Stories and resources

September 2012

Learning goes both ways in Nigeria learning tour A Pacific Southwest Mennonite Conference and West Coast Mennonite Central Committee learning tour to Nigeria brings people and organizations together for the first time.
Syria: Your church can help A message for the churches- how can you help the people who have been affected by the conflict in Syria?
Syrian church leaders take stand for peace Syrian church leaders are trying to stand as a model of God's kingdom and what peace can look like in a conflict situation.
MCC aids earthquake-stricken Iranian families MCC material resources will mean families affected by August earthquakes in northwest Iran have appropriate shelter and warm bedding for the winter months.
Friendship and food security across borders MCC-Foods Resource Bank partnership cultivates relationships, while it helps families remain on their land.
Preventing gun violence Gun violence is epidemic in the United States, with approximately 30,000 gun deaths each year. Our shared humanity compels us to care about God’s children dying from gun violence on the streets of Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Los Angeles and elsewhere.
Dreams of our own: Revalidating traditional Mayan lifestyles In this reflection, MCC Guatemala service worker Tobias Roberts emphasizes the importance of encouraging youth to accomplish their dreams.
MCC partners with church in eastern Congo response MCC and long-time partner the Church of Christ in Congo continue efforts to ease suffering of displaced families.
MCC seeks support to ease plight of Syrian people MCC and partners help Syrians seeking places to live within their own country as well as those who have fled elsewhere.
Working with the church in Congo MCC efforts to ease the suffering of displaced families in eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo continue with distribution of food and household items and emergency access to health care for about 1,350 people. In this audio report, MCC U.S. Program Director Ruth Keidel Clemens talks with the Reverend Pierre Marini Bodho, leader of longtime partner organization the Church of Christ in Congo, about the situation.

August 2012

Food crisis in Sahel deepens as people hope for a good harvest MCC provides emergency food assistance in Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali.
Celebrating 15 years of dialogue and unity MCC’s partner, Instituto de Estudios e Investigación Intercultural (INESIN), is forging relationships of unity and respect among people of various faiths through religious study and practical projects.
Friendship opens youth to peace training MCC trains college students and high school teachers in Lao People’s Democratic Republic to teach basic peacebuilding in the context of friendship.
Welcoming the stranger In this reflection, J. Daryl Byler, an MCC representative in the Middle East, tells of the plight of Syrian refugees flowing into Jordan, mentions earlier refugee movements into Jordan, and highlights the exemplary hospitality he witnesses as the refugees arrive.
Growing through service MCC U.S.’ Summer Service program provides opportunities for young adults to serve in their churches or communities and gain valuable work experience.
MCC U.S. hears call from partners in Palestine and Israel MCC U.S. hears request from partners in Palestine and Israel to examine how its investments tie into this region.
MCC material resources reach Syrian refugees MCC encourages continued giving of dollars and relief kits in its response to the crisis in Syria and neighboring countries.
Lao PDR: Nutrition and health In Lao villages, where rice is a mainstay, nutrition trainings emphasize the importance of eating a varied diet, including food that people can collect from the nearby forest, fields and streams,

July 2012

When Hillary Clinton met Phongsavath Souliyalat In this opinion article, MCC U.S. peace education coordinator Titus Peachey writes of his hopes that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s encounter with a victim of U.S. cluster bombs will result in a significant pledge to help clean up the bombs that still present danger in Lao People’s Democratic Republic 40 years after the Vietnam War.
Lebanon NGOs undertake disaster preparedness activities as regional tensions flare MCC works with other nonprofit organizations in Lebanon to prepare for possibility that the violence in Syria could spill into Lebanon.
MCC Haiti plants 5,000 trees for National Tree Day On National Tree Day, enthusiastic community volunteers in Haiti planted 5,000 trees on a Haiti mountainside.
200,000 newly displaced by conflict in eastern Congo Increasing violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo forces more than 200,000 people from their villages in search of safety.
MCC material aid reaches Syrian refugees in Jordan MCC and partners respond as swelling numbers of Syrians fleeing violence expand the need for aid in Jordan.
MCC extends food distribution in Mexico MCC is sending food and supplies to Durango State, Mexico, to help families affected by widespread drought.
IVEP participants enrich host families’ lives Host family Bonnie and Dave Moyer talk about their experience of hosting four young adults from around the globe through MCC’s International Volunteer Exchange Program.