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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Jeehye Kim, Senior Director of Communications and Marketing
General Commission on Religion and Race
202-495-2949
[email protected]
September 1, 2026
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The General Commission on Religion and Race (GCORR) of The United Methodist Church is pleased to announce that 33 grantees across the Regional Conference outside of the U.S. have been awarded over $307,000 through the CORR Action Fund (CAF) Grant. These grants support innovative and transformative initiatives that advance education, leadership, and justice across United Methodist communities in Africa, Europe, and the Philippines.
Through this program, local churches, districts, conferences, educational institutions, and other United Methodist-affiliated entities were invited to apply for funding to implement projects aligned with one or more of GCORR’s four educational priorities:
- Conflict Resolution – fostering peaceful dialogue and reconciliation in divided communities;
- Education Around Oppression – equipping people to recognize and address systemic injustice;
- Intercultural Competency – strengthening cross-cultural understanding and collaboration; and
- Leadership Development – empowering emerging leaders, especially youth and young adults.
"I am profoundly moved by the commitment of United Methodists around the world to address conflict, oppression, and intercultural competency. Applicants are approaching these matters creatively through programs focused on resolution, education and leadership development,” said Rev. Alka Lyall, CAF Chair. “This grant will enable our ministries to continue bearing the fruits of Wesleyan holiness for today and tomorrow. GCORR is proud to be doing all the good that we can in service of our United Methodist Church.”
Each project will receive up to $10,000 for initiatives lasting up to twelve months. Collectively, these programs are creating pathways for reconciliation, leadership, and inclusion, embodying GCORR’s vision of a church and world where all people can live in right relationship with God and one another.
For more information about the CORR Action Fund, please visit: www.gcorr.org/caf
See the press release for U.S. grant here.
Brief descriptions of each funded project follow:
TUISHI PAMOJA" Living Together
East Congo Episcopal AreaAwarded $10,000
Mobile teams of five mediators will travel to villages to hold community peace talks, screen documentaries, and mediate land disputes. The project will also create a digital database of land disputes and formalize non-aggression pacts between traditional land chiefs.
Empowered Voices: Youth-led Campaigns Against Oppression and Social Injustice in Majengo Slums, Kenya
East Africa Episcopal AreaAwarded $9,000
Youth in Majengo Slums will receive training in leadership, human rights, and advocacy, then form action groups to tackle issues like sanitation, water access, and housing. The project will partner with NGOs and faith-based organizations and host community forums to sustain youth-led advocacy beyond the project's end.
HEARTS OF RESILIENCE BENI: Leadership and Healing for Peace
East Congo Episcopal AreaAwarded $10,000
The initiative combines trauma-healing group therapy, a leadership academy on conflict resolution and the rights of the oppressed, and structured dialogues between displaced persons and residents. Together, these aim to promote healing and reduce prejudice in the Beni community.
STRONG GIRLS, BOLD FAITH, JUST FUTURES
East Africa Episcopal AreaAwarded $9,060
Girls will receive monthly training on their rights, paired with church mentors, and engage local schools to raise awareness. By the project's end, they will serve as ambassadors speaking out against FGM, forced early marriage, gender-based violence, and unequal property rights.
Awareness-raising against the oppression of young people (girls and boys) in Nta Village
Central Congo Episcopal AreaAwarded $8,700
Youth and community leaders in Nta Village will be trained to combat oppression through prevention and early-warning systems, while church leaders provide spiritual support to victims and confront perpetrators. The project will train 100 oppressed youth and 50 community leaders and establish local anti-oppression committees.
TAHANAN: Building Home, Faith, and Leadership Initiative
Baguio Episcopal AreaAwarded $5,000
TAHANAN will hold youth council meetings and regional conferences, leadership and faith-formation workshops, and community immersion activities to nurture young Filipino leaders spiritually and practically. Regular planning and evaluation will keep the program responsive to youth ministry needs.
Rooted in Culture: Empowered Communities
Manila Episcopal AreaAwarded $10,000
Local churches will build leadership formation and discipleship programs alongside district-level dialogues on racism, culture, gender equality, and human rights. Church leaders will document learnings and develop contextualized, sustainable action plans for their communities.
