What do a giant book, a meal of rice and beans, and new words to “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” have in common? They were all part of this year’s World Hunger campaign at Christ Community Church in Nanaimo, British Columbia.
What do you do when your entire livelihood depends upon
(LAOS) This month we are busy evaluating the progress made in the communities World Renew started working with five years ago — or in some cases, ten years ago.
Disasters happen; are you prepared? Join World Renew DRS for a one-hour webinar on November 6, 2013. We’ll help you get started!
Gloria Castro gave thanks to God with tears in her eyes for a great blessing, saying that it had been impossible for her and her family to build a composting latrine on their own. Gloria is a hard working woman who helps support her family and her children's education by making crafts. Along with her partner and their children, they worked hard to “learn while doing” during the composting latrine project at her home. The family wanted a composting latrine for several reasons. First, they live in an urban area with houses right next door and nowhere to relieve themselves because their neighborhood does not have a sewer system. Second, Gloria and her family have a very small yard, keeping them from constructing a traditional septic tank that would contaminate the environment if placed too close to their home or the neighboring houses.
Life for refugees is more difficult than you or I can even imagine. There are 600,000 Syrian refugees in Jordan, and for those living outside of the Zaatari refugee camp life is especially challenging. Zaatari is now the second largest refugee camp in the world, with a population of about 150,000 people. It provides a unified place where refugees can live, be registered, and receive assistance from aid organizations. Unfortunately, the camp is also overcrowded and poses threats to the health, sanitation, and security of all who live there. For some, the risks are too great. They fear rape and violence in the camp at night. Their children may require medical attention that is not available in the camp. The poor sanitary conditions are dangerous for elderly and frail family members.
“We were at a home improvement store in October, and a local pastor recognized our green shirts from World Renew,” say volunteers Rich and Phyl Grevenstuk “The pastor said that he knew of a family that was homeless and still living in their van as a result of Super-storm Sandy. He asked if we could help them.” The Grevenstuks are project managers on World Renew’s Super-storm Sandy reconstruction site in Ocean County, New Jersey. One year after Super-storm Sandy, about 26,000 people, like this couple, are still in temporary housing or homeless.
It was a teary group that gathered at the World Renew office on September 14 as my predecessor Rick and his wife Edith DeGraaf left for the airport.
In the two weeks since Cyclone Phailin ravaged eastern India, World Renew and its longtime partner EFICOR have begun a multi-faceted response to meet the urgent needs of the families most severely impacted.
A traditional business lunch might typically involve some catered sandwiches and lukewarm coffee, but for employees in the Christian Reformed Church’s office in Burlington, Ontario today’s lunch was anything but typical. After fasting together for 24 hours, the staff members met together today for a potluck meal that celebrates God’s good gift of food. “World Renew has an annual church campaign that highlights global hunger,” explained Maria Oliveira, one of the organizers of the event. “This year’s World Hunger theme is: Think, Act, Fast. We thought it would be great for staff to join churches in the campaign by fasting together.”