Covenant News

Covenant Hispanic Leader Attends Prayer Breakfast

WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 9, 2003) - Hugo Otoala, executive director of Santa Barbara Community Development Center (SBCDC) in southern California, was among hundreds of Hispanic leaders invited to a May 15 National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast with President George W. Bush as part of an effort to bolster faith-based ministries.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN), House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), and Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson also addressed the second annual event held at the Capital Hilton and sponsored by the Philadelphia faith-based organization, Nueva Esperanza.

Nearly 36 million individuals of Latino heritage make up more than 12 percent of the nation's population. In the last decade the number of Hispanics increased by 35 percent and is estimated to increase by an additional 18 percent by 2005. With a wide range of cultural backgrounds, Latinos represent a variety of needs, but also have grown to become a powerful economic and political force. In an effort to serve a community beset by challenges, Latino faith organizations have emerged at an unprecedented rate throughout the American landscape and the government has tried to address their needs with the annual prayer breakfast and planning sessions. The recent event, held May 15-16, coincided with the announcement of innovative partnerships and organizations that would further bolster Hispanic communities.

Thompson and the Rev. Luis Cortes Jr., president of Nueva Esperanza, jointly announced a new partnership that will increase education about AIDS within the Hispanic faith community. Cortes also announced the creation of Esperanza USA, a new Hispanic organization that is an extension of his Philadelphia faith-based community development corporation. Bush has given support to the organization, which was given grant money through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Otoala said that SBCDC has received help via two government-sponsored entities. SBCDC is part of the Hispanic Capacity Project, a three-year effort coordinated through the connections of Nueva Esperanza. Funds came through Esperanza USA grants that are part of the Compassion Capital Fund Demonstration Program. SBCDC has also been selected by the Connections for Tomorrow Project to participate in the Connections for Tomorrow (CT4) Capacity Building Program funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The Hispanic Capacity Project is designed to assist more than 600 Latino faith and community-based organizations over a three-year period. The project goals include helping organizations strengthen administrative structures, improve training, provide technical services and improve their means of securing funding from public and private sectors.

In addition, the project will annually award small grants to participating Latino organizations in each participating region through the Capacity Development and the Strategic Leverage funds. Grants will be tied to each group's progress and achievement. In the first year, the project will target Latino communities in five regions: Southern California, the New York Metropolitan Area, Southern/Central Florida, Delaware and Lehigh Valley/Southern New Jersey, and the Seattle and Washington state region. In all, 138 faith-based organizations will benefit from the project in year one. In year two, the project will expand to include Midwest ministries. In the third year two additional regions, Texas and an area yet to be determined will be added to the project.

Otoala said the Pacific Southwest Conference has five California organizations, including SBCDC, which will benefit from the Hispanic Capacity Project. They include Bernabe Community Development Center in Downey (under Daniel Anabalon and Brad Reed); Pacto de Nueva Vida in Wilmington (under Reynaldo Garcia); Nueva Esperanza in Simi Valley (under Roberto Ghione) and Nuevas de Gozo Covenant Church in Lennox (under Teodoro Carreras).

For more information on the Hispanic Capacity Project, visit the project link on the Nueva Esperanza web site at www.esperanza.us. For more information about the Hispanic faith-based ministries receiving funding from the Hispanic Capacity Project, call Walter Contreras at the Pacific Southwest Conference at 925-677-2140.

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