You Won't Succeed If You Don't Survive: A Washington-Based Agency Awarded $46,800 GCSP Grant
Diocesan Press Service. August 10, 1972 [72112]
Barbara Rathell, Editor of Washington Diocese.
(Reprinted from Washington Diocese).
"We would like to feel that with our assistance, unity through self-reliance can become a working reality for the African people of the world, " said Donald Brown, secretary and corporate manager of the Center for Technical Analysis.
The Washington-based organization, a non-profit corporation organized in 1970, received a $46, 800 General Convention Special Program grant in May. Earlier GCSP grants totaling $15,000 had been made to provide initial funding and xerox equipment.
Proposals for funding were referred to Suffragan Bishop John Walker for evaluation.
"Bishop Creighton has asked me on several occasions to respond to the GCSP Screening and Review Committee's requests for evaluation of proposals submitted from this area," Bishop Walker said. "I accomplish this by visiting the project and talking to proponents and others, groups and individuals, who are in a position to know the value of the work. In this case I did both and was able to enthusiastically endorse CTA for its practical approach to help develop self-reliance among African people."
CTA has selected, after careful evaluation of need and resources, five major areas for concentrated application of available skills. These are animal husbandry, agriculture, engineering technologies, medical technology and physical science.
CTA 's staff consists of five full-time research people and two part-time workers. (Brown, although he works full-time for CTA, draws no salary.) Many others, including faculty members of several agricultural colleges, serve as volunteer consultants. A valuable asset is the center's growing library of scientific and technical information used by the staff to serve CTA 's clientele. Most CTA services are performed without cost to those whose objectives coincide with CTA 's -- self-reliance for black people.
" The migration of rural people, especially black people, to the cities is not always the best way to achieve self-reliance," said Brown. "With some technical assistance they can compete in the market place and gain independence right where they are. CTA tries to provide that assistance, which is often unavailable to African people through other channels."
One CTA experimental project is underway in Yakima, Washington. CTA was asked to recommend and assist in the development of a capital-producing business for a group of people who wanted to develop a community center on land provided by one of the group. A poultry-raising project was selected as a result of CTA study. Raising poultry does not require the huge capital investment needed for many businesses and with careful management and growing procedures, can become self-sufficient and profit-producing relatively quickly.
For the Yakima Poultry Project, CTA service included training of management personnel in both financial and practical skills and development of an accounting system.
" Failure to realize the importance of record keeping and sound financial management has caused many business operations to fail," said Brown.
CTA publishes instructive bulletins, informative newsletters and other printed material designed to help African people attain self-reliance wherever they are.
Another CTA service, Operations Research, is performed for a minimal fee. The staff is prepared to apply scientific methods, techniques and tools to a given problem and recommend the most practical and efficient solution based on all factors, including the sociological, economic and political aspects. "Any endeavor begun, large or small, needs a planned approach, sound alternatives and cost estimates," Brown said.
CTA will prepare feasibility reports, design a self-sufficient operation, initiate, coordinate and support independent studies or collect and interpret the work of others.
These services, like all CTA 's endeavors, are designed to promote scientific, educational and self-reliant nation-building programs for the security and well-being of the world-wide African community.