NEW YORK – “You have reached 65 years, but please don’t retire!” With those words, Vincent Cochetel, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees regional representative for the United States and the Caribbean, joined those wishing Church World Service a fond birthday as the global humanitarian agency marked its 65th anniversary and its long service and dedication to refugee protection. …

With famine now declared in parts of Somalia and more than 11.3 million people in need of aid in Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Djibouti, Church World Service is providing emergency food relief, water tankering and long-term disaster risk reduction programs, beginning in northern and eastern Kenya. As thousands of those affected by this crisis flee daily across borders to …

“These children didn’t choose to live on the street. They are left there. They survive on empty stomachs, without love. They don’t go to school and have never been to the doctor. They are growing up before they become children. All it takes is just a little goodwill so their lives can change for the better.” – The Centre for …

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – On a hotel rooftop, overlooking the ocean waves crashing on to the beach along the coastline a group of young men and women, mostly Tamils, is in good spirits considering the gravity of the conversation’s subject matter: security issues, from landmines to traffic accidents. The local aid group Organization for Elangai Refugees Rehabilitation leads the workshop …

On June 2, 2011 the Interfaith Working Group on Global Hunger and Food Security and the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy sponsored a Congressional briefing on the right to food and sustainable approaches to food security.  Hosted by Congressman Jim McGovern (MA), the participants and attendees included staff from congressional offices, development and faith-based agencies and family farm organizations. …

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 …

BANGKOK – As a leader in humanitarian accountability and standards, Church World Service Asia-Pacific hosted around 50 representatives of humanitarian aid organizations in the region to share views on the increasingly insecure operating environments in which they work, and the importance of accountability towards local partners. The conference, Responsibilities and Response: a Discussion on Policy and Standards, was organized by …

With more than a billion people worldwide lacking clean water and more than 2.1 million people most of them children dying each year from waterborne disease, water cannot be taken for granted.  In a recent visit to eastern Nicaragua, Church World Service Michigan staff Antoinette Lloyd-Evans and several colleagues met with partner CIEETS (Interchurch Center of Theological and Social Studies).  …

An ACT member working in Ethiopia has an extensive water project in the eastern part of the country.  One day, the chief mechanic was driving a pick-up truck filled with water construction materials to the project area. From the river bank of the right side of the highway Children were walking along the highway and crossing into the road with …

Bangkok – ACT Alliance’s “Safety and Security Awareness Week” is our opportunity to increase security awareness and good practice amongst Alliance members and our organisational partners.  This task is especially important given that concerns for safety and security in the delivery of humanitarian assistance have risen significantly in recent years.  Last month, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian …