treatment and care of those affected by the disease. At the 2001 International AIDS Conference held in Durban, a 400 meter quilt was draped across City Hall, constructed from patches of fabric decorated by women from across South Africa. The contribution from Hlomelikusasa read: “Hey! Rural Women speak with a big voice!” — a testament to the women’s commitment to be heard in the struggle against HIV/AIDS.

The Project taught women the skill of creating handicrafts, and also in harvesting vegetables,

assisting them in the difficult task of finding appropriate and fair markets for these goods. By helping the women to realize their role in community, Hlomelikusasa was teaching important values of self-confidence and self-sufficiency. Working with the People’s Decade for Human Rights Education (DHRE), the women soon took on more vocal decision-making roles in their communities. In one example, women wrote letters to pressure the local government to adapt an outdated law that stated, in the case of a husband’s death, all property would be passed on to the firstborn son rather than his surviving spouse.

Hlomelikusasa organized over 300 women representing 14 different communities, representing a collective population close to 1 million. Keeping with IPM’s longstanding model of partnership that supports replicable and self-sustaining Projects, Hlomelikusasa is one of many success stories of Partnership that enabled women of Durban to become empowered through self-led and self-sufficient efforts.

rieTi AgriCulTurAl ProJeCT: (Bondo, KENYA)In Sub-Saharan Africa, IPM is supporting initiatives with Projects that share hlomelikusasa’s vision for women’s empowerment. At rieti Agricultural Project, a cooperative farm is planted, maintained, and harvested through sustainable growing techniques that enable the land to give back to the community as efficiently as possible, given the area’s limited water resources.

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In 2014, IPM continues to partner with women-led cooperatives that build confidence & self-reliance!

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May 2014

Due to continued irrigation problems, dry seasons, like this year’s, can negatively affect the harvest of vegetables — like maize and plantains — that provide essential variety and health benefits to the local community’s diet. This attention to water scarcity has driven the Project’s leaders to collaborate in making the yield as successful as possible, even in spite of rainfall elements that are beyond their control.

Napier grass, a species of indigenous grass that requires little water and land nutrients to flourish, provides grazing space for the residential cows of the farm. While giving sustenance to the farm’s livestock, the grass also helps to improve the soil’s quality, prevent erosion, and deters pests from the maize crops. The more seasoned members of the cooperative share learned experience — like the utilization of native plants — to create an information-sharing hub on the farm grounds. Informal training in the selection and intercropping of vegetables — beans and maize are interspersed so that they can benefit one another through their natural growth cycles — then spreads throughout the cooperative to its younger or novice members.

While new efforts are being discussed to market the excess produce for additional income-earning purposes, the project could arguably be valued solely as a communal gathering place for people to exchange information and ideas, and to build those essential partnerships that IPM has made its mission to nurture. Women work together in alternating shifts, willingly trading off on manual labor when members need to return home for family obligations. In this way, the Project provides food, training, and communal support to the women it serves.

IPM is proud of the growth at Rieti Agricultural Project, but we know more can be done with your help! Please consider supporting the women’s recently expressed need for technical assistance. For more information on giving options or to learn how you can become a Monthly Partner in Mission for this and other projects, contact Ilze Fender at ifender@ipmconnect.org.

Special feature: Celebrating 40 years 1974-2014 (continued)

Livestock that make their homes at Rieti Agricultural Project’s farm provide milk for the community and are sustained by an indigenous species of grass.

IPM Project Coordinator, Sister Gladys, proudly displays a recent harvest of plantains, one of the farm’s staple crops and a basic necessity to the Kenyan diet.

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May 2014

CElEBrAtIng 40 yEArS of Changing Lives Around the World: 1974-2014

In loving Memory of our founders

looking back to 1982: ePeS (education Popular en Salud) (Santiago, CHIlE)IPM Project Partner for a collective, non-consecutive 11 years

Jim and Sammy Mayer Paul and Vercile Strege

On May 10, 1974, Paul Strege, Jim Mayer, and others made real a vision to create meaningful change through partnership, both domestically and abroad. Later that year, IPM (then PIM, or Partners in Mission) launched its first Projects in Costa Rica, New Guinea, the Philippines, and across the United States, grounding our work in understanding mission as a two-way street, where we gain and learn more than we can ever hope to give from our material abundance.