Young Actors of Peace (JAP): Commitment of the Youth of Beni for Community Mediation and Social Cohesion"
East Congo Episcopal AreaAwarded $7,850
The initiative sets up trained youth mediator cells in Beni's neighborhoods to resolve disputes, an early-warning network to flag security risks, intergenerational peace dialogues with local elders, and peer-to-peer campaigns encouraging combatants to disarm and reintegrate.
Intercultural Competence El Dorado Nursing School
North Katanga Episcopal AreaAwarded $9,490
150 nursing students will be trained in intercultural communication, conflict resolution, and cultural respect, becoming peer ambassadors for campus cohesion. Trained student and faculty facilitators will sustain the program for future cohorts.
Education around Oppression
East Africa Episcopal AreaAwarded $7,000
Workshops, Bible-based teaching, and community dialogues will help participants in UMC Burundi districts identify oppression around gender, disability, and poverty and develop faith-based advocacy responses. The project will also produce accessible educational materials and community action plans.
Living Together
East Africa Episcopal AreaAwarded $10,000
The project will train 150 young people and 150 women religious/community leaders across Burundi's ethnic groups in peaceful conflict resolution, hold awareness sessions reaching hundreds more, and engage community administrators—responding to the country's history of ethnic violence.
Read, Rise, and Resilience: Holistic Child and Youth Development through Church-Based Literacy and Safe Spaces
Davao Episcopal AreaAwarded $10,000
Eighteen children's and youth outreach ministries in Eastern Visayas will become literacy and safe-space hubs, serving 15-25 children each with weekly reading and mentoring sessions. Volunteers will be trained in literacy facilitation and basic psychosocial care, with disaster-preparedness education included.
United in Diversity
Mozambique Episcopal AreaAwarded $8,150
The project supports Xichangana-speaking communities with translated liturgical materials, facilitates discussions on linguistic and cultural inclusion, and trains pastors in intercultural competencies through online sessions on theology, communication, and discipleship in diverse contexts.
Voice for Justice: Empowering Marginalized Communities in Archer's Post, Samburu County through Conflict Resolution Trainings
East Africa Episcopal AreaAwarded $9,500
Community peace committees will be trained as first responders to mediate disputes and develop peace charters, alongside capacity-building workshops, awareness campaigns, and dialogue forums bringing together marginalized clans in Samburu County to build lasting trust.
Mothers of Peace of Baraka: Healing and Women's Leadership
East Congo Episcopal AreaAwarded $10,000
A mobile "Peace Academy" will offer trauma-healing circles, leadership and public-speaking training, and advocacy for women's inclusion on parish councils to support women's healing and leadership in Baraka.
Inclusive Leadership & Empowerment for Active Development (I-LEAD)
Nigeria Episcopal AreaAwarded $10,000
Thirty youth, including girls and youth with disabilities, will complete three training modules on identity, leadership ethics, intercultural competence, and civic engagement. They will then train peers and implement at least 10 community projects addressing inclusion and peacebuilding in Senegal.
Church-based disability rights initiative
Mozambique Episcopal AreaAwarded $10,000
A 12-month program in Maxixe District will train 5-10 partner churches across denominations to become centers of inclusion and advocacy for people with disabilities, focused on reforming church policies, creating space for dialogue, and building intercultural competency.
Conflict Resolution (Phase II) between the Savannah and Forest Batetela through the Creation of Dialogue Spaces for Peace
Central Congo Episcopal AreaAwarded $8,250
The project will set up spaces for dialogue between the Ekonda and Eswe communities in Lodja, training leaders in conflict analysis and negotiation, raising awareness among religious and community leaders, and advocating with municipal authorities to restore lasting peace.
Youth Leadership Development for Stigma Reduction
Davao Episcopal AreaAwarded $10,000
The program will build youth leaders' capacity on HIV and mental health stigma reduction through workshops, mentorship from health professionals and church leaders, and youth-created educational materials. A network of youth champions will sustain the effort across Annual Conferences.
Raising Peace Builders: Intercultural and Justice Education for Children in the United Methodist Church, Nigeria Area
Nigeria Episcopal AreaAwarded $9,000
Children in the UMC Nigeria Area will learn about diversity, fairness, and peaceful conflict resolution through Christian teaching, storytelling, games, and small-group discussions designed for intercultural and peace education.
