In Ukraine, families of fallen soldiers find comfort

Apr 9, 2018 by and

People who have lost family members in the conflict in Ukraine gather for a peace club at Hram, a Mennonite Central Committee partner. In the foreground at right is Claudia Antonovna Ushakova, whose son, a soldier in the Ukrainian army, died in combat in 2014. — Lyubov Varvyanskaya/MCC

Imagine the pain of losing a child to war, compounded by not having a safe space to express grief. This is Claudia Antonovna Ushakova’s story. Her son, a soldier in the Ukrainian army, died in combat at the...

[read more]

MCC supplies food amid violence in Congo

Apr 9, 2018 by , , and

Agnès Ntumba, wearing a light blue shirt on the right, and her family share a pot of beans that Ntumba made from supplies that were part of a food distribution she received. The Evangelical Mennonite Church organized the March 23-24 distribution for people who are staying in the Kabwela area of Lomami Province after being displaced from the Kasai Province of the Democratic Republic of Congo. — Mulanda Jimmy Juma/MCC

Agnès Ntumba remembers the day her husband and seven children fled the violence that took over their village in the Kasai region of the Democratic Republic of Congo. “I saw people being killed. They were...

[read more]

MCC marks 75 years in India

Mar 26, 2018 by and

Mennonite Central Committee supports a community school program at a hostel for girls run by Lee Memorial Mission in Kolkata, India. MCC provides funding to enhance the quality of education for needy students through better facilities, innovative teaching methods and by addressing the health and well-being of students. Pictured are students Priya Biswas, left, and Srilekha Das. — Dave Klassen/MCC

Mennonite Central Committee is celebrating 75 years of relief, development and peace work in India, making it one of the oldest international aid organizations in the country. MCC began work in India in 1942...

[read more]

Mennonites join to provide food and shelter in DR Congo

Dec 4, 2017 by and

These displaced families, who are staying in the Kikwit District of the Democratic Republic of Congo, wait on Nov. 20 to receive a month’s supply of food and nonfood emergency assistance, including flour, beans, oil, sugar, salt, tarps and soap. — Fidele Kyanza/MCC

Displaced people who recently received food and shelter supplies distributed by Mennonite churches in the Kasai region of the Democratic Republic of Congo have seen unimaginable horrors. Innoncente Ngandu...

[read more]

MCC partner supports alternate rites of passage for girls

Nov 6, 2017 by and

Ana Laizer, right, with Paulina Sumayani, director of TEMBO. Laizer participated in the Sara and Juma program at her school and decided she didn’t want to undergo female genital mutilation or be married at a young age. — Tiffanee Wright/MCC

Ana Laizer, a ninth-grade student in Longido, Tanzania, dreams of going to university to become a successful businesswoman. For many girls her age, this dream might never become reality. Access to education...

[read more]

Bolivian children’s home builds stronger families

Aug 14, 2017 by and

Students in the pre-kindergarten class attend their last week of classes at Guarderia Moisés, a daycare program of MCC partner Stansberry Children’s Home in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. — Juliane Kozel/Stansberry Children’s Home

WINNIPEG, Man. — When Rosinda Picon goes to work, she trusts the staff at Stansberry Children’s Home in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, to care for her children. The children’s home, which is a Mennonite Central...

[read more]

‘Die Mennonitische Post’ celebrates 40th anniversary

Jul 3, 2017 by and

Post editors — from left, Abe Warkentin, Isbrand Hiebert and Kennert Giesbrecht — hold volumes of issues published during their tenures. Warkentin, the founding editor, served more than 20 years. Hiebert was managing editor in the early 1990s, and Giesbrecht has been at the helm since 2002. — Die Mennonitische Post

Die Mennonitische Post, one of the last remaining German-language publications in North America, celebrated its 40th anniversary in June. Mennonite Central Committee, which supports the Post, has longstanding...

[read more]

Program restores sex offenders

Jun 19, 2017 by and

A sex offender who was part of an MCC-supported Circle of Support and Accountability wishes to remain anonymous so that he can reintegrate into society without the stigma of his crime. — Shane Yuhas/MCC

The Canadian government will provide nearly $7.5 million over five years to a Mennonite-supported program that helps convicted sex offenders reintegrate into the community. Circles of Support and...

[read more]

Spike in Colombian violence underlines ongoing need for peacebuilding, prayer

Jun 12, 2017 by and

Members of a Colombian Mennonite Brethren Conference visit a rural community in the San Juan region shortly after the community experienced significant flooding. The community is stuck in the middle of violence between the Gaitanista Self Defence Forces of Colombia, a paramilitary group that occupies the area, and a guerrilla group vying for power. — Brendah Ndagire/MCC

Partners of Mennonite Central Committee in Colombia continue to walk with people affected by more than 50 years of violence as new armed conflict emerges even after a peace accord. Violence among armed groups...

[read more]

MCC aids Iraqis who’ve slipped through safety net

May 15, 2017 by and

A boy carries a mattress to his temporary home after fleeing from Mosul, Iraq. An MCC partner, Zakho Small Villages Project, distributed food, cooking supplies, hygiene supplies, mattresses and other household materials that families left behind when they fled. — Waleed Muzoory/ZSVP

As more than 350,000 Iraqis have fled violence in and around the city of Mosul, Mennonite Central Committee is providing food and household supplies to those who slip through the safety net of other...

[read more]

MCC assists survivors of flooding in North Korea

Jan 9, 2017 by and

Bong-Suk Shin, 65, looks through what remains of her home for anything she can salvage. She and her grandson lost all their belongings when flooding and landslides ravaged Hamg­yong province. — John Lehmann/MCC

Mennonite Central Committee’s partners in North Korea are providing assistance for hundreds of thousands of people affected by flooding and landslides in the isolated country. Heavy rains Aug. 28-Sept. 2...

[read more]

MCC Christmas statement: 5 reasons to give

Nov 28, 2016 by and

The World Together Blog

WINNIPEG, Man. — What better gifts can you give this Christmas than goats, peacebuilding knowledge, seeds, school supplies or a well of clean drinking water? Through Mennonite Central Committee’s...

[read more]