In 2002, EPES celebrated 20 Years, working together with people for a healthy and dignified life.

By the early 1980s, EPES was recognized internationally by the World Health Organization and others as one of the best health education programs in the world. Throughout the next two decades, IPM Project Partners within the program, that began as health students, grew to become the educators in life-saving information on preventative medicine, sanitation, women’s health, and women’s rights. By 2002, EPES had served more than 10,000 individuals from Chile’s barrios.

“These were times when promoting women’s health, or women’s right to health,

was seen as subversive and women who were the health promoters were

vulnerable to violence — themselves and their families — because of speaking out

for women’s rights. in those days, you just had to throw up your banner, do a really

quick demonstration, and then leave and hide. At times, i was scared. i was scared

to be in Chile, but i figured that if other foreign workers could be there, i could be

there too… it wasn’t just any old organization that would support something like

this, like EPES. But iPM was open and was supportive. i think that iPM always has

gone deeper than other organizations in trying to address the causes…and

to address the justice issue involved in doing service work.”

–Jane Sullivan-Davis, Former International Board Member & past EPES Affiliate

You can look forward to reading more about IPM’s long history of partnership with EPES in the highly anticipated 40 Stories for 40 Years collection of firsthand accounts from Project Partners & Friends of IPM, a compilation of stories that share the individual experiences of partnership with IPM over the past 40 years.

(continued on next page)

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Changing lives Around the World: 1974-2014 (continued)

2001: Joseph F. Cistone, then Board member and former IPM Project Coordinator at the Joined Hands Refugee Center in Rome, ITALY, becomes IPM’s fourth Executive Director, and IPM opens its International Headquarters in Cleveland, Ohio. A year later, in 2002, the mission of standing in solidarity with all people in the sharing of the human experience becomes transparent in the organization’s reclaimed name: IPM (International Partners in Mission).

2003-2013: Since launching the Immersion Experience Program, IPM has facilitated international and domestic travel for over 1500 individuals, extending IPM’s initial vision of solidarity to corporate groups, congregations, and schools and making the opportunity to enter into a “two-way street” partnership accessible to more people than ever before.

todAy: In the last 40 years, IPM has maintained its founding values of accompaniment, solidarity, and trust while evolving to remain relevant in the ever-changing spectrum of international development. In 2014 alone, our tangible human connections now number over 60 through Project Partners and donor-driven initiatives in some 20 countries around the world, impacting the lives of more than 60,000 people annually. Thank you for your faith and continued support of IPM’s vision to work across borders of faith, culture, and economic circumstance with children, women, and youth to create partnerships that build justice, peace, and hope. Here’s to the next 40 years!

1988: Partners in Mission (PIM) comes to be known as Christians Linked in Mission (CLM) to reflect its ecumenical focus with the leadership of Executive Director & Co-Founder, Paul Strege.

1997: Founding Staff Member, Bernie Marquardt-Wilde, is named IPM’s third Executive Director, and facilitates an important transitional stage of IPM’s history.

Bill Hinkley, Marjorie Richterkessing, and Joseph Cistone.

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Recognizing Need by Nadine Feighan

The Journey of a Lifetime

The scene before me is one that you have seen a hundred times. This particular time, I am in India, but it could be in any country that we Americans might consider “poor” or “third world.” There are people waiting in line for food in a dusty yard. Two tables are set up with large pots on them, and women in saris are ladling out food onto the tin plate each person in the line carries. When they get to the table, each person takes a spoon out of a tin bucket.

I imagine Americans coming to the conclusion that these must be hungry people living in poverty at a meal program, probably sponsored by some international aid group. There are no chairs to sit on, and people are eat while standing or sitting on the curb. Our hearts go out to these people, when in reality, they are neither poor, and arguably not any more hungry than you or I. They are waiting in line for lunch at an ashram in the south of India, just as anyone waits for food at the lunch hour. We have most likely come to the aforementioned assumption based on pictures we have seen, stories we have been told, and charities we have given to.

