3 Things to Consider on World Food Day

Today is World Food Day, a United Nations designated day to remember 821 million people in the world who do not have enough food to eat. For those of us who live in a context of plenty, let's  pause and consider three things:

1. Where does my food come from?

• Who grew/raised the food I eat? (Grains, fruit, vegetables, meat, etc.) 
• Was it mass produced? Was it sustainably grown to ensure a healthy environment? 
• Who produced the prepared food I eat? (Bread, cookies, pasta, ketchup, etc.)
• How and from where is the food transported to where I buy it? 

Reflecting on these things can serve to make us more grateful for the food we eat and for the farmers and food producers that make it available for us.

2. What are my consumption habits?

- Do I plan my meals before I shop?
- Do I purchase only the quanitities I need?
- Do I mostly eat prepared/packaged foods?
- Do I seek to purchase food grown/raised locally?
- Do I intentionally eat seasonal available foods?
- How much food packaging do I throw away?
- How much food do I throw away?
- Do I practice hospitality and eat meals with friends or neighbours?

Reflecting on these questions can motivate us to become more conscientious about our eating and purchasing habits. 

3. Who are the 821 million and why are they hungry?

• People who live in chronic poverty and don't have the resources to purchase or grow food.
• People who live in isolated communities and don't have access to food, or can't afford the exhorbitant prices if food is available.  
• Smallholder farmers who historically have grown their own food who are now experiencing changing climates that has brought drought or soil degradation. 
• People who are displaced by war, conflict, or natural disaster, including the increasing extreme weather systems. 
• Gender inequality - men and boys prioritized for household food consumption.
• Economic crises - people who live in countries with extreme inflation and food has become unaffordable.

Reflecting on these realities may prompt us to learn more about people who live with these realities both here in Canada and around the world and also inspire us take action to pray for them, to support organizations providing food, nutrition, or agriculture programming. We may even find ourselves wanting to advocate for causes of food justice and food sovereignty.  

#WorldFoodDay; #FaithAndHopeInAction; #EndWorldHunger

The Ministries of Alliance Justice and Compassion - Podcast

In an interview with Greg McCombs of First Alliance Church, Calgary, Joanne Beach, Director of Alliance Justice and Compassion discusses the ministry of Alliance Justice and Compassion. (Recorded November, 17, 2018) 

Refugee Families Embraced by Compassionate Communities

Since becoming a National Sponsorship Agreement Holder (SAH) in 2012, as of December 2018, the C&MA in Canada, on behalf of 104 local churches, had submitted applications to resettle 776 individuals. This includes churches in our partner denominations who the C&MA is also serving.* 

Since becoming a local SAH in 2010, First Alliance Church in Calgary have assisted 31 Alberta churches (16 Alliance) with applications to settle 526 individuals. Combined, 1,302 individuals have found refuge in Canada through the ministry of 135 local churches in this eight-year chapter of our story.

We celebrate the fact that some churches have formed groups of churches/agencies to work together, like Cobourg/Port Hope Better Together in order to sponsor multiple families.  

Better Together - Refugee Sponsorship

---

*Denominational partners are the Evangelical Missionary Church, Fellowship Baptist, and Associated Gospel Church. 

International Day of the Girl!

October 11 has been designated International Day of the Girl by the United Nations. The day aims to highlight and address the needs and challenges girls face, while promoting girls' empowerment and the fulfillment of their human rights. This year's theme is: With Her: A Skilled GirlForce. 

Of the 1 billion young people – including 600 million adolescent girls – that will enter the workforce in the next decade, more than 90% of those living in developing countries will work in the informal sector, where low or no pay, abuse and exploitation are common. (Source: http://www.un.org/en/events/girlchild/) 

Niger, West Africa, has a reputation of having one of the highest rates of child brides. The country's legal age limit for marriage is 15. Child marriages have negative impact on a girl's health, education, and future! Our team in Niger is attempting to address this issue through the Niger Vocational Center for girls ages 12 - 19. Father's must sign a contract indicating they will not marry off their daughter until she has completed this three-year program. At the end of the final year, each girl writes a National exam and is coached in starting her own business.

