WASHINGTON, DC — Following Sunday’s conclusion of two weeks of talks at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Durban, Church World Service today issued a statement lamenting the postponement of  “meaningful action” on man-made threats to the atmosphere and planet and again called on President Obama and the U.S. Congress to act boldly to address the crisis. The CWS …

NEW YORK, NY — Denisse Pichardo, founder of a Dominican Republic educational project for children supported by CWS, is the 2011 recipient of an  award that has been called the “Nobel Prize for child advocates” – an annual honor that includes a cash grant of up to $50,000 for honorees’ programs. The World of Children advocacy organization presented its 2011 …

YOGYAKARTA, Indonesia – A Church World Service project that addresses the energy demands of rural households in the nation of Georgia has been honored with the 2011 ACT Climate Award, which recognizes humanitarian work focused on climate change adaptation. The project, based in the Chokotauri and Khobi districts of Georgia, is carried out in cooperation with two Georgia-based partners – …

Update:  Watch Refugee Resettlement: Faith Communities Making a Difference here! NEW YORK – CWS Immigration and Refugee Program Director Erol Kekic is featured in Refugee Resettlement: Faith Communities Making A Difference, the upcoming CBS religion special about refugees who resettle in the United States and the key roles that voluntary agencies like Church World Service and local faith-based agencies play …

STOCKHOLM — Water, food security and the effects of climate change are now inexorably linked and need to be at the top of the global agenda, say participants at last week’s international World Water Week conference in Stockholm, Sweden. In Africa alone, by 2050 half of the continent’s people will be living in urban areas, experts say. But most African …

WASHINGTON, D.C. –– Humanitarian agency Church World Service applauds the Obama administration’s announcement Thursday that it would suspend deportation proceedings against many undocumented immigrants who pose no threat to United States national security or public safety, and instead would exercise prosecutorial discretion to focus enforcement efforts on cases involving criminals. “This is a big and important step toward fair, humane, …

NEW YORK – The Religion Communicators Council and the Associated Church Press have honored reporting from Haiti by Church World Service staffer Chris Herlinger Herlinger, a CWS writer and editor, won two awards of excellence in the RCC’s annual DeRose-Hinkhouse Memorial Awards competition. The awards were announced March 31 during the RCC’s annual convention, held this year in Little Rock, …

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Church World Service welcomes introduction of refugee reform bill Washington, D.C. — Global humanitarian organization Church World Service applauds Congressman Gary C. Peters (D-Mich.) for his introduction of the Domestic Refugee Reform and Modernization Act. “This legislation is an enormous step forward to improving our nation’s refugee resettlement program.  It will bring positive results not just to …

In a landmark new international survey, organizations across the global south who partner with humanitarian agency Church World Service have given CWS a reality-based, ground-level view of how they experience the agency’s performance. The findings rated the humanitarian agency highly in some areas and, in others, offered what CWS Deputy Director and Head of Programs Maurice A. Bloem sees as …

Washington, D.C./New York, NY – The head of faith-based humanitarian agency Church World Service says Friday’s White House decision to ease travel restrictions between the United States and Cuba for religious, educational and cultural exchanges signals “the beginning of a new era of relations between the U.S. and Cuba.” Under the new U.S. policy guidelines, religious and higher education organizations …