January 12, today, will mark 2 years since the devastating Haiti earthquake that left more than 1.5 million people homeless. Most of these have had to live in small crowded tent communities, hoping someday to have a house of their own. CWR is thankful to be in partnership with Habitat for Humanity to build 450 houses in Leogane near the epicenter of the earthquake.
We recently received an update from our partner in Burma (read more about this project here):
The political situation in Burma has been very cautiously improving. The government may even let the pro-democracy party register officially to contest future elections in the military-ruled state. There has been very little fighting during the heavy monsoon season this year. However, now that the rains are dying down, local people report the Burma Army outposts nearest to them are receiving resupplies of ammunition. The fear is that this is in preparation for attacks. Clinics, as always, keep their staff on alert and everything packed neatly in case of a hasty evacuation to the jungle hiding sites. Please keep them in your prayers.
The update also introduces us all to one of the medical staff. Her name is Hser Eh Krit, which means “sweet love of Christ.” In this photo she is laughing and teaching educational games to the village health workers so that they can spread knowledge about preventative medicine.
Are you particularly interested in this project and seeing it continue? You can give to this project here.
The town of Chopda, which is located in a western state of India, is the target of one of CWR’s projects. In this tribal area of India, there are 23 small villages that have no recognized identity with the government and are not even included on the district map; these villages have a combined total of more than 180,000 people. Because they are not a part of the national government and are so far removed from larger cities, police do not interfere, so the villages have no accountability with the law. There are no schools or transportation within these villages, and the illegal production and sale of country wine is one of the most common occupations because there are so few employment opportunities elsewhere. Continue Reading »
KwaZulu-Natal, a community in South Africa, faces a frightening statistic: more than 78% of its population is victim to severe poverty. This number is even more staggering for women in the community. Yet there is hope: in partnership with Zimele, Covenant World Relief is working with more than 700 women in KwaZulu-Natal to bring about transformational community development in a three-step process. Continue Reading »
Gary Carlson has had some great blogs from recent relief efforts in Japan. Here’s an excerpt from their blog:
After my time in October helping out in the tsunami areas of the Pacific coast of Iwate prefecture, I was eager to get back and help once again. The week of November 28-December 2 gave me that chance. This time I went with Matt Williams. Matt is 25, and is from Redeemer Covenant Church in Minneapolis, MN – one of our faithful supporting churches.
Matt and I left early on the morning of Monday the 28th, and took the same route I travelled when I went up in October. We left the Tohoku express highway in Ichinoseki, and went due east to the coastal city of Kesennuma. From there we worked our way north up the coast to the city of Miyako. Since I had been there before, it was good to see it through Matt’s eyes, as he was looking on the devastation for the first time.
You can read more on the Carlson’s blog here.
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