Education is the route to transformation.  An educated girl is more likely to earn greater income, raise a smaller family, have healthier children, participate in political processes, and send her own children to school. 

Investing in girls makes moral and economic sense. Giving them solid skills to earn a living helps them, their families, and their children for the next generation. When women and girls earn income, they reinvest 90 percent of it into their families, as compared to only 30 to 40 percent for a man. And when you invest in a girl in a wholistic sense, also focusing on health and hygiene, nutrition, sexual health, expressing themselves through their own ideas and thoughts, discussing faith, prayer, and a sense of purpose, you help build a young woman who can stand the storm around her and make smart, educated decisions for her own life. 

This video gives a glimpse into the impact of this ministry...

Partnering to End Hunger in Niger

As a member of the Canadian Foodgrains Bank, the Christian and Missionary Alliance supports food assistance programs and agricultural & livelihood programs with matching funds from the Canadian Government's Humanitarian Assistance funds. As Niger is one of the most underdeveloped countries according to the United Nations, we use most of our CFGB funds in programming there through our implementing partner, Samaritan's Purse - Niger.  

DIFFA FOOD ASSISTANCE PROGRAM 2016

Mahamadou, pictured here shared, "Each month I get a full food ration of maize, beans and oil for my family. In fact, the ration you see here with me can keep me and my family for a month without selling my goats or wood.  It is a great support in my life." 

This food assistance program in the Diffa region of Niger fed 4,801 individuals in 900 households throughout 9 villages.  This program provided unconditional food distribution to the most vulnerable in host communities over 4 food-insecure months prior to their annual harvest. Nutrition and infant feeding instruction, screening children for malnutrition, and mosquito net training were activities done during the food distributions. This program was funded with a 4:1 match from Global Affairs Canada.

Registration  day

Preparing for a distribution

Nutrition and infant feeding instruction

Malnutrition Screening

Mosquito net instruction

Djahara is a widow who has had to provide food for her grandchildren, She shared, " Some call me a beggar.  It was not easy to live in such a situation. We lived in the same situation until the day when Samaritan's Purse came to register us as the poorest of the village and brought us food for free. My suffering has been greatly reduced.  I do not have the words to describe how much this means to me. 

The chief of the village of Mandawa testified,
 “With this intervention in my village, even the health of our children has improved!”

ALFARI* AGRICULTURAL AND LIVELIHOOD PROGRAM

(Assisting Local Farmers to Adopt Resilient Improvements)

As well as 'giving fish' we are also committed to 'teaching people to fish' as the old adage says. We have invested in many programs over the last 10 years that focus on agricultural livelihood training.

The most recent program was a three-year program that ended in the fall of 2016. The ALFARI program worked with 900 farmers (600 women and 300 men).  The program focused on a variety of areas:

• Conservation Agriculture training along with:
• Sustainable agricultural technique training
• Improved seed distribution
• Improved seed production 
• Improved seed boutique creation
• Field school demonstration farms established 
• Farmer exchange sisits
• Tree nurseries

Training in new farming techniques

Digging zai holes to prepare for planting

Improved seed provides a greater harvest

Observing the new crop

Tree nursery planting

• Vegetable gardening training, including:
• Tree planting
• Women's exchange visits
• Cash crop generation

Vegetable gardens provide added nutrition for families
and money for household needs when sold

An exchange visit to another village provides motivation
for these women to start their own gardens.

• Household Nutrition instruction including:
• Soap making
• Mud stove introduction 
• Infant feeding practices

Demonstration of more fuel efficient stoves
that will use less wood and burn more safely. 

Learning to make soap

Mariama testifies to the value of learning to exclusively breast feed her infant. 

