Who or What is SIFAT?

SIFAT - Servants in Faith and Technology (http://www.sifat.org/ ) is many things. From the “Who” perspective; SIFAT is the legacy of Ken and Sarah Corson. The Corsons were missionaries serving in Bolivia who saw a real need for the transfer of practical technologies from the industrialized world to the two-thirds world. In 1979 they founded the “What” of SIFAT. Incorporated as a not-for-profit, Christian organization, SIFAT “provides training in self-help programs for a needy world’ and “offers opportunities for Christians to get involved personally, both to learn from others and to partner with them in missions.” Basically SIFAT is a training center for sustainable and appropriate technologies for persons living in the impoverish portions of our world. They attract persons with local leadership potential from underdeveloped countries throughout the world to their campus in Lineville, Alabama for practicum training in a wide array of community development skills. Building on this, SIFAT promotes development programs in many third world nations. Currently they are in the process of constructing a training center in Lusaka, Zambia and are planning on establishing another in Honduras. AHMEN is co-sponsoring a three year long series of leadership seminars in Cusuna and anticipates sponsoring one or more Honduran students to the 2011 Practicum Training Course at the Lineville campus. When they return home “alumni” from SIFAT’s training programs invite and supervise numerous short term mission groups to visit their countries and provide humanitarian assistance and evangelism support.

SIFAT’s training center near Lineville, AL offers complete facilities (housing, cafeteria, class rooms and exhibit spaces) for conferences, seminars and retreats. The campus is positioned on either side of a small river that is connected by a suspended bridge. One of the most popular features of the SIFAT experience is a visit to their “Global Village.” This unique exhibit is used to increase visitors’ awareness of the conditions that most of our world lives in. It is an experience unlike any other.

For the second year in a row, SIFAT is the host site for AHMEN’s annual meeting. An “Early Bird” program will begin on the evening of October 29, 2010.  Dinner will be an old fashioned bonfire and weenie roast, complete with marshmallows toasted on a stick and s ‘mores. We hope that some of the 2010 International Practicum students will be able to join us for this social event. Afterwards we will have a series of roundtable discussions monitored by experts on topics related to mission team development and dynamics. Saturday morning will be devoted to team and project reports. Our panel of invited experts will return to provide presentations on expanded topics of interest in the afternoon.   

Where is SIFAT?

A general perspective map showing the relative location of the SIFAT campus, near Lineville AL: