Emergency Relief | Christian Courier
Canadian Foodgrains Bank commits to 12 humanitarian aid projects totaling $9.6 million.
The projects are being implemented by Foodgrains Bank members Canadian Baptist Ministries, Emergency Relief and Development Overseas, Mennonite Central Committee Canada and World Renew, in collaboration with their local partners.
Of these, five projects with a total combined value of over $7 million were committed to provide food assistance to over 50,000 people within Syria and in neighbouring Lebanon.
This spring marks the eighth year of the Syrian conflict, which continues to cause unimaginable hardship for many millions of people. Foodgrains Bank members have been responding to needs created by the conflict since 2012.
In Lebanon, where over 1.5 million refugees have fled, families live where they can, often paying high rents in deplorable conditions. Little money is left over to purchase food, particularly as people exhaust their savings.
Within Syria, over 13 million people lived in poverty in the past year, unable to cover their basic needs, including food. Over five million people are living in extremely dire conditions.
For example, staff from MCC’s partner organization in Syria report visiting a grandmother and her three grandchildren who were receiving food through the Foodgrains Bank. The family was living in a garage soiled with oil residue and a tin roof for a shelter.
“When we met them, we couldn’t help but feel the pain and sorrow reflected on their faces,” they reported.
In nearby Iraq, Foodgrains Bank member Mennonite Central Committee Canada is providing food for 5,400 people displaced from their homes through conflict and chaos caused by the Islamic State. The project totals $356,000.
Canadian Foodgrains Bank programs are undertaken with support from the Government of Canada.
A food assistance project in Syria through Mennonite Central Committee Canada, totaling $3.3 million and benefitting 33,000 people.
A food assistance project in Lebanon through World Renew, totaling $1,000,000 and benefitting 3,750 people.
A food assistance project in Lebanon through Canadian Baptist Ministries, totaling $634,000 and benefitting 2,900 people.
A food assistance project in Iraq through Mennonite Central Committee Canada, totaling $356,000 and benefitting 5,400 people.
An agriculture and livelihoods project in Haiti through World Renew, totaling $363,000 and benefitting 3,000 people.
A food assistance project in Syria through World Renew, totaling $1.2 million and benefitting 8,400 people.
A food assistance project in Somalia through Emergency Relief and Development Overseas, totaling $330,000 and benefitting 3,300 people.
A food assistance project in Lebanon through Mennonite Central Committee Canada, totaling $1.4 million and benefitting 3,000 people.
Amanda is Communications Coordinator for the Canadian Foodgrains Bank, a partnership of 15 churches and church agencies working together to end hunger.