Saturday, November 28, 1998

Each dollar for seminary honors an individual woman's work

By BERTA DELGADO

The Dallas Morning News

DALLAS -- To look in the eyes of Dr. Elsa Tamez, it's clear how important her school is to her.

Her dark eyes grow bright at the thought of her campaign to build a new campus for the nondenominational seminary outside San Jose, Costa Rica. And those same eyes even smile when she speaks of how the money for the school is being raised: mostly one dollar at a time, and in honor of a million women.

"Campana Un Millon de Mujeres," or "One Million Women Campaign," was the brainchild of Dr. Tamez, president of the Latin American Biblical University in San Jose. In March 1995, Dr. Tamez decided to revive the dream of a former university president who bought land on the outskirts of San Jose 20 years ago in hopes of building a new campus.

"As president of the university, it is my responsibility to look for financing, and we wanted to do it differently so that there would be symbolism and solidarity behind it," Dr. Tamez said during a recent visit to the Dallas-Fort Worth area for events related to the recently released International Bible Commentary.

The commentary, an eight-year project headed by University of Dallas professor William Farmer, draws on biblical and theological scholarship around the world. Dr. Tamez contributed to the commentary on Galatians.

"I was the first woman in 73 years to head the university, and I felt it important to leave something so that women would not be forgotten," said the 48-year-old Mexico-born educator, who received her bachelor's degree in theology from the school she now leads. "The idea was to seek funding from all over the world, with names of women who have made an impression on somebody."

The new university will honor the contributions of those million women to their families, churches, communities and the world, she said. Their names will be placed in a collection of books that forever remain in the school.

Dr. Tamez, who earned a doctorate in theology from Lausanne University in Switzerland, said the campaign is $250,000 short of the $1 million goal. Some churches and organizations have given generously, she said. Individuals from poor countries have submitted names but no money.

She said names from about 140 countries have been submitted. Among the names received last summer were those of 21 women from Chiapas, Mexico, who were assassinated in December 1997 while in church praying for peace in the region, according to the campaign newsletter.

The monthly newsletter lists a few names in each issue, names such as Lucha Castro, of Mexico, "leader of El Barzon women's social movement against neoliberal economic policies." Then there's "My Great Aunt Ella, USA - A wonderful Christian woman who took me and we walked to church many a Sunday morning (4 miles)." Also, "Antonia Quispe Cazas, Bolivia, A woman of great wisdom, an Aymara Indian."

The seminary survives on funding from churches, organizations and individuals in the United States and Europe. But with the "economic realities" of the times, the campaign would help the school to use proceeds from the sale of the old campus as a permanent source of income, Dr. Tamez said.

Nancy Boye, a Dallas native who works at the university and is coordinating the campaign, said all donations go toward construction. Administrative costs for the campaign are covered by fund-raising activities sponsored by the university community.

The school has 2,500 students registered at the campus and through extension courses in Honduras, Bolivia, Venezuela, Peru, Panama, Colombia, Mexico, Ecuador, Cuba, Guatemala and Brazil. Approximately 80 students, most of them on scholarship, live in the dormitory.

In April, construction began on the academic-administrative building. Volunteers who come "with their hands to lend a hand" have been instrumental in the construction of the Aztec-Maya style building, Dr. Tamez said.

In July, members of the Conference of North Texas Methodists arrived to help, she said. A group of 41 adults and youth from First Christian Church in Norman, Okla., helped for a week, she said.

Dr. Tamez would like to begin building the dormitory soon. Volunteers are invited to help. She would like the school to be completed in the year 2000.

"You know, presidents of universities have a lot of work that can be difficult, and this has been a lot of work. But this campaign is one aspect of the job that has come with much satisfaction," she said, her eyes smiling again. "It's been one of the most beautiful things I've ever experienced."

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HOW TO GIVE

Money for the seminary building campaign can be sent to the following addresses:

United Methodist Church, Board of Global Ministries, 475 Riverside Dr., Advance Office, New York, NY 10015 (Advance No. 012317-8MN).

Presbyterian Church USA, c/o Julia Ann Moffett, 100 Witherspoon, Louisville, Ky. 40202-1396 (ECO No. 864600).

Names can be mailed to: One Million Women Campaign, Apartado 901-1000, San Jose, Costa Rica.

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Distributed by The Associated Press