Inclusion of youth in the church and in the community leadership
North Katanga Episcopal AreaAwarded $9,545
Over 12 months, 300-400 youth will be placed on church leadership committees with real decision-making authority, paired with trained adult mentors for intergenerational dialogue, and trained in public speaking and advocacy to lead community service projects.
Intercultural Peace building And Youth Leadership Development Initiative-Isiolo District
East Africa Episcopal AreaAwarded $9,800
A 12-month program will train 100 youth leaders from diverse ethnic communities in Isiolo District in peacebuilding, conflict transformation, and reconciliation, hold six intercultural dialogue forums, and support youth-led local peace projects and culturally relevant training materials.
Faith, Justice, and Reconciliation Initiative: Strengthening Unity and Healing in the Liberia Annual Conference
Liberia Episcopal AreaAwarded $10,000
The initiative will hold five regional peacebuilding dialogues across the Liberia Annual Conference, deliver leadership training in mediation and justice advocacy, run legal-awareness workshops, and counter misinformation through radio and church communication platforms.
The KaTambayayong Experience
Davao Episcopal AreaAwarded $10,000
A resource-light, relationship-heavy four-phase model will turn the SPMCI campus into a production hub and the surrounding community into a living classroom for the KaTambayayong initiative.
Conflict Resolution Kolwezi Methodist University UMKOL
North Katanga Episcopal AreaAwarded $9,650
UMKOL students will complete workshops on non-violent communication, mediation, and conflict analysis, culminating in Peace Ambassador training. Selected students will then lead outreach and mentor peers to sustain reconciliation efforts in their communities.
Leadership Development – Encouraging Leadership Among Youth and Young Adults at the Youth for Christ Center in Kindu, Eastern Congo
East Congo Episcopal AreaAwarded $10,000
A 12-month pilot will recruit 50 young men and women from different ethnic groups in Kindu for bi-weekly technical training (carpentry, masonry) paired with modules on conflict management and social justice, plus weekly "Talking Circles" and a shared community project.
Breaking the Invisible Chains: Education and Advocacy Against Systemic Oppression in the East Congo Conference
East Congo Episcopal AreaAwarded $9,800
A 12-month pilot will train youth to survey discriminatory practices across five districts, build the capacity of 160 church leaders in identifying and addressing systemic oppression, produce radio and social media content, and pursue institutional reforms with the Bishop's Office.
Consolidation of Peace and Social Cohesion between the Mbole and the Lengola: Dialogue, Intercommunity Mediation, and Mass Media in the Ecclesiastical District of Kisangani 3
East Congo Episcopal AreaAwarded $10,000
The initiative will launch "Dialogue for Peace in Lubunga," combining a weekly radio program, small-group "Peace Hubs" for Mbole and Lengola leaders and community members, and a social media campaign to reduce cultural prejudice and hate speech.
Women Rising Empowerment Initiative - Namungalwe
East Africa Episcopal AreaAwarded $9,500
The Women Rising Empowerment Initiative combines workshops on gender equality and rights, leadership training for women, entrepreneurship and financial literacy skills, and community dialogues engaging men and leaders to shift harmful gender norms.
Little Voices, Strong Values: Nurturing Inclusive Leadership and Cultural Understanding in Children’s Ministry
Nigeria Episcopal AreaAwarded $8,000
A 12-month children's leadership program will teach basic leadership, communication, and teamwork skills alongside cultural understanding and inclusion through faith-based learning, using workshops, peer mentoring, and service-learning activities.
Project for the Protection of Transgender Rights
East Congo Episcopal AreaAwarded $10,000
The project will raise community awareness on human rights and non-discrimination, train community and religious leaders, host dialogues promoting inclusion, and provide psychosocial support and service referrals for transgender individuals.
East Angola 2 Conflict Resolution
East Angola Episcopal AreaAwarded $10,000
The initiative will train church leadership in conflict resolution through interactive workshops and simulations focused on active listening, nonviolent communication, and win-win negotiation, aiming to significantly reduce internal conflict across affected regions.
East Angola 3 - Education and Oppression (Deaf)
East Angola Episcopal AreaAwarded $10,000
The project will run leadership workshops introducing Deaf culture and basic sign language, produce short bilingual video content for social media, and create a recurring "Minute of Inclusion" during church services to teach a new sign each week, training leaders first before extending to the wider congregation.
This content was originally published by the General Commission on Religion and Race; republished with permission on ResourceUMC.org on September 2, 2026.