By Cindy V. Culp

Tribune-Herald staff writer

Dr. Rima Bishara has a lot of faith in Central Texans.

The local internist is confident that if she can get the word out, area residents will help her and Waco’s Talitha Koum Institute get a shot at $2.5 million that American Express is giving away to charities that have developed innovative, potentially world-changing programs.

All people have to do is go online and nominate the local project between now and Sept. 1, Bishara said. If it gets enough nominations, it has a chance of landing a spot in the Top 25, which is the first step toward getting a portion of the money.

“I think, because we’re a smaller community, we can make connections faster,” Bishara said. “Absolutely I think we have a chance.”

This is the second year American Express has sponsored the online contest, called the Members Project. The idea behind it is to get the company’s cardholders to submit ideas they think could have a positive impact on the world and then have people vote for their favorites.

Last week, Bishara submitted a program she developed, which seeks to teach health skills to families in impoverished neighborhoods. She has tested it in conjunction with Talitha Koum, a charity that minsters to disadvantaged and abused children from birth to age 6.

The way the program works is parents and grandparents sit in on health education sessions that are ostensibly aimed at the preschoolers they care for. But the hope is that adults will learn some new things while children are being taught life skills.

That approach is effective, Bishara said, because it allows the adults to gain knowledge without being ashamed or embarrassed that they didn’t know basic health facts. Plus, presenting information to family groups encourages them to reinforce it among themselves, she said.

For example, children might remind their parents to brush their teeth, while the parents might ask their children about seat belt safety every time they get into the car, she said.

The program is called the 3G Project because of that multi-generational aspect.

“Health is really not an individual issue,” Bishara, 46, said. “. . . Health has to be one those things that’s family-centered.”

Bishara got the idea for the program after seeing patients who had the same health problems as their parents or grandparents. Sometimes the cause of those conditions is genetic. But often they are the result of family members sharing bad hygiene or other health habits, she said.

Since the same dynamics are at work in families across the world, Bishara said she thinks the program could be a useful tool for health care professionals globally.

If the project were to win funding from American Express, she and Talitha Koum would use the money to create a Web-based, “teach the teacher” program that could be downloaded by anyone interested in using it, she said.

Nan Holmes, executive director of Talitha Koum, said that when the organization piloted the program with Bishara in November, she was skeptical. But everyone involved in the classes has learned a lot, she said, including herself.

For example, Holmes said she didn’t know that when people wash their hands they should scrub for as long as it takes to sing the “Happy Birthday” song.

“I think it’s pretty amazing,” Holmes said. “It’s just a very simple way of explaining things.”

cculp@wacotrib.com

757-5744

—— How to nominate —-

To nominate the program, go to www.membersproject.com and search for 3G. Then click on the “nominate this project” button. People must register before making nominations, but they don’t have to be American Express cardholders. Nominations must be in by Sept. 1.

Popular support is one factor the contest’s judges will take into account when determining the Top 25 projects. Once that group is chosen, only American Express cardholders will be able to vote for their favorites.

The top five projects will get funding, ranging from $100,000 to $1.5 million.

The nomination round ends Sept. 1. Then on Sept. 9, the Top 25 group will be announced. After that, cardholders will get a chance to vote, with the winning projects being announced Oct. 14.