It made me wonder how we recognize need.

IPM was founded by two Lutheran missionaries, Jim Mayer and Paul Strege, who discovered that due to a split in their church, the programs they were assigned and dedicated to were without funding. With friends and loyal supporters, they created Partners in Mission. The need not to let good work and support for those struggling efforts in far-away countries diminish had become apparent. The awareness that the Lutherans weren’t the only religious group doing this underfunded work, also became apparent.

PIM expanded to include other Christian religious groups and, eventually, all faiths. The need that spurred this expansion was twofold: the obvious need for program funding, and secondly, the need of those involved in PIM to stretch their religious identity, their need to expand their circle of faith.

PIM evolved into International Partners in Mission. The idea of Partnership now exceeded funding-based relationships to include actual human connection. But what did this mean? The need to understand what co-founder, Jim Mayer, said on many occasions: We don’t do mission work to bring God to the poor and oppressed, but rather, to discover God there, amongst them as we share their struggles for justice and liberation. How can you be a partner to someone you don’t really know?

An idea began to form, and the Immersion Experience Program (IEP) trips were created. They were not to be like other church-type trips to foreign lands to do good deeds; they were to be trips to meet our Partners, be their guests, and to have them show us what their lives

Nadine Feighan (back row, center) with IPM’s Sub-Saharan & Northeast Ohio Advisory Councils in KENYA in 2004, one year after her pilot Immersion Experience Program with IPM to NICARAGUA.

were like. The trips would raise money for IPM and its Project Partners, and hopefully break both of us out of our stereotypical thinking about the other – brilliant.

In 2003, my daughter Lauren and I were two of the first IEP participants. Along with some close friends and new friends made along the journey, we visited IPM Project Partners in Nicaragua. We sat on our “American helpful hands” and were served homemade food by the Partners. One particular community even cleared old river beds so that we could get our van to their village. We were invited into their small homes and their night schools and let into their lives –not so much because they wanted our funding, but because they wanted to show us who they were, their aspirations, and their accomplishments. It was humbling and eye-opening and beautiful.

There is a deep need we all share to be known as we are, as ourselves. I know scenes like the people standing in the food line in front of me, where I am also eating, are not always what they seem. But how would one know, unless you go and meet another face to face? How would you realize the world is not what you see in National Geographic or tabloids, and not what you think it might be, but that we share a sameness, even with those who seem so different? And that the need you perceive, might not be a need at all?

IPM’s IEPs help to break down barriers, and to fulfill a need in our souls for contact and connection, for recognition and acceptance. They have evolved together with their Partners in continuous conversation about what mission means for all people involved.

“Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all people cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends.”

– Maya Angelou

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my faith my journey –

By Sarah Fredriksen McCann, Italy Immersion Experience Participant, December 2013/January 2014

Our family takes nativity-scene collecting seriously, perhaps even obsessively. We currently own approximately 320 nativity scenes, more if you count our tree ornaments, table-runners, and pop-up Christmas cards. So when our family arrived in Italy at the start of our IPM Immersion Experience, we were giddy with delight in discovering that each church we visited displayed nativity scenes in their sanctuaries, if not outside their doors as well. Of course, it should not have been all that surprising, as our trip began in the heart of the Christmas season (Christmas does indeed last for 12 days in Italy!). But the consistent centrality of the displays was what I found to be most striking.

The immersion took us to the town of Assisi, home of St. Francis, who was reputed to have created the very first nativity scene in 1223. Here, not only churches, but restaurants, shops, grocery stores, bakeries, cafés – everywhere! – displayed nativity scenes that each showcased their distinct creativity, artistry, and cultural uniqueness.

Why focus on the nativity scenes, when we also viewed wondrous works of Renaissance art, delved into the complex history of the Church, and witnessed powerful current examples of Christ’s mission? Because it all starts with the nativity! That is to say, for a person of the Christian faith, the story of

the Incarnation, or God’s birth among us in human flesh, is our center.

