News & Updates | Posted Friday, November 18, 2011

Ceremony heralds World Toilet Day HASNASENII MARI, Moldova — Kids attending school in the small, northern Moldova village of Hasnasenii Mari today celebrated their school’s first toilet at a special ceremony. The new urine diverting dry toilet (UDDT), or composting toilet, is the first of its kind in northern Moldova, inaugurated a day before World Toilet Day (Nov. 19). The …

News & Updates | Posted Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Over the years the members of Wilson Congregational Church in Windsor, Conn have supported Church World Service programs with Blankets+ offerings, CROP Hunger Walks and other support. But their final gift might be the most meaningful. The congregation’s $175,000 gift to CWS came from the sale of their church building, a final act of philanthropy at the end of years …

News & Updates | Posted Friday, November 11, 2011

As an estimated 13 million people continue suffering the effects of a historic drought in the Horn of Africa, recent rains have given hope to some farmers in the region. In parts of Kenya, October rains have allowed farming communities to plant fields in anticipation of a harvest in January or February. Other areas are still dry – and the …

News & Updates | Posted Friday, November 4, 2011

Update, Nov. 9:  Church World Service client and boxer Angelo “La Cobra” Santana lived up to his nickname Saturday night (Nov. 5), successfully defending his WBA Super Lightweight title against Broderick Antoine.  Santana won by technical knockout in the first round.  CWS-Miami Office staff Mabel Hernandez and Oscar Rivera joined promoter Don King and others in the ring to congratulate …

News & Updates | Posted Friday, October 21, 2011

ELGIN, Ill. – Combining “faith with a plan of action,” the board of directors of humanitarian agency Church World Service unanimously approved a strategic vision to meet the requirements for superior performance in a changing global environment. Calling the moment “historic,” CWS CEO and Executive Director, the Rev. John L. McCullough said the changes will “ripple out from here to …

News & Updates | Posted Tuesday, August 23, 2011

There are an endless number of stories to tell about this year’s devastating drought in East Africa.  Across much of Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia and beyond, 13.3 million people are struggling to survive the failure of seasonal rains, the scarcity of water and the skyrocketing price of food. “This time is the worst drought we ever faced,” an Anglican priest, Rev. …

News & Updates | Posted Friday, June 17, 2011

A tornado destroyed a third of their town. But the people of the Central States CROP Hunger Walk, in Joplin, Missouri are forging ahead with their annual walk for this fall. “Two weeks after the tornado, our church held a pie and ice cream social for a local literacy organization,” Edna Lassman says. “If we can do that, we can …

News & Updates | Posted Wednesday, April 6, 2011

University of Tennessee, Knoxville, students Olivia Brown and Courtney Patterson saw a unique way to fight hunger, an idea that – quite literally – smacked them in the face. ”A lot of people are doing walks and runs, so we wanted to do something that would stand out,” Patterson says.  They saw the need to do something that would grab …

News & Updates | Posted Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Access to clean, safe water doesn’t take massive investment in many communities where water is scarce.  One characteristic of CWS work around the world is small-scale solutions that are guided, developed and sustained in each community.  Here are a few examples of how we’re working around the world, where small projects make a big impact. Collecting water drained time and …