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11 projects totaling $4 million committed in June

Over 89,000 people in ten countries will benefit from eleven projects totaling $4.2 million committed by Canadian Foodgrains Bank in June.

The projects are being implemented by Foodgrains Bank members Emergency Relief and Development Overseas, Mennonite Central Committee Canada, Tearfund Canada and World Renew, in collaboration with their local partners.

One project, in northern Nigeria, is responding to the devastation caused by the Boko Haram fundamentalist group.

The group is attempting to overthrow the government and replace it with an Islamic state. Mass abductions, bombings and assassinations have caused almost two million people to flee their homes in search of safety, most of them women and children. Another seven million people are in need of humanitarian assistance.

The Foodgrains Bank, through its member World Renew, is responding by providing emergency cash to 1,600 displaced families and the vulnerable families who are hosting them. A total of 8,000 people are being helped through the project, worth $974,000 and implemented locally by ZOA. Families use the cash to purchase food at local markets they otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford.

An additional 12,000 people are also receiving nutrition education.

Another project, through Foodgrains Bank member Tearfund Canada, is responding to the needs of hungry people in South Sudan.

The ongoing conflict has affected agricultural production and the ability to import food from neighbouring countries. Households are struggling to access enough food. Women are particularly affected as they forage for wild foods, leaving them vulnerable to attack and sexual violence.

With financial assistance from The United Church of Canada and Nazarene Compassionate Ministries Canada, about 13,000 people are receiving vouchers they can exchange for emergency rations of sorghum, beans, vegetable oil and salt. The project, which is implemented locally by Tearfund South Sudan, is worth $891,000.

All projects committed in June:

  • An agriculture and livelihoods project in Burkina Faso through Mennonite Central Committee Canada, totaling $146,000 and benefitting 7,000 people.
  • An agriculture and livelihoods project in Cambodia through Mennonite Central Committee Canada, totaling $181,000 and benefitting 12,00 people.
  • An agriculture and livelihoods project in Haiti through Mennonite Central Committee Canada, totaling $217,000 and benefitting 24,000 people.
  • An agriculture and livelihoods project in India through Tearfund Canada, totaling $103,000 and benefitting 2,400 people.
  • A food assistance and agriculture and livelihoods project in Iraq through Mennonite Central Committee Canada, totaling $448,000 and benefitting 3,600 people.
  • A food assistance project in Kenya through World Renew, totaling $398,000 and benefitting 7,700 people.
  • An agriculture and livelihoods project in Sierra Leone through Tearfund Canada, totaling $204,000 and benefiting 2,100 people.
  • A food assistance project in South Sudan through Mennonite Central Committee Canada, totaling $344,000 and benefitting 6,800 people.
  • A food assistance project in South Sudan through Tearfund Canada, totaling $891,000 and benefitting 13,000 people.
  • A food assistance project in Uganda through Emergency Relief and Development Overseas totaling $320,000 and benefitting 2,500 people.

Canadian Foodgrains Bank programs are undertaken with support from the Government of Canada.

--Amanda Thorsteinsson, Communications Coordinator

Canadian Foodgrains Bank is a partnership of 15 churches and church agencies working together to end hunger. In the 2017-18 budget year, the Foodgrains Bank provided over $37 million of assistance for over 800,000 people in 34 countries. Canadian Foodgrains Bank programs are undertaken with support from the Government of Canada provided through Global Affairs Canada. Assistance from the Foodgrains Bank is provided through its member agencies, which work with local partners in the developing world.