Canadian Foodgrains Bank commits to helping Syrian refugees

Canadian Foodgrains Bank commits to helping Syrian refugeesimage

13 Nov 2015

The Canadian Foodgrains Bank has committed $4 million to help over 200,000 people in seven different countries.

One project will respond to the needs of displaced people within Syria.

As the Syrian conflict continues, millions of people have been forced from their homes to other parts of Syria and neighbouring countries. Even for those who have not been displaced, livelihoods have been disrupted, and households are hosting family members from other parts of the country. Many people are struggling to get by. As savings are depleted, families are becoming increasingly desperate.

In response, through their partner Lebanese Society for Educational and Social Development, World Renew is providing 2,000 families (about 12,000 people) with emergency food baskets on a monthly basis for six months. The project total is $676,000.

Another project in the Democratic Republic of Congo is helping communities in North Kivu recover after years of devastating conflict.

Farmers in the region face many challenges, including a lack of quality seed, a lack of farm training, crop diseases, and changing weather patterns.

In response, this project, through World Relief Canada’s local partner Communauté Baptiste au Centre de l’Afrique, is training 600 farmers in conservation agriculture, a farming approach that uses minimal soil disturbance, crop rotations, and cover crops to improve soil health and fertility and increase production.

Other projects committed in October include:

  • A food assistance and agriculture and livelihoods project in Ethiopia through World Renew, totaling $538,000 and benefitting 1,500 people.
  • An agriculture and livelihoods project in Ethiopia through the Evangelical Missionary Church of Canada totaling $59,000 and benefitting 1,038 people
  • A food assistance project in Kenya through ERDO totaling $178,000 and benefitting 3,400 people.
  • An agriculture and livelihoods project in Cambodia through Mennonite Central Committee, totaling $147,000 and benefitting 10,500 people.
  • An agriculture and livelihoods project in Nicaragua through World Renew with financial support from Canadian Baptist Ministries totaling $282,000 and benefitting 7,200 people.
  • A food assistance project in Somalia through World Renew, with financial support from Canadian Baptist Ministries and Primate’s World Relief & Development Fund, totaling $739,000 and benefitting 14,000 people.
  • A food assistance project in Syria through Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace, totaling $932,000 and benefitting 78,000 people.
  • A food assistance project in Syria through Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace, totaling $250,000 and benefitting 19,000 people.
  • An agriculture and livelihoods project in Zimbabwe totaling $146,000 and benefitting 450 people.

Projects supported by Canadian Foodgrains Bank are undertaken with financial support from the Government of Canada.

Canadian Foodgrains Bank is a partnership of 15 churches and church agencies working together to end global hunger. In the 2014-15 budget year, the Foodgrains Bank provided over $41 million of assistance for 1.1 million people in 39 countries. Canadian Foodgrains Bank projects are undertaken with matching support from the Government of Canada. Assistance from the Foodgrains Bank is provided through its member agencies, which work with local partners in the developing world.

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