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How CWR Helps

Sustainable Food	Health & Medical Care
Clean Water	Education

Sustainable Food:

      There are more than 800 million undernourished persons in the world. There are three types of hunger: chronic, acute, and hidden (adequate calories but not nutrients). According to the United Nations, in 2006 more than 2 billion people were chronically malnourished. To address world hunger, Covenant World Relief engages in various activities. We are active partners with Bread for the World and invite congregations to participate in this advocacy ministry. In the past few years CWR has placed a North Park Seminary Intern with Bread for the World.
      Another dynamic program CWR partners with to encourage sustainable food sources is Foods Resource Bank. This is a program where ECC farmers host a “growing project” in their community. Farmers donate some acreage, receive donations for seed and fertilizer, and volunteer their knowledge and equipment to raise a crop. It is sold and the profits go into a sustainable food project in developing international communities. Eleven ECC congregations have hosted programs and in most cases their investment has been leveraged four-fold (meaning that an $8,000 growing project returned $32,000 in sustainable food programming). An excellent example would be the connection between the Willmar district of ECC congregations and Agroforestry through ECC World Mission in the Central African Republic (this program is entering its fourth year).
      The third form of food development would be the various agriculture projects CWR supports (often in connection with Covenant missionaries). This would include fish ponds in multiple locations, livestock programs, and crop development in places like Sudan (an ongoing program with Community Covenant, Scottsdale, AZ). This year they harvested more than four hundred 50 kilo bags of grain, after all expenses. This grain was shipped by CWR to a grain-starved region in the central south of Sudan. This past year CWR participated in agriculture programs in fifteen countries.
      Canadian churches of the ECC have been participating annually in a program called "Kernels of Hope" through partnership with World Relief Canada and the Canadian Food Grains Bank. "Kernels of Hope provides seed rice and farming tools to rebuild the farming lives of people in Suakoko, Liberia. Click here to learn more about what Canadian Covenanters are doing to support sustainable food projects through World Relief.  

Clean Water:

      Without a doubt the number one world problem is access to clean water. 1.1 billion people lack access to clean water and twice that many to basic latrines and sanitation. Clean water is the first step in ending the cycle of poverty and illness. This being so, Covenant World Relief financially supports clean water projects every year. The Hillside Covenant Church in Walnut Creek, CA has partnered for clean water ministry with CWR for close to ten years. Year the project was in Afghanistan. We have done close to 25 wells in India, one major water pump in the Central African Republic, and well parts for wells in amputee communities in Sierra Leone (working with Mercy Ships). With Water 1st CWR has established water systems during the past three years in Ethiopia. You can expect that each year, CWR will be doing water projects.

Community Health and Medical Care for Women and Children:

      During the past four years, Covenant World Relief has partnered aggressively with Mercy Ships and their Women’s VVF/Fistula Repair and Pediatric Clinic in Sierra Leone. This has been a fantastic opportunity to partner for a new life. The transformation of these women’s lives draws out deep tears of joy as persons once shamed out of their communities return in faith and rejoicing, repaired and restored. CWR also assists Mercy Ships with their ministry among amputees (victims of their tragic civil war) and polio “victors.” CWR also grants support for many other medical services performed in partnership with Covenant World Mission, in several different places. 

Education:

      Covenant World Relief is involved each year with children in poverty. This most often has a school support component to it. This year, CWR will be assisting six schools in Sudan operated by the Covenant Church, one school in Ghana, one in India, and also one in Vietnam. In a disaster the first thing a community typically asks of CWR is to assist in opening the schools. Learn more about ways children in your congregation can grow in their awareness of and support for other Covenant kids throughout the world through our annual Children’s Ministry Service Projects.