I took too much time before getting into the practice of exclusive breastfeeding, as I heard a lot of discouraging things about this practice. But due to the awareness and training sessions conducted by the nutrition supervisor, I finally understood all what I heard was wrong. My daughter you see here is my eighth, and this is the first time I applied exclusive breastfeeding. I have noticed the difference between the behaviors of my daughter with my other children. For instance, my daughter has never gotten sick, while with the others I was frequently in Niamey, which was 25 km from our village. I am very proud with my beautiful and healthy baby. Now I am convinced that breast milk is a blessing. To conclude, the ALFARI project has impacted my life and the life of my family.

• Cash for Work
• Land reclamation initiatives
• Tree planting
• Zai hole and demi-lune contruction
• Gabion box construction to stop soil erosion

Gabion boxes to combat soil erosion

WHAT IS NEXT?  

We will be starting another multi-year 

agriculture and livelihood project in Niger in 2017.  

To donate to this work, click here: FOOD AID

Syrian Refugee Crisis: The C&MA in Canada's Response

As with most past humanitarian crises, it takes an image to invoke a response by the rest of the world! 

In September we were exposed to the shocking photo of lifeless Aylan Shenu wash up on the shores of Turkey; a young Syrian boy whose family fled their home as refugees because of civil war. Since the unrest began in Syria in the Spring of 2011, there have been over 11 million Syrians displaced and over 4 million refugees in the surrounding countries.

Zaatari Refugee Camp, Jordan

The C&MA in Canada has been working on this crisis for three years by supporting relief efforts in several Middle East countries and by encouraging our churches to engage in refugee sponsorship.  We are encouraged that even before the photo of little Aylan and the massive movement of Syrian refugees to Europe, fifteen of our churches were already in the process of sponsoring refugees. Another 35 of our churches are in dialogue with us about the process; many are at the point of forming teams who will lead a sponsorship resettlement. (Update: As of March 23 the number of churches has increased to 171!)

My church wants to respond.  What can we do?

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE

The C&MA's response. What have we been doing?

• We have been a Sponsorship Agreement Holder (SAH) with Citizenship and Immigration Canada since February 2012, encouraging Alliance churches to engage in refugee sponsorship. 
• We have supported Syrian refugee relief in Lebanon, Jordan, and with the Alliance church in Damascus over the last 2 ½ years.  
• Joanne Beach traveled to Lebanon and Jordan in December 2013 to visit refugees both in and outside the camps that local Alliance churches have been ministering to.  Read Blog Post
• As a SAH, we are part of the Canadian SAH Association and have been working through this network to advocate on behalf of refugees. 
•  We partnered with Lorna Dueck’s Context show last fall on the "Terror in Iraq and Syria" episode. The C&MA was the contact organization for viewers to call who were interested in refugee sponsorship. View the episode.
•  Dave Hearn traveled to Iraq in October 2014 and subsequently made a video to encourage churches to respond with radical hospitality to the displaced impacted by the crises in the Middle East.  View the Video.  (His challenge comes at the 2:50 point in the video.)
• In May 2015, Dave Hearn participated with other denominational presidents, who are part of the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC), in a meeting with Citizenship and Immigration in Ottawa to encourage the Government of Canada to accept more Syrian refugees.  They also committed to assist their local churches with sponsorship. 
• As a result of the EFC initiative, we will be serving as the umbrella SAH for three other denominations in order that their local churches can engage in sponsorship immediately while they go through the application process of becoming a SAH.  (Associated Gospel Church of Canada, Evangelical Missionary Church Of Canada, and Fellowship of Evangelical Baptist Churches of Canada.)
• We have added the Refugee Sponsorship section on the new C&MA website.  
• We have established a Refugee Fund so people can donate to a sponsorship resettlement.  This fund is a safety reserve for sponsoring groups to apply for unexpected financial emergencies outside of the resettlement budget.
• We have promoted refugee sponsorship through a variety of the Alliance Justice and Compassion social media sites.  
• A video story on Vimeo (A Refuge Story)
• A C&MA Website news story of an Alliance Church receiving a family in June 2015
• Tweets about Refugee Sponsorship
• Facebook posts
• Instagram posts

·      So, as you can see, we have been addressing this issue for some time, but we are grateful that the events of this past September have created a sense of urgency which has inspired many inquiries about refugee sponsorship and how churches can respond.  

