Creative Ministries of Presbyterian Women (PW)

Thank you for having faith in our vision, 2014 recipient says

I am Reverend Nadeem Sadiq, writing in response to the letter I received notifying us of the Thank Offering grant for South Asian Resource Center (SARC). First of all, I would like to thank you for having faith in our vision.

My wife and I came to the United States in 2005 with our two-year-old daughter. Our struggle to sustain ourselves was no different than that of any other immigrant looking for resources to take care of his/her family. With no money and no means of transportation, our lives were chaotic and stressful. We remember walking through the snow with our daughter in her stroller, her eyes watery, her tiny little nose red with cold; she would beg us to bring her to a warmer place. We still remember how we used to stop at a near store to get her warm and then carry on with our pursuit to find resources to sustain ourselves.

It is said that things happen for a reason and it was during those difficult times that we got connected to many resources that we later used to benefit other people. It was during that time we decided to dedicate our lives to helping those who cannot read, write or speak the language in their new home. Imagine yourself in a place where you cannot read or speak the language—a place where everyone is a stranger and suddenly you find some who look like you, talk like you and are even ready to help you provide everything needed to sustain yourself. That place definitely will be your hope and those people will surely be your family. 

Since 2006, we have volunteered our services for other immigrants, assisting with taking in and interpreting for immigrants and refugees at doctors’ offices, lawyers’ offices, wherever needed. We help immigrants filling out immigration paperwork; we contact U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services on their behalf. We help with grocery shopping, with finding jobs at places where people speak the immigrants' language, and we help families struggling with financial crisis to get financial assistance through government programs. We help low income families secure filing fee exemptions so they can get their green cards or citizenship. There is nothing more pleasing and satisfying than to see a family or an individual become self-sufficient and lead a normal life in this wonderful land of opportunity.

We always wanted a comfortable and supportive center where immigrants could come for help. We envisioned South Asian Resource Center (SARC) as a vibrant center serving the South Asian American community and a place where comprehensive informational resources would be available. A generous gift from the Thank Offering of Presbyterian Women made it possible for us to start this project. We had a wonderful inauguration ceremony on February 15, 2014, and were honored to have Congressman Paul Tonko (D–NY) and Mayor Kathy Sheehan (Albany, New York) as guests of honor. 

Mayor Kathy Sheehan (Albany, New York) and Congressman Paul Tonko (D-NY) with Rev. Sadiq and family at the dedication of the South Asian Resource Center in Albany, February 15, 2014.

 

The mission of South Asian Resource Center (SARC) is to empower immigrants from South Asia to overcome the significant challenges they face when they immigrate, by empowering them with the required resources and assisting them with their basic and other needs to enable them not only to sustain themselves but to move toward self-sufficiency. 

Essential services will include

• Language and interpretation—The root cause of most of the problems faced by immigrants is not knowing the language. Language barriers keep immigrants from gaining access to all kinds of opportunities. We have seen people stress and depression, with an inferiority complex and low self-esteem because they cannot speak English. When we translate or interpret for them, we help them understand that not knowing the language is not a permanen disability; we try to make them more confident. We encourage them to speak and we help them learn basic sentences required in everyday language.

• Health insurance information and referrals to low cost health and dental providers—The U.S. health insurance system is new to people who come from South Asia. SARC will not only provide recent immigrants with information about health, but will also help them apply for health insurance. SARC will also help them apply for charity health care and also refer them to health and dental clinics that accept charity or low cost care.

• Immigration and legal information and referrals
• Transportation services
• Academic counseling
• Job search assistance
• Educational opportunities
• Referrals to food, clothing, housing and rental assistance programs
• Emotional and practical support for individuals and families, including victims of domestic violence—Unfortunately domestic violence is very common in South Asian countries. And our cultural norms don’t allow a womeno relate or share her problems with strangers. We have helped many victims, mostly women, with this issue. We hope our center will be a place where women can come, confide their problems and find a way out. It is great to see how we can make a difference in their lives.

