One of the first thoughts Takeshi Komino had when the catastrophic earthquake and tsunami devastated the northeastern part of Japan was pointed and surprising. “Is this really happening in my country of Japan?” thought Komino, head of emergencies for CWS Asia/Pacific. “Japan is considered one of the richest nations in the world with probably the best disaster risk reduction measures …
A dam walk in Texas helps kick off Spring CROP Hunger Walk season
You can excuse any residents of Canyon Lake in central Texas Hill Country for referring to their town’s annual hunger-fighting walk as, “That dam walk.” The description is hardly a pejorative when the route of the walk indeed does take walkers straight across Canyon Lake Dam, which the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built years ago to reduce flooding of …
Promoting health education and services for vulnerable communities in Pakistan
For many of us, taking a sick child to the doctor is a routine occurrence. But what if there are no doctors? No medicines? No hospitals? One young mother in Segram, Pakistan, knows the answer. Even when she was fortunate enough to have a little money, Sadia’s only option was to visit what she called “a quack doctor” who charged …
A mighty call for mercy on behalf of the world’s battered women
Jasmine Huggins |
As if the challenges of putting their lives back together after a devastating earthquake weren’t already big enough, Haitian women are enduring an epidemic of rape and sexual violence. The 900,000 population that lives in tents in spontaneous settlements is particularly at risk owing to precarious living conditions. But women all over Haiti are vulnerable, because normal life has been …
World Water Day: Conference examines Moldova water supply issues
March 22, 2011
CHISINAU, MOLDOVA — Church World Service is joining global recognition of World Water Day (March 22) with co-sponsorship of a major conference today in Chisinau, Moldova, Implementation of the Human Right to Water and Sanitation in Moldova, which will focus on the international Protocol on Water and Health. “Access to clean water is one of the main problems facing the …
CWS praises introduction of refugee reform bill
March 15, 2011
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 …
Global south partners rate CWS performance
March 14, 2011
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 …
In search of water, forced to flee
March 9, 2011
CWS Director of Immigration and Refugee Programs Erol Kekic explains how people are increasingly forced to move because of a lack of water. Do people really become refugees because they don’t have access to water? Many people are forced to abandon their traditional habitats because of the lack of drinking water. Due to the climate change and decrease in arable …
Water: simple solutions, big changes
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 …
How can we tell them “no?”
Half a world away from the budget battle in Washington, Aliansa do Rego lives in the country of Timor-Leste. Aliansa works alongside CWS staff to help her community learn new farming techniques. “This was the first assistance we received,” Aliansa says. “Seeds for water spinach and tomatoes, and tools from CWS. This is our livelihood.” CWS helps thousands of people …