  Okay, My Church Wants to Respond.  

What can I do?

1. Pray for the millions of refugees, for relief efforts of churches and aid agencies in the Middle East and Europe, and for churches in Canada assisting refugees in resettlement.
2. Provide funds to the C&MA Syria Emergency Relief Fund Donations to this fund will be used to provide relief for refugees in the Middle East and Europe.
3. Provide funds to the C&MA Refugee Fund. Donations to this fund will be used to assist churches in Canada that are sponsoring refugees.
4. Learn how your church can Participate in refugee sponsorship.
5. Partner with a church in your area that is sponsoring a refugee family. 

Jesus is Transforming Lives in Serbia!

Last month I had the privilege of visiting Serbia and returned home with a heart so full after seeing Jesus literally working before my eyes!  

Danny and Vera, C&MA International Workers, are an inspiration and example of loving people who suffer afflictions of all kinds while communicating Jesus' love and grace into their lives. Their compassion ministry in Serbia focuses in two main areas:  

Caring for the terminally ill through visitation and provision of medical needs 

Offering men that suffer addiction a place of healing and restoration

Over the years, with two Rehab Centres,  they have seen Christ transform lives as many individuals have been healed, restored and developed into strong leaders who now serve in these ministries. 

Several years ago, the team began to pray that God would open a door for them to open a rehab centre in the city of Obrenovac. It was the hometown of Veljko, who had been known as a heroine addict who had cut all ties with his family and friends. He was one of the first graduates from the rehab program and had developed a deep love for Jesus.

Veljko

In May 2014, terrible floods swept through that city destroying thousands of homes. We sent a relief team, headed up by Veljko, and it has been like a modern prodigal son returning home. People cannot believe it is the same person! As he and the team have worked tirelessly over the last eleven months distributing material aid, assisting with the clean up of homes and sharing the love of Jesus, many are expressing a spiritual hunger to know the one who has transformed this young man. As a result, they began a weekly Bible study. 

During my visit, I was privileged to attend this Bible study during its fourth week. The Lord led me to present Luke 15 and teach on the lost sheep, coin, and son and how Jesus searches for individuals - including each one in the room. One woman stood at the end and asked, "I understand that I need to ask Jesus to forgive my sin and then live for him but when and how can I do that?" 

Veljko's Father, Milord

Immediately, Veljko's father stood up and said, "All I know is that Jesus has transformed my son so there must be something to this Jesus!" Several in that room that night have committed their lives to follow Jesus. What a privilege to literally see a church being birthed right before my eyes! God is using Veljko to demonstrate his power and presence. 

Ways to pray:

• Pray for the many families who are still without their permanent home or employment. Our team continues to provide food and hygiene parcels to them. Most of their furniture and appliances had to be thrown away so they are rebuilding their lives from nothing.    

Note the watermark at roof level.  Their home is gutted inside.

Inside of home pictured above

This family's home is also stripped down to the 2x4's inside

Inside of home pictured above

• Pray for strength and perseverance for the relief team pictured with me below:

• Pray that one day as the relief team transitions out of the recovery and reconstruction phase that they will be able to open the third rehab centre that God had originally given them a vision for.  
• Pray for this new church community that God is establishing!  Pray that the people will grow in their faith and their testimony to this city!

Ebola Response in Guinea

The World Health Organization reports that over 10,000 people have died from the Ebola epidemic; almost all of them in the three worst-affected countries of Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea. The numbers of new cases per week is definitely diminishing; however, the devastating effects will continue for years to come. After a temporary withdrawal from the country, our International Worker, Lizette Lavoie, returned in January to join efforts with CAMA Services and the Guinean Alliance national Church for Ebola Relief. 