We have dozens and dozens of amazing stories about opportunities we have had to make a difference in other people’s lives. I’ll tell you about one case that was no less than a miracle. This is about a 70-year-old woman whose husband petitioned for her children in 2000. In 2011 he received papers to submit the visa fees. Meanwhile, he got really sick with cancer and there was no one to take care of the case. In 2011 he passed away, and Immigration Services sent that woman a letter telling her that her case was closed. She showed the letter to us and we were devastated. The poor woman had waited for her children for 12 years and her dreams were shattered. We told her not to lose hope. We talked to our lawyer, who is a great immigration attorney. He said the same thing Immigration Services said, but he also put us in touch with Colleen Williams at Congressman Paul Tonko’s office. With Colleen’s help, we sent a letter to Immigration Services explaining the woman’s situation. After six months of back-and-forth communication, we were able to have her case reopened. We are hoping that this year she will be able to see her children.

I will end by telling every American: Be grateful for what you have. Do not take anything for granted because to be in this land of opportunity is a blessing itself. Thank you and God bless America.

Note: See SARC's website, www.southasianrc.org for more information.

Eco Center built at Ferncliff with help of PW

The largest straw-bale building in the United States was dedicated at Ferncliff Camp and Conference Center March 29, 2014. And Presbyterian Women was there! In fact, a $100,000 Birthday Offering grant in 2012 to Synod of the Sun for its Solar Under the Sun (SUTS) program helped make the building possible.

Called the Eco Center, it is home to Solar School, the semiannual training program of Solar Under the Sun. SUTS trains volunteers to design and install solar power systems in communities that lack reliable electrical power. Since 2010, SUTS has trained 200 people and helped install over 50 solar-powered systems in Haiti. 

Ferncliff is a summer camp and year-round conference center connected to the Presbyterian church but open to any and all. Over the past decade Ferncliff has made a concerted effort to become one of the “greenest” camps in the country and practice sustainability. In 2013, Ferncliff hosted a national straw-bale building workshop. Forty participants spent a week working on the new building.

The building is 5,300 square feet, with bedrooms for up to 28 guests and meeting space for up to 100. The center uses a net-metering solar system for electricity—excess energy is fed back into the grid for credit. The building has a “solar chimney” consisting of two 18" diameter tubes that pull air up and through the building as they absorb heat from the sun, thereby ventilating the space. The roof is white to reflect heat and has two layers of insulation underneath. The building is heated with a radiant floor heating system in the slab. 

Its walls are made of 1,200 straw bales (wheat straw) purchased from a farm in neighboring Perry County. The bales themselves do not bear the weight of the building. The frame of the building is steel, and the straw bales are used to fill in the walls between the beams. The walls are plastered inside and out with three coats of natural hydraulic lime, which is more environmentally friendly than cement in the way it is produced. The building is also insulated with rice hulls and features floors made of alternative and reclaimed materials such as paper maché, reclaimed rubber conveyor belts and thousands of discarded beer bottles. It was built primarily with volunteer labor. 

Karene Jones, who chaired PW’s Creative Ministries Offering Committee in 2011 when the grant recipient was chosen, was on hand to speak on behalf of PW at the dedication of the building March 29, 2014.   

It was with excitement and anticipation that I followed the construction of this center. How proud I am to be here today on behalf of Presbyterian women across the United States and Puerto Rico. I represent all the women who gave through second- and third-mile giving to PW's Birthday offering to fulfill a mission dear to their hearts.

Part of the purpose of Presbyterian Women is “to support the mission of the church worldwide and to work for justice and peace.” What better way to do just that than to support the building of this Eco Center where many will be trained for mission here and abroad.

We are grateful to David Gill who wrote the grant application on behalf of Synod of the Sun and sent it to the Creative Ministries Offering Committee of PW. We also are grateful for those who serve on that committee and who selected this mission. As Psalm 47 says, “Clap your hands, all you people! Shout joyfully to God with a joyous shout.” What a joyful day this is and what a joy to be a part of this dedication!

Ferncliff also uses the Eco Center for summer camps and to host mission teams from other states. It is available to groups wanting a low-impact retreat/workshop setting. For more information, see www.ferncliff.org.