Our Work
Our vision is a world where everyone has food, voice and a safe place to call home.
After seven decades moving towards this goal, CWS has the faith and experience to know it’s possible. Working around the world, we’ve seen gardens flourishing in barren land. Migrants and refugees finding home even after every door seems to have been closed. Houses standing strong against nature’s worst disasters. That’s the power of your compassion at work when it links to human resilience.
Latest Updates
Clean Water, New Beginnings: How Community Wells Are Changing Lives in Cambodia
Two new community wells in Battambang Province, Cambodia, are providing safe, reliable water to 23 households—transforming daily life by reducing health risks, saving time and improving opportunities for women and children. Across rural communities, the lack of safe water is more than an inconvenience—it is a barrier to health, education and opportunity. When water sources dry up or become unsafe, …
Politicization of Vital Program for Allies should not be Response to Wanton Violence, Bloodshed
Washington, D.C.—Following this week’s violent attack on two members of the National Guard—leading to one death and the critical wounding of another—in our nation’s capitol, Church World Service condemns this reprehensible attack and all violence unequivocally. The perpetrator has since been identified as an Afghan national who served alongside the U.S. presence in Afghanistan, had been evacuated after the fall …
From Silence to Strength: Andrea Casamento’s Global Advocacy
Andrea Casamento’s journey from personal pain to collective advocacy highlights how families of incarcerated people—especially women—transform isolation into strength, leading to global recognition of their rights. Through ACiFaD’s partnership with CWS, her work has reshaped policy, elevated lived experience and inspired international action against systemic injustice. When Andrea Casamento stepped onto the TEDx Río de la Plata stage for the …
Neighbors, Not Enemies: Remembering Injustice and Resisting Its Return
In this powerful reflection, CWS’s Associate Director of Policy, Kimiko Hirota, recounts her experience at the 2025 Crystal City Pilgrimage, drawing connections between her family’s history and the renewed use of the Alien Enemies Act under the Trump administration. As immigrant communities face mass detention and deportation today, she calls on Americans to remember past injustices and resist their return …
Youth Advocate for Safer Spaces: A Step Toward Dignity and Rights
On September 30, CWS Latin America and Caribbean commemorated the International Day of Children and Adolescents with Incarcerated Adult Relatives, highlighting a major milestone in the defense of their rights: the participation of youth representatives in a thematic hearing before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the resulting Resolution 2/25, which recognizes the rights of children affected by incarceration. …