This is Marie!  Her face shows the grief of losing her husband, her mother and her firstborn son. The stories of loss are repeated over and over again. One small village reportedly lost 52 people within a few weeks. 

Lizette reports that to date, they have been able to assist 60 widows, while they estimate there are over 800 throughout the country. "We have no man left to farm for us," one woman lamented.  

Months ago, villagers were afraid of anyone who would come from the outside.  In fact, the national church still mourns the loss of a team of seven relief workers who were stoned to death because of fear that they were coming to spread the virus.
This new strategy involves working through local church leaders who are known and trusted by local villagers. 

As sympathy is expressed upon arriving in a village, the walls of hostility and mistrust are broken and the church is welcomed and able to do the following activities:

Awareness and prevention training

Instruction on Treating Ebola

School Kit Distributions for Orphaned Children

Many children orphaned by Ebola or left with one parent are now back in school because of the school kits provided. 

Uniforms, Tuition and school books

For girls, too!

Food Assistance

Please uphold this ministry in prayer:

• Health and safety for Lizette and team
• Comfort for those suffering such loss
• Wisdom for Church leaders implementing the ministry in local villages
• Many would come to faith in Christ
• The Church in Guinea would grow and be strengthened

Donations can be sent to the Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada, designated for the:

 Global Emergency Response Fund. 

Click here for on-line donation. 

Christian and Missionary Alliance

 30 Carrier Drive, Suite 100, 

Toronto, ON M9W 5T7

"Convert, Pay or Be Killed"

Our sister church in Erbil providing relief to the displaced

The horrific stories coming out of Iraq in the last few weeks is heartwrenching. In Mosul, a city in northern Iraq, now controlled by a militant extremist group ISIS (Islamic State in Iraq and Syria) announced that Christians should convert, pay hefty taxes or else face execution. This is an area of Iraq where these Christians have lived for over 1,700 years. In the end, the second option was revoked and all Christians were forced to flee the city. Most Christians who fled were stopped at checkpoints by militants who confiscated their cars and anything of value they were carrying including money, jewelry, mobile phones - even passports. They had to continue their journey on foot. (It is important to note that it is not only the Christians but other minority faith groups as well.)

The Christians were ordered to leave all property behind, as homes were marked with the Arabic letter 'N' for Nasrani or Nazarenes - an Arabic word for Christian. The extremists intend it as a mark of shame but now many Christians around the world are identifying with it in an act of solidarity with the persecuted!

Last week the Justice and Compassion office received a phone call from an Iraqi man who lives in Toronto.  He had just heard from his family who, to his relief had made it out alive but had lost everything as they had experienced the humiliating reality of one of these checkpoints. He asked that churches in Canada would pray for his family and others suffering in this crisis. He also pleaded for assistance to help his family get to safety here in Canada. Hearing the emotion in the voice of the brother/son of a family who had experienced this tragedy brought the magnitude of this atrocity to life.  

We are in dialogue with Alliance World Fellowship President, Arie Verduijn who is in contact with our sister church in Erbil, the Iraqi city where many have fled. The church leaders have indicated that they are very grateful for prayers and forthcoming financial assistance. They are seeking to help as many as they can who have arrived on their doorstep - literally with nothing!

So what can Canadians do?  

We can pray!! 

• Pray that Christians in Iraq, and especially from the Mosul area, will know the peace of Jesus, guidance of the Spirit and provisions from the Father.
• Pray that the displaced families will find sanctuary and that humanitarian assistance would reach all who are in need.
• Pray that peace will be restored and that those displaced, including other faith minorities, would be able to return to their towns.
• Pray for the many churches in the region that are assisting those who are displaced; specifically our Alliance World Fellowship sister churches that we will be supporting.

We can give!!

• We will respond by supporting relief efforts through our partnership with Alliance World Fellowship.  Donations can be given through a local Canadian Alliance church, directly to the National Ministry Centre, or on-line.  Donations should be designated to the C&MA's Global Emergency Response Fund.  

We can consider refugee sponsorship!!  