Scholar Lois Malcolm puts it this way: “If we take the incarnation seriously—that the Word, indeed, became flesh and dwelt among us, and that God’s glory is truly found there—and if we interpret this to have universal implications for what God is doing through Christ throughout the world, then certain implications follow. A central one is that all cultures can give witness to God’s glory, and not merely in an arbitrary sense, but in a truly sacramental sense of being in and of themselves, their very concreteness, the place where God’s presence and activity is fully known and experienced.”1

It seems to me that the purpose of IPM embodies this centrality and diversity, to its core. From India to Italy, from Nepal to Nicaragua, from Kenya to Colombia, IPM and its Project Partners reflect the incarnational “concreteness” of which Malcolm speaks. To travel with IPM is to become profoundly aware that God is indeed at work throughout the world, in every country and in all cultures. It is a privilege and a joy to participate in partnership “that builds justice, peace, and hope.”

Nowhere on our trip was this joy more palpable than when we traveled south of

Rome to visit the Nigerian Sisters of the Sacred Heart in Castel Volturno. This group of Sisters oversee Speranza II, an IPM partner that provides resources, including housing, counseling, and job training, for women who have been exploited by human trafficking. Most importantly, they create a loving community for the women and their children, empowering the once-exploited women to offer that same love, care, and support for each other. The hospitality of both the Sisters and the resident women and their families was overwhelming to our small group, and deeply reflected the incarnational hospitality of our loving, gracious God.

My family and I brought back 38 nativity scenes. (I told you we are obsessive!) All of them were small enough to be tucked into suitcases and backpacks with little trouble. However, the true gift of our Immersion Experience was to see the incarnation, not just in shop windows, but also in the work of justice and peace, love and understanding. It was a gift that cannot be packed away, but lingers on in my thoughts and lives on in the mission of IPM and its Partners.

1 Lois Malcolm, “Teaching as Cultivating Wisdom for a Complex World” in The Scope of Our Art: The Vocation of the Theological Teacher, ed. by L. Gregory Jones and Stephanie Paulsell (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2002), pp.146-147.

Taking the Incarnation Seriously

Sarah McCann, Pastor at Hope UCC in St. Louis, MO, in Siena, ITALY on the New Year’s in Italy/Friends of IPM Immersion Experience.

A nativity scene outside of the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in Assisi, ITALY.

The McCann family, Clint, Sarah, Annalise, and Ian (from left to right), in front of the world-renowned Villa Borghese Museum in Rome, ITALY.

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Kids of Back to School in Xuchang, CHINA. Children waving at the Kandula Community Project in Machakos, KENYA. Can you smile like these students at St. Martin de Porres school in Nyabondo, KENYA?

IPM Immersion Experience Programs are short-term travel opportunities for individuals and groups where participants learn firsthand from IPM Project Partners around the world. IPM offers Immersion Experiences in Brazil, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, India, Italy, Nepal, Nicaragua, Kenya, Tanzania, and across the United States to build cross-cultural relationships so that participants can gain a greater understanding of the global realities of poverty and injustice. For more information on upcoming open Immersion Experiences, or to book an Immersion Experience Program for your class, congregation, or community group, please contact Melanie Strout at mstrout@ipmconnect.org or 207.801.9020.

have you enjoyed reading about iPM, and people like you all over the world? Were any of the women in the pictures doing things you’ve watched your mother do at home, like gardening or sewing? See how much you remember from this magazine by filling in the blanks below! (Pssst…you can find all the answers by flipping back through it!)

kidsconnections

May 2014Vol. xxV

no. 1

1. Margie Hojara-Hadsell, an IPM Board Member, travelled to ______________________ last September.

2. Peter, Jim, and Brendan ________________ played instruments and sang in a concert for IPM to celebrate our 40th birthday on Friday, May 9.

3. Ser Mujer means ______________________ in Spanish.

4. Esperanza Threads is an IPM Project Partner located in ______________________, Ohio.

5. Sister Gladys is pictured in Kenya displaying ______________________, a crop that looks an awful lot like bananas!

Find at least three things you have in common with the children in the photos. They are all part of the global iPM Family – just like you!

“The best thing you can do is to come here, get to know this place, and let it break your heart. Then take that broken heart back to your own country and tell people about it…help your country become a better neighbor to this one. That begins with getting to know us.”

– Dean Brackley, SJ, EL SALVADOR

Cara Weberresearch & Programs Assistant

Cara Weber joined IPM in June 2013 as an undergraduate Research Intern working on a project to celebrate IPM’s 40th Anniversary. In January of 2014, she transitioned into the role of Research & Programs Assistant where she continues her research project while assisting with IEP coordination and Project Partner support.

Cara is in her final year at College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, Maine, and works from IPM’s Executive Offices. Her academic focus is developing agricultural systems under relief and development aid with a particular interest in the Middle East. Cara came to IPM after studying at the University of Jerusalem in Abu Dis, West Bank. She shares IPM’s value of learning from everyone around her to create a more just and peaceful world.

raluca Besliuresource development trainee

Originally from Romania, Raluca is a passionate advocate for women and children’s rights, refugee and human rights, as well as peace and post-conflict reconstruction. She has published multiple articles on these topics with various online news sources and magazines, and graduated from the University of Oxford with a MSc in Refugees and Forced Migration, after receiving her bachelor degree at Vassar College, majoring in International

Studies. Among other things, for five years, she was involved in supporting the sustainable development efforts of the Haitian village of Chermaitre, which she visited in 2008. Fluent in English, French, Romanian, and Spanish, and with intermediate proficiency in Russian, Raluca is an appreciated asset as IPM continues to grow the Immersion Experience Program.

Who’s Who at IPM

Best of luck, Molly Rehak!The IPM Family would like to extend our congratulations & well wishes to colleague & friend, Molly Rehak, as she transitions into graduate school at the University of Akron to pursue a Masters Degree in Social Work.

Molly joined the IPM Staff as a Volunteer Fellow in August of 2010 after graduating from Xavier University in Cincinnati, OH with a major in Social Work and a minor in Spanish. During her undergraduate career, she spent the spring semester of 2009 living with a host family in Managua, Nicaragua, working and studying at a soy co-op. She first travelled with IPM to El Salvador as a student at Magnificat High School in Rocky River, OH, and later spoke about her experience at the Annual Luncheon held that year with the passion and poise of someone far beyond her high school years.

In 2012, Molly began a new role as the Director of Programs and Partnerships at IPM, and has connected hundreds of people to IPM’s Project Partners through the Immersion Experience Program, truly embracing IPM’s partnership model with her approachable attitude and unwavering dedication to forging connections, both in the U.S. and abroad. She will be dearly missed – but we will look forward to her accompaniment with the IPM Family for years to come! Thank you for your partnership, Molly, and best of luck in graduate school!

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Please make note of the updates made to our Project Partner list since our last issue of Connections!

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WoMEn gEnErAl fUnd IPM supports projects devised by women to address their unique needs and to ensure their personal dignity.

ColoMBIA (Ibague) Women’s Community Project/Ser MuJer provides micro-enterprise opportunities for low-income mothers of Ibague.

BrAZIl (Uberlandia) The Agro-ecological resource Center (AFeS) promotes the development of agricultural practices that are less harmful to the environment and sustainable over time.

doMInICAn rEPUBlIC (El Cercado) el Cercado Community development mobilizes the community and works on health and sanitation projects.

doMInICAn rEPUBlIC (El Cercado) The women of Women’s Nutritional Program produce nutritional products to be readily available to low-income or undernourished community members.

El SAlVAdor (Armenia) ACACCPAMu/FuSANMidJ works with women’s groups to promote improved health and sustainable income-generating opportunities in and around Armenia.

El SAlVAdor (Zaragoza) ACoMuJerzA/Mujer y Comunidad focuses on improving their community through folklore traditions, native dance, and creating handicrafts.

El SAlVAdor (San Salvador) NuTrAVidA promotes the use of soy products among low-income families to supplement their daily nutrition. The project also runs a diner as an income-generating activity for women in the community of San Ramon.

