Even though Shells Evangelical Lutheran Church, Grantville, Pennsylvania suffered a fire in their sanctuary and social hall by an arsonist, they still collected donations for the CWS Blankets+ program and will be collecting donations for the tools project in June. Shells’ congregation “gets it” and reaches out to those in need no matter what!  Shells Church mission statement is: “We …

Stella Mkiliwane brings her own experiences as a refugee mother from Zimbabwe to her work with the Refugee Ministries Centre, a Church World Service partner in Johannesburg, South Africa. A family therapist and social worker by training, her work for an international humanitarian organization in Zimbabwe exposed her to the suffering of her fellow citizens, especially to hunger and lack …

Port-au-Prince, Haiti – Just by sheer numbers alone, young people in Haiti are a vital force in society — roughly half of the country’s population of about 10 million is now under the age of 20. But young people face enormous challenges: in a country where still only half of the population is literate, acquiring an education is not easy, …

It is said in Bosnia that “To sing is to pray twice.” This old proverb eloquently captures the mission of Pontanima Interfaith Choir.  Our most earnest supplications have been the songs we have lifted up in the last decade.  When we could rarely find the words to utter even the briefest prayer, we relied on our songs to speak to …

Delmys Licona brings her passion to life in an instant, detailing the development work she holds so dear while embracing her baby boy.  Her passion shines in her relationships with her staff and the communities she serves.  And it’s obvious hiking up steep terrain to visit remote villages that this woman is committed to reaching everyone who wants to work …

For the members of the Mayfield, N.Y., Central Presbyterian Church and others who had seen a tragedy unfolding for several days, there was no question that their commitment to helping the world’s hungry would continue. Because despite a lightning strike and a resulting fire that destroyed the church building on April 28, Mayfield residents went ahead with a CROP Hunger …

Like parents in any other part of the world, Svetislav Nedeljkovic only wants the best for his children, despite being forced from home to live in temporary camps following Kosovo’s 1999 violence. “My three children were born in the camp, and all of them, except Aleksandar, spent their early childhood without the proper education,” he says. The time was trying …

In the midst of gripping poverty, Cruz Rivas Williams sees great potential right under his feet. “The greatest gift God has given us is the water and the land,” says Williams. Williams knows something about the gifts of water and land – he trains local farmers in sustainable farming techniques in the Nazaret 1 training center in the Rio Coco …

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 …

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 …