A Moment for First Steps - a Christian organization (and partner with MCC) is committed to preventing child malnutrition in North Korea through programs that provide essential nutrients to young children and pregnant and lactating mothers.
 
First Steps brings soymilk and nutritional supplements to over 100,000 children and 20,000 mothers each day. And not only that, all of this done with marvelous partnerships and friendships: orphanage leaders, educators, and even upper level government officials all work together and with First Steps for the good of mothers and their children.
 
With God and your support, anything is most certainly possible.
 
First Steps – showing the love of Christ in North Korea by providing sustainable, and life-enhancing nutritional relief. https://www.firststepscanada.org/​

A Moment for MCC:
 
Rina Deuri had a dream that drove her. It pushed her through days of dipping sheaths of handmade paper into vats of dyes whose colors she carefully mixed to a specific hue. It fueled her through evenings when she made paper products at home for extra income.
“It was my target,” she says. “That I make my children educated.” Today, her son Anjan is a dentist and her daughter Rina is a nurse.
 
MCC began the Biborton Handmade Paper project in 1993 as one of a number of MCC job creation projects in Bangladesh. The aim was to provide sustainable income for rural women and to empower them — a great need in a region where incomes were low, hunger frequent and education most often out of reach.
 
There are a variety of ways to support this project. You can give online. You can give by your offering. If by cash, designate the envelope “MCC Bangladesh.” If by cheque, make the cheque payable to the church and designate “MCC Bangladesh” on the memo line/envelope. By e-transfer, put “MCC Bangladesh” in the message box. Any questions? Our treasurer Lorraine would love to help.
 
MCC – Relief, development, and peace in the name of Christ
https://mcc.org/our-stories/mothers-persistence

We are heading into “fancy dress” season. Save money, reduce waste, and support the work of MCC. Swing by the shop and check out their classy finds! Fresh items hit the floor every day! And you are always welcome to donate the things you are purging during your spring clean or downsizing. MCC Thrift is "Where Every Purchase Is A Gift To The World!”
https://mccthriftontario.com/stcatharines/

Raw Carrot Soup is not raw and is not limited to carrots. There are seven kinds and they are all excellent. Not only are you supporting local farmers, you are providing meaningful employment and livelihood security to individuals on social assistance who want to, and CAN, work. These soups are available at MCC Thrift on Grantham and made excellent gifts!
https://therawcarrot.com/

MCC will be responding to the earthquake in Myanmar. Donate now to support our local partners providing emergency food, hygiene supplies and blankets to families in need. 
Please pray for safety for those affected and for partner staff who are working to respond. The situation is made even more challenging after years of conflict, causing lack of electricity and the collapse of the healthcare system.

There are a variety of ways to give. You can give online. You can give by your offering. If by cash, designate the envelope “MCC Myanmar.” If by cheque, make the cheque payable to the church and designate “MCC Myanmar” on the memo line/envelope. By e-transfer, put “MCC Myanmar” in the message box. Any questions? Our treasurer Lorraine would love to help.

MCC – Relief, development, and peace in the name of Christ

In November 2020, northern Ethiopia descended into chaos as fighting broke out between the Tigray People’s Liberation Front and the Ethiopian National Defence Forces. Even with a unilateral ceasefire now in place, thousands of people have been killed, 2.2 million people have been displaced and 4.5 million people are in need of urgent humanitarian assistance.
Your compassionate response equipped MCC partner, Meserete Kristos Church Development Commission (MKCDC), to respond quickly with cash transfers to 850 families. 
This cash has allowed families to buy food items like teff (a local staple grain), maize and oil - providing critical nutrition and easing the burden on families living hand-to-mouth for years since the conflict erupted.
For Atsede Tadesse, the cash transfer helped her buy 100 kg of maize as well as the money to get the maize ground at a mill. For a single mother of five growing children — seven-year-old Handeya Getet (pictured here) and four older boys — your support has been vital. (MCC photo/Paul Mosley)

MCC – Relief, Development, and Peace – in the Name of Christ

When you shop at MCC Thrift, you help break down income barriers for marginalized communities in places like Nepal. After learning about fish farming through an MCC partner, Shova Beshra, Kalpana Kumari Marandi and Chanmuni Tudu Satar waded into the aquaculture world and leased a pond together. Now, they sell fish from this pond at the local market, generating income for their families.
As a network of over 85 shops, MCC Thrift raises millions of dollars each year for MCC projects around the world. When you donate, shop or volunteer, your journey goes beyond transactions — every treasure with a history helps create a more hopeful future.
​​https://mcc.org/our-stories/boosting-income-and-voices

MCC Thrift - Relief, development, and peace - in the Name of Christ

Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Canada is pleased to announce that Kenneth H. Kim has been appointed new MCC Canada executive director, effective March 3, 2025.  
Kim previously served as interim executive director of World Renew for a year and a half, and director of disaster response for the same organization for seven years prior to that. He also served as a board member of Canadian Foodgrains Bank for 17 years, most recently as board chair. Through these roles, he has had many opportunities to interact with MCC staff and programs. Prior to his time with World Renew, Kim worked as director of Presbyterian World Service & Development.
“We are elated to welcome Ken to MCC,” says Ron Ratzlaff, MCC Canada board chair. “Ken is a servant leader with a deep sense of commitment for God’s ministry of global justice.”

MCC – Relief, development, and peace – in the Name of Christ

Devoted workers and volunteers at MCC-supported church shelters in Mexico welcome migrants.

Victor Lampón Leon and Rocio Valencia Islas lead a church that revolves around providing respite, attention and care to migrants passing through Ecatepec, a town just outside of Mexico City. MCC has provided support to the ministry, La Mano de Dios en Apoyo al Migrante or Hand of God in Support of Migrants, for the past three years.
The space they have is small — five bunk beds and a single bed completely fill one room, while the one car garage-sized remainder hosts church services, meals, additional guests and whatever else the ministry requires. Lampón says the most they’ve ever hosted for night was 48, but 35 to 40 is typical. Women and children double up on the beds when needed, turning 11 spots into 22, and the church puts down sleeping mats anywhere else someone could lay their head for the night. 

Mennonite Central Committee – Relief, Development, and Peace – in the Name of Christ

This week, we conducted a prayer for a shipment to be sent to the Maheba Refugee Settlement in Zambia, home to over 39,000 refugees from Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Angola, and Somalia.
This shipment includes:
- 3,600 comforters
- 500 dignity kits
- 3,200 hygiene kits
- 672 relief kits
- 2,200 school kits
- 4,272 tubes of toothpaste
With the help of our partner, the Brave Heart Foundation, these essential supplies will support over 38,000 people over the next three years, including vulnerable children in orphanages who lack even basic hygiene items.

Each item is a step toward better health, dignity, and hope for those who need it most. Thank you for helping us bring love and care to communities around the world!

Mennonite Central Committee: Relief, development and peace in the name of Christ.

​​Celebrate the Grand Opening of MCC’s new stationary meat cannery on Saturday, January 18, 2025! With this facility, we’re doubling our production to feed over 50,000 cans of food annually to families in need worldwide.
Location: 65 Heritage Dr., New Hamburg, ON 
Time: 1:45 PM - 4:00 PM
Come for the tours, enjoy the refreshments, and taste the impact of this incredible work. Let’s mark this milestone together!