MCC and its partners in Burundi are working together to respond to the immense needs in the country after torrential rainfall and a series of floods and landslides have displaced hundreds of thousands of people.
 
Whole villages have been submerged or leveled by landslides. More than 300,000 people are in desperate need of relief. Nearly 90% of Burundians make their living as subsistence farmers, and many have lost their entire livelihoods as their farmland is violently washed away.
 
MCC is responding to the immense need in Burundi in a joint effort with many of its partners in the region. Working with partners MCC has begun its emergency relief response for 500 affected families. Each family will receive 20 kgs of rice, 10 kgs of beans, a bucket, a package of sanitary pads (where needed), a carton of soap and a flashlight with batteries.
 
Read the whole story at https://mcc.org/our-stories/mcc-responds-disastrous-floods-burundi-local-partners
 
MCC: Relief, development and peace in the name of Christ

Congratulations to our incredible partner, The Raw Carrot, on celebrating 10 amazing years of cooking up delicious, handcrafted gourmet soups!
We are so proud to be part of your journey and mission. The Raw Carrot is more than just a soup maker; it’s a beacon of hope and opportunity. By empowering individuals who face barriers to traditional employment, The Raw Carrot offers the dignity of work and the chance to secure livelihoods by provide meaningful employment to adults on social assistance, turning simple ingredients into gourmet masterpieces.
Here's to a decade of changing lives, one bowl at a time, and to many more years of impactful and inspiring work. Cheers to The Raw Carrot and the amazing team behind it!
https://therawcarrot.com/
 
(Note from Jan: These soups make great gifts!)
 
MCC: Relief, development and peace in the name of Christ

First Steps is a Christian organization that seeks to prevent and alleviate childhood malnutrition in North Korea through our programs which provide essential nutrients to young children, babies, pregnant, and lactating mothers. We are motivated by our faith to share God’s love by working with the government to improve the health and prospects of women and children in the DPRK. First Steps has the rare and privileged opportunity of continuing our humanitarian aid in the DPRK over many years and through many challenges.
 
First Steps’ programs operate in 10 areas across four provinces and one district. Learn more at https://www.firststepscanada.org/
 
MCC: Relief, development and peace in the name of Christ

While students from Lancaster Mennonite (LM) School were packing MCC school kits during World Changer Week in March, Rebecca Burkholder, MCC U.S. director of International Program, was visiting schools in Chad that would receive school kits  
“I visited three schools in the North Kanem area, which is in the Sahel region, near the Sahara Desert,” Burkholder said. “The children walk to school. Some may come by donkey or even camel.”
The students were very engaged in their education, said Burkholder, who had come to Chad to see MCC’s projects and to support and encourage MCC’s staff and partners.
The school kits, which include a drawstring bag, paper notebooks, pencils, pencil sharpener, pens, ruler, eraser and colored pencils, are important because these educational supplies are hard to find in Chad, and they are too expensive for parents to purchase locally, Burkholder said.
Lancaster Mennonite students in first, second, third and fifth grades helped pack the school supplies in cloth drawstring bags, which are commonly reused as backpacks.
More than 450 school kits were assembled.
https://mcc.org/our-stories/connecting-students-chad-and-pennsylvania
 
MCC: Relief, development and peace in the name of Christ