IndIA (Ahmadabad) huM is a women’s micro-enterprise organization that also promotes interfaith dialogue between Hindu & Muslims in Ahmadabad.

2014 project partners

Where Needed Most provides unrestricted funds to IPM.

Services and Programs of the iPM office provides IPM staff with technical assistance and education.

emergency Needs Around the World enables IPM to provide rapid response in emergency situations.

The indigenous leadership Program provides technical assistance to Project Partners through local IPM staff.

immersion experience Program Youth Scholars provides full and partial scholarships to students of economic need for IPM’s Immersion Experience Programs

CHIldrEn gEnErAl fUnd donations to this category support the personal, physical and spiritual development of children throughout the world.

CHInA (Henan Province) The Back to School program allows children from impoverished Chinese families to attend school.

ColoMBIA (Ibagué) Niños Trabajadores (Working Children) provides an alternative to violence and drug abuse for children who work in the marketplace.

El SAlVAdor (Zaragoza) lidia Coggiola promotes the character and well-being of the community’s children through creative workshops, activities and scholarship opportunities.

KEnyA (Kakamega) Friends of kakamega supports the Kakamega Orphan project that helps over 400 children by teaching families basic farming skills to have crops grown in their own homes for personal consumption.

KEnyA (Machakos) kandula Community Project seeks to address development issues in their community around water, sanitation, and children’s education in Kandula village.

KEnyA (nakuru) Josera Street Children Project provides food, shelter, clothing, and education to street children in Nakuru.

KEnyA (nyabondo) St. Martin de Porres is a school for children affected by cerebral palsy run by the Franciscan Sisters of Saint Ann.

lEBAnon (Beirut) ASTuhA (Association des Tuteurs des handicapés) helps children with disabilities, especially autism and cerebral palsy, reach physical and occupational autonomy.

MAlAWI (Blantyre) Project Peanut Butter uses fortified peanut butter to treat children suffering from chronic malnutrition.

USA (Cleveland, oH) Family Promise (formerly ihN) is a collaborative effort of congregations to provide shelter, meals and support to homeless families.

yoUtH gEnErAl fUnd: donations to this category support the personal, physical and spiritual development of young people throughout the world.

KEnyA (Kajaido) AiC girls School is a primary educational institution that provides financial support for the education of young girls.

KEnyA (Kajaido) Bride rescue Project rescues young girls from forced early marriages and harmful cultural practices.

KEnyA (Kibera) Located in the slums of Kibera, Watoto wa lwanga here provides formal education to over 300 children along with food, guidance counseling & medical care.

USA (fort Washakie, Wy) Sacajawea Treasures works with Eastern Shoshone tribal members on traditional beadwork which they sell in order to educate the larger community on the Shoshone traditions as well as have a source of income.

IndIA (nagercoil) Mary Jenkins hospice Center provides treatment and loving care for the terminally ill.

ISrAEl (jerusalem) The Peace Center for the Blind teaches visually handicapped Palestinian women skills and self-reliance.

ItAly (Castel Volturno) Project of hope/Speranza ii provides a safe haven and skill training for African women rescued from human trafficking and prostitution.

KEnyA (Bondo) rieti Agricultural Project provides training in sustainable agriculture to a group of women in Bondo.

KEnyA (dandora) dandora Women’s Forum coordinates income-generating activities for its members. It also promotes gender equality through training and legal counseling.

nEPAl (nationwide) Calendar Project at SWi supports women in production of calendars which promote community themes.

nICArAgUA (nindiri) CeProSi (Center for education & Promotion of holistic health) works with local women’s groups to improve their communities’ nutrition and health and to develop sustainable economic opportunities.

nICArAgUA (San francisco libre) Mujer y Comunidad trains women in six villages to be health promoters, reducing leprosy and the effects of poverty.

USA (Cleveland, oH) esperanza Threads is a fair-wage organic clothing cooperative that also offers job training to those with barriers to employment.

