Global Projects

St. Andre's School, Hinchi, Haiti

Before the earthquake of 2010, following the 2008 devastation of Tropical Storm Hanna and Hurricanes Gustav and Ike in Haiti, St. Jude's joined with St. Dunstan’s Epsicopal Church in Carmel Valley, California to help support St. Andre’s Episcopal School in Hinche, Haiti. Hinchi, a city of 30,000, is in the central plateau of Haiti. St. Jude's donations have been directed to the support of St. Andre's school lunch program that serves approximately 850 meals a day. The school enrolls students from pre-kindergarten through high school. St. Dunstan's has supported the school since it began with some 30 students, 26 years ago. The priority for 2010 is to help St Andre's cope with the extraordinary suffering of refugees who have fled from the earthquake ravaged cities to the central plateau.

St. Jude's support for St. Andre's School helps to directly address four of the eight Millennium Development Goals that are designed to end extreme poverty by 2015:

                            Goal #1 End Hunger and Extreme Poverty
                            Goal #2 Universal Education
                            Goal #3 Gender Equity
                            Goal #4 Child Health


Friends of African Village Libraries

Friends of African Village Libraries is a network of individuals and donors committed to long-term support for small community libraries in rural Africa. Built from the inspiration and energy of two professors at Santa Clara University, since 2001, FAVL has established and continues to support nine libraries, five in Burkina Faso, two in Ghana, one in Tanzania, and one in Uganda.

FAVL is all about long-term commitments of support to ensure that libraries are not only established, but that they thrive. Village libraries are established if a donor is willing to make a long-term commitment to support a library. Communities typically provide a building, or a building site, for the library. FAVL will then help the village to refurbish an existing building, or build a new building if funds permit, help to hire a librarian and purchase books. Village libraries typically hold a collection of one or two thousand books. The books are in English, French, Arabic, and local languages. The typical library has a reading room and office for the librarian. In 2008, St. Jude's began to support this exemplary, yet small program, that is making a profound difference in the lives of rural communities in Africa. The St. Jude's underwritten library was opened in Boni, Burkina Faso in March 2009. FAVL reports that the involvement of the local communities is phenomenal, and girls are gaining confidence as their awareness of the world around them, and choices and possibilities, increase through the availability of reading materials for enjoyment as well as education.

St. Jude's support for FAVL helps to directly address two of the eight Millennium Development Goals that are designed to end extreme poverty by 2015:

                            Goal #2 Universal Education
                            Goal #3 Gender Equity


Episcopal Relief and Development

One of the ways St. Jude's has responded to world disasters is through Episcopal Relief and Development, which for over 60 years has provided a compassionate response from the Episcopal Church to human suffering in the world. Episcopal Relief and Development has worked in more than 100 countries providing emergency relief in times of disaster, rebuilding devastated communities after the immediate crisis is over, and supporting long-term solutions to challenging problems.

Episcopal Relief and Development uses financial gifts in the most effective ways possible to serve and support suffering people worldwide. Whether providing farm animals, or nets for malaria prevention, or disaster response, ERD is a highly efficient aid organization based on their tight control of administrative and marketing costs. In 2007, ERD spent 86% on programs versus 5% on administration and 9% on fundraising. Because of the support ERD receives from the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society in the form of contributed services as well as investment income, 92% of every donor dollar goes directly to programs.

In 2010, St. Jude's has contributed to ERD in support of their response to the devastation of the earthquake in Haiti. The parish also continues its support for ERD's Nets for Life program that is working across Africa to mitigate the scourge of malaria. In prior years, ERD has enabled St. Jude's to contribute to victims of the war being waged in Iraq, for immediate relief for Tsunami victims in Asia and hurricane victims on the Gulf coast of America, and for timely programs addressing HIV/AIDS in Africa.

St. Jude's support for ERD helps to directly address four of the eight Millennium Development Goals that are designed to end extreme poverty by 2015:

                            Goal #4 Child Health
                            Goal #5 Maternal Health
                            Goal #6 Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Other Diseases
                            Goal #8 Global Partnership


Support for Episcopal Missionary Activities and Parishioner Initiatives

Past Projects:

    St. Matthias’ Church, Sri Lanka -- St. Jude’s responded to the Indian Ocean earthquake/tsunami disaster of December 2004 with a prayer service, allocation of funds to Episcopal Relief and Development and commitment to help 125 year old St. Matthias Church in Moratuwa, Sri Lanka, the home parish of St. Jude’s parishioners Rasika Weerasooriya and Don Colombage. The community St. Matthias serves is on the east coast of Sri Lanka that was devastated by the tsunami. St. Jude's rallied support for relief efforts gathering funds that were used by St. Matthias to build and maintain temporary shelter camps and distribute dry food rations. At their peak, the camps sheltered 414 people, 38% of whom were children.

    La Roca, Tijuana, Mexico -- St Jude's adult and youth volunteers, along with volunteers from St. Timothy's Episcopal Church in Mountain View, worked at La Roca in the summer of 2004. La Roca is a mission that offers care, education, and vocational training to single mothers and their children. Their goal is that every woman that comes to La Roca will learn the necessary skills needed to become self-sufficient so that they will be able to care for themselves and for their families, spiritually and financially. Education is a huge part of their vision, therefore they provide schooling for the children of La Roca, as well as children from surrounding neighborhoods. The St. Jude's group helped with repairs to the facility, including the installation of a new solar hot system. Before the installation of the new system, mothers and children were taking cold showers in the winter as there was not enough money to pay for the propane to heat water.

    The Barillas Relief Project, El Salvador -- began as volunteer response by the International Cruising Community to the disastrous earthquakes in El Salvador in January 2001. The goal was to bring swift and direct aid to the residents of a small village in the eastern part of El Salvador to rebuild their homes. Villagers worked alongside volunteers to learn basic construction skills, equipping them to build earthquake resistant housing for other people in El Salvador in the future. While sailing from Mexico to Panama, St. Jude parishioners Janet and Howard Hill joined this group of cruisers with an eclectic collection of skills. The Hills documented their experience in a video, which they shared along with their stories upon their return to Cupertino. St. Jude's answered the call for funds from the cruisers and the Bishop of the Diocese of El Salvador. In August 2002, the Hills gave an update on the continuing Barillas Relief efforts. St. Jude's served as a facilitator of broader donation efforts. A video was produced for distribution to churches and other organizations.

    Support for Student Initiatives -- St. Jude's has a history of encouraging young people to answer the call to world service. Inspired by the rich spiritual return of Kate Snow's 1986 experience in Honduras, the Outreach Ministry has spiritually and financially supported short student mission trips by Georgina Colvin in Mexico and Kevin Satterlee in Zimbabwe. In addition, a group of St. Judeans has supported young Nicaraguan Lidieth Cruz Centeno in her successful effort to complete law school and serve the poor in Ometepe, Lago Nicaragua.