Welcome to the Train the Trainer Immersion

On January 3-11, 2008 students from seminaries, colleges, universities, religious congregations and community organizations from across the country, along with members of the Poverty Initiative’s Poverty Scholars Program and members of the Media Mobilizing Project will learn about the realities of poverty in Appalachia and the work communities are engaged in to end poverty.

Our journey will include discovery, reflection and relationship-building with people living in Appalachia who experience and organize against conditions of poverty. Participants will also engage in reflective discussion about the purpose of immersion courses and the principles of the Poverty Initiative.

Through this online journal reflection posted during our travels we invite the larger community to "travel" with us in the exploration of these very important issues.

The course is being planned through a partnership with the Direct Action Welfare Group. We will visit such groups as World Vision-Appalachia, WV Council of Churches, Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, and a number of Head Start locations.

Please consider inviting one of the course participants, Poverty Initiative staff and/or a Poverty Scholar to speak to your congregation or class about our experience. Also, please consider donating to the Poverty Initiative to help fund this trip as well as other programs, including another immersion to Mississippi and Tennessee to commemorate the 1968 Poor People’s Campaign. More information can be found at our website: www.povertyinitiative.org.