• We will inform our family of churches if the Canadian Government issues a special refugee sponsorship allocations in response to this crisis.

Serbia Flood Relief and Recovery

Imagine flood water submerging your house past the roof! That was the reality for many in Serbia this past May. (See post: May 20, 2014) The church in Novi Sad immediately sent a team to live in the hardest hit town of Obrenovac where approximately 36,000 homes were affected. This relief team has been tirelessly serving the neediest families by providing food and hygiene kits, helping to clean out homes and visiting families to bring encouragement. To date they have assisted 170 families. Danny and Vera, our International Workers who are overseeing this response shared that immediately after the tragedy, people were just happy to be alive. Weeks later, as reality has sunk in, there has been great discouragement and hopelessness expressed by many that they visit.  

Ways to pray:

1. Pray for the families who have lost the contents of their homes; pray that God will provide!
2. Pray for their encouragement and a spirit of perseverance!
3. Pray for the relief team that they too would have strength and endurance.
4. The relief team is the only Christian presence in this town. Pray that as they share the love of Christ, the people of Obrenovac will find new hope and strength and that a church will be established.  

If you are interested in donating to this relief effort, please click here and under Donation Allocation, click the drop down menu and select Global Emergency Response Fund.

If you have time to continue reading, below are a few brief stories of affected families from Danny and Vera: 

This young family came to Serbia as refugees. With the money they brought after selling their property in Croatia, they built a new, lovely home. Flowers were planted, they had new furniture…their son just turned two. The flood water went over the roof, and left the house beyond repair. Since then they have been living in common accommodation, that has been so bad; no hot water, no cooked meals….eating bread and spreads for weeks. They called desperate for food. We brought parcels of food and hygiene items. Just few days after, late one evening father called apologizing and desperate, "Please, we need food. Our child needs to eat." No one has come to even assess the damage, they are losing hope that they will get any help at all.

I have no need for hygiene items, 

I have nothing to clean. Please, give us food.

Father of household above

The family pictured above has been going through an extremely difficult time. Boban has been without work, and  his wife Biljana works a consistent night shift at the supermarket in Belgrade, for extremely low pay. Now their home is beyond repair, and they have lost all their possessions in the flood. Their  little son Filip is staying with relatives, because there is no more home to live in. They have been touched by our visit and help. We will continue to visit them, and they truly appreciate our care.

This family really moved us. Two generations were living in two homes next to each other. Both have been ruined by the floodwater. ALL possessions have been taken away as garbage. They have been sleeping in a motorhome. Each day they work very hard at their homes. Taking layers of walls off, waiting for it all to dry. We were so surprised how warm and welcoming they were. They are very touched that someone wants to help them.

Another household that suffered greatly had water fill the house right up to the ceiling. All furniture, all windows, doors, floors, utilities - everything had to be thrown out. Walls now have to dry out before repairs can begin. Our team was able to provide them with two beds, a small table and a small one-burner hotplate so they can cook. Both husband and wife could not control the tears as they showed us the picture of their daughter that died of cancer couple of years ago, leaving the grandchild in their care. They also have their own twin son and daughter living with them. No food, no money; only broken hearts and depression.

We live on the main road, 

no one stops to even ask if we are alive. 

You have been coming to us, 

and that brings tears to my eyes.

- Father of household above.

This last story is about a home also flooded to the roof.  The family with 4 kids have lost everything. "Thank God for the nice weather," the mother said, as she was roasting some peppers on an open fire outside. The only furniture is a mattress that the relief team had previously brought for them. Yet, they still cannot sleep there because it is so damp.  They stay with friends but that place is small for them all. They were thrilled that we were able to give some clothes and laundry soap. They have to hand wash everything so they are thankful for nice weather so they can dry clothes outside. The father is a welder but currently has no work in this 'dead' town.

We fear for our oldest boy, 

he is in constant fear that water will come again. 

We fear the winter! How will we survive the cold? 

Will I have job to feed my family?

Father of household above.