WoMEn

yoUtH

CHIldrEn

dIrECt SUPPort

USA (Missouri Boot Heel, Mo) Shining Scholars provides financial support, guidance counseling, food and school supplies to middle- and high-school-aged youth so they may have a better chance of attending college.

USA (ogala, Sd) Project lakota addresses the significant housing problem for the Lakota people living on the Pine Ridge Reservation by purchasing building supplies and organizing volunteers.

USA (St. louis, Mo) restorative Justice School Project implements activities which teach students to work through and overcome conflicts nonviolently and effectively.

USA (St. louis, Mo) Youth enrichment Program provides year-round educational programs and activities for youth on the academic sidelines in connection with CWAH (Community Women Against Hardship).

KEnyA (dandora) deedNeT (Villa Teag) is a children’s home that helps improve the general health, emotional stability, and performance both inside and outside of the classroom.

Consider becoming a Monthly Partner in Mission to support IPM’s Family of more than 60 Project Partners and special donor-driven

initiatives in more than 20 countries around the world. Please contact the IPM office for specific giving opportunities.

May 2014

InternatIonal Partners In MIssIon

3091 Mayfield Road, Suite 320

Cleveland Hts., OH 44118, USA

www.ipmconnect.org

NON PROFIT ORG.US POSTAGE

PAIDCleveland OH

PERMIT #1995

IPM (InternatIonal Partners In MIssIon) is the successor organization to Partners in

Mission, founded by Lutheran missionaries

Jim Mayer, Paul Strege and others in 1974.

IPM works across borders of faith,

culture, and economic circumstance

with children, women, and youth to

create partnerships that build justice,

peace, and hope.

join us as we work to provide a

sustainable, effective and personal way to

transform our world community.

Connections shares experiences and stories about people of faith working in partnerships to promote change. Connections is mailed to 6,000 donors and friends worldwide. If you are interested in receiving Connections or would like us to add a friend, family member, congregation or organization to our mailing list, please contact us at IPM, 3091 Mayfield Road, Suite 320, Cleveland Heights, OH 44118, USA, telephone +1.216.932.4082, or via email at office@ipmconnect.org.

Executive Committee: Caroline Mills, Chair, Fort Washakie, Wyoming • Jim Kamphoefner, Chair Elect, San Rafael, California • Ana Greig, Vice-Chair, Mejicanos, EL SALVADOR • Douglas Horner, Vice-Chair, Cleveland, Ohio • Bill Nyasio, Vice-Chair, Nairobi, KENYA • Mark Falbo, Secretary, Jacksonville, Florida • Michael Mayor, Treasurer, Rocky River, Ohio • Larisa Goldman, Assistant Treasurer, Beachwood, OH • Joseph F. Cistone, Executive Director & CEO, ex-officio, Mount Desert, Maine

directors: Antonina Aura, Nairobi, KENYA • Xenia Chavez, Nindiri, NICARAGUA • Beth Damsgaard-Rodriguez, St. Louis, Missouri • Priscilla D’Costa, SND, Bangalore, INDIA • Stephanie Hiedemann, Shaker Heights, Ohio • Margie Hojara-Hadsell, Holt, Michigan • James Keane, West Roxbury, Massachusetts • Donna Kwiloz, Corrales, New Mexico • Gary Meador, Gates Mills, Ohio • Lawrence Sehy, Niles, Michigan • Peggy Schaefer, Ballwin, MO

directors Emeritus: Paul F. Bente* • Carol Findling • Sammy Mayer • Paul Strege* • David Westcott*

Honorary Board: Tony Dowell • Sharon Milligan • Zoraida Soza Sanchez • Hina Shah

IPM International Staff: Anthony Baio • Fátima Benítez • Raluca Besliu • Joseph F. Cistone • Ilze Fender • Sarah Gauvin • Katelyn Kerrigan • Eric Moeller • Jared Odhiambo • Molly Rehak • Soni Shrestha • Donna Skufca • Melanie Strout • Mahesh Upadhyaya • Christopher Vilevac • Cara Weber

Student Interns: Neil Oculli • Selina Pagan

Connections: Graphic Design: Academy Graphic Communication

A Publication of International Partners in Mission

*Deceased