Stories

Food & Goats To Reach Families In Kenya

What do you do when you rely on your herd of cattle and goats to make a living, and there is no water or grass to feed them because of drought?  What do you do when this is the third year in a row that you and your community have faced this situation, and more than 99% of your livestock have already died?  These are the tough questions facing thousands of families right now in southwestern and central Kenya, where years of drought have wiped out animal populations and left people with few options for food and income.

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The Importance of Dialogue

EFICOR works with the mahadalits in the northern Indian state of Bihar. Mahadalits are considered the lowest caste of people and are not deemed worthy of acknowledgement in the Hindu system. EFICOR works with them to improve their access to different government programs, which improve their quality of life. One program is to ensure that children who are in school receive one meal a day. EFICOR works with the community members to support them as they lobby and struggle with governmental representatives to ensure they are receiving all the support they are entitled to.

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Mad @ Poverty

One small, rural church in Atlantic Canada has had enough!  They've started to brew something good to help the poor and hungry.

Midland Baptist is a small congregation in a farming community in New Brunswick with an immediate mission field of about 200 homes. The church is on a corner with a driveway joining two roads, and we are 20 km from the nearest Tim Hortons — creating the perfect opportunity for a coffee drive-thru.

It began as a summer ministry for our two summer students: they would simply give coffee away one morning a week, wishing people in our community a good day on their way to work. 

Then came another idea. “Why not invite our community to join us in a poverty relief program?” Our hunch was that people genuinely want to give, but oft en need a convenient way to do so. We called it MAD@poverty (Make a Difference).

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Kenyan Village Celebrates Good Harvest

“We were without food, We were without hope, You saw our need, And God has provided."

In the village of Kyua, Kenya there is a group of women who are dancing and singing this song.  Theirs is a joyful celebration of the arrival of rain and a bumper corn harvest.  For the first time in five years the village will harvest enough food to feed itself.

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A Zimbabwean Green Revolution: Farming God’s Way

With assistance from United Church Canada and Canadian Foodgrains Bank, farmers in the Nkayi District of Zimbabwe have been implementing a farming system known as “Farming God’s Way”. What is it that makes this farming system so unique to deserve such a title? Have all the other farming methods come short of God’s standard?

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A Chicken and a Picnic Table

A chicken changed Lorne Underwood’s life. Five years after he held that chicken, it still brings tears to his eyes.

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Ledah's Story

In February, I had the opportunity to visit the Central American country of Honduras where I participated in a two-week study tour organized by the Canadian Foodgrains Bank.

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City Girl Meets Farmer

As the bus pulled up to the village of Kwanga in Eastern Kenya, I could see the group of over 100 people waiting for us. We being a group of 13 Canadians traveling with the CFGB on a food study tour, had the opportunity to stay in small-scale farmers homes for a few nights. This village was it seemed at least an hour away from anything. My first thought was that being from the city, why do people with no transportation, electricity, local water source, etc. live so far out in the countryside?

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David's Gift

Just like any eight year old boy would do, he wrestles playfully with his friend while we wait to be called into the auction ring. He’s a little nervous to be the centre of attention, but he’s willing to do it. His parents stand nearby, encouraging him.

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