Canadian Foodgrains Bank Newsletter: Summer 2023

Canadian Foodgrains Bank Update Seeds of Hope

When natural disasters occur, displaced families’ priorities are their safety and ensuring they have enough to eat. Hurricanes, floods, and storms can wash away possessions, savings, and the means for a family to survive. Adding to their struggles, families may also face the overwhelming worry of finding the resources to cover the costs of repairing or rebuilding their homes, and if they were struggling with health issues prior to the disaster, concerns about their ability to continue covering the costs of healthcare can be amplified.

Rataji Marak, 86, and her 90-year-old husband, found themselves with these challenges after flooding caused widespread destruction in the village where they live in North Rongkhang, India. The couple’s granddaughter had been supporting them prior to the flood, but she was only just managing to meet their basic needs.

When the intense rains came, washing away crops and flooding houses, the family of three had no choice but to evacuate their home and live on the roadside. They would spend two weeks out in the elements and depended on food distributions by the government and by World Renew’s local partner, NEICORD. They consumed the food in small quantities to ensure it lasted for as long as possible. When the family returned home, they were heartbroken to find it had been severely damaged, and the roof destroyed.

Through an emergency response project facilitated by World Renew and NEICORD, with support from

Canadian Foodgrains Bank, Rataji’s family received cash assistance for their immediate needs. They used the money to purchase rice, vegetables, potatoes, oil, lentils, fish, and more, to address their food needs. They also managed to repair the roof of their house and Rataji was able to continue treatment for her hand that she fractured two years earlier when she fell while working in the field. “The project has been a blessing to us as a family, my husband and I can eat healthy food and live in a safe house which protects us from the rain and cold,” Rataji said with a smile. “I can now move my hand and assist my granddaughter in household work. We are the most fortunate people to have received such support...I am grateful to [NEICORD, World Renew, and Canadian Foodgrains Bank], they gave us hope where we had lost it, and many families in my village are also being blessed by their support.”

To help address the family’s long-term food security, they received seeds through the project, and Rataji’s granddaughter also received training in disaster preparedness. Rataji and her granddaughter planted the seeds and Rataji expressed joy and happiness for seeds. For Rataji the seeds represent hope for the future.

Thank you for walking alongside World Renew and Canadian Foodgrains Bank to share God’s love and abundance with families impacted by disaster. Thank you for joining us in answering his call to feed the hungry. Together we can end global hunger!

Ending Hunger Around the World

Nigeria

12,600 people received monthly cash transfers between January and June to help address their immediate food needs and started training in incomegenerating activites.

Lebanon

6,000 vulnerable people, including Syrian refugees, Lebanese and foreign nationals, received food vouchers between April 2022 and June 2023.

India

3,750 people are receiving training in farming, agricultural practices, and food nutrition to help them overcome the challenges of depleting land availability and quality.

Ethiopia

1,120 orphans and vulnerable children received food through cash provisions, as well as medical coverage assistance and psychological support

Colombia

4,000 people including, Venezuelan migrants and vulnerable nationals are receiving six months of e-cash vouchers for food assistance.

In Search of Solutions in Igembe

In central Kenya, a long drought stripped the landscape of green and turned the soil to dust. One of the hardest-hit communities was Igembe. Struggling with the effects of lack of water, the land was left bare of vegetation and livestock grew too weak to produce milk. The long drought also caused job opportunities to dry up as markets closed because there were no crops to sell.

Isaac Muthoi is one of the many farmers in Igembe North who was impacted by this devastating drought. Before the drought, Isaac had been excited to see his crop yields increase and his kitchen garden flourish, thanks to training he received through World Renew’s local partner, ADS-MKE. “I was taught the importance of planting trees on my farm by ADS-MKE, how to use mulch, and about kitchen gardens. I have practiced all these, but in the past two years, things have not worked out. In my tree nursery, I had planted over 50 seedlings, but only four survived the drought due to water shortage. My kitchen garden is also drying up,” the married father of four shared. “Water is rare and expensive...my family, we can afford so little for our household use.” His family could also no longer afford to have three meals a day. The nearest market closed, and Isaac could not find the casual day work that would have once helped to supplement his income.

With funding from Canadian Foodgrains Bank, World Renew Kenya and ADS-MKE started a six-month food assistance project to help address the immediate food needs of 1,500 families severely affected by the drought, like Isaac’s. While this project helped deliver hope to these families, through monthly cash transfers for the purchase of food items, World Renew continues to look at long-term solutions to address the effects of extreme weather in the region.

Breaking the Cycle of Injustice

Rashida, 24, lives in Hatirgona village in Teknaf, in the Cox’s Bazar District in Bangladesh where the influx of Rohingya refugees has put huge strains on the local community.

Hatirgona is home to 1,300 people, many of whom rely on what they earn from seasonal fishing, agricultural, and non-agricultural labour jobs to survive. But as locals began to compete with Rohingya refugees for job opportunities–jobs that the Rohingya people were willing to take significantly less pay to do–more and more local families began to face severe levels of hunger—including Rashida’s, as her husband, a small trader and day labourer, began to earn less and less.

World Renew, through our local partner SATHI and with funding from Canadian Foodgrains Bank, has been working to help improve the food security of vulnerable local families in Teknaf. But for Rashida, the support she has received has helped address more than food security.

In Rashida’s community, women are often denied basic human rights. Many are forced into early marriages in which they endure physical abuse. When Rashida was first married, she was limited to staying at home, doing chores, and taking care of her two children—but she wanted to break the cycle of injustice that limited her potential.

When SATHI started a women’s group project in her village, Rashida eagerly joined. She became an active member and because of her empathy and desire to help people in need, she was selected to receive training to become a Community Health Counsellor.

She learned about the importance of providing the best care for children in the first 1,000 days of life, including: the benefits of vaccinations, proper health and hygiene practices, proper nutrition, and more. Rashida now teaches pregnant and lactating mothers in her community all the valuable lessons she learned. She also facilitates follow-up meetings for new mothers to provide support and to ensure they are practicing all they learned.

From other training opportunities, Rashida also learned about vegetable gardening and poultry rearing and not only implemented these practices for her family, but also encourages her neighbours to do the same. These opportunities have helped her earn income to help support her family and made her feel more accomplished and more involved in helping people in her community.

World Renew

3475 Mainway

PO Box 5070, STN LCD 1

Burlington, ON L7R 3Y8

worldrenew.ca

1946358

A Message of Thanks

“And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” – Romans 5:5

In the communities where World Renew works with funding support from Canadian Foodgrains Bank, we see the devastating impact of extreme weather: droughts that destroy crops, floods that wash away homes, and storms that set communities back decades.

Romans 5:5 teaches us that no matter the situation, in times where it feels like all we have is hope, God will not disappoint us but will instead pour his love out onto us. Indeed, in these challenging times we at World Renew see God’s hope and love reflected in the compassion of people like you. Through your generosity, World Renew and Foodgrains Bank are able to provide families with emergency food in times of disaster, training in conservation agriculture and other incomegenerating activities, and equip them to weather future disasters.

In the face of a growing global climate and hunger crisis, the urgent need to be in solidarity with those who are suffering from food insecurity and the impacts of extreme weather becomes ever more apparent. Thankfully, you, as devoted followers of God, have fearlessly risen to this challenge. Your unwavering support is deeply appreciated.

As we continue to pursue God’s justice and mercy for those who struggle with hunger, poverty, and injustice, we ask you to pray for God to provide wisdom and discernment.

Yours in Christ,

Ken Kim Director of International Disaster Response

worldrenew.ca/foodgrains

@worldrenewcanada

/worldrenewcanada