Dignity kits part 1: Impact in South Sudan / Anne Kuria
Relief, development and podcast
Reusable pads, along with other hygiene tools in a bucket, can make a big difference in a girl’s life. It can be a part of keeping her in school and adding to her education. At Loreto Rumbek School in South Sudan, Anne Kuria shines some light on the bigger context of why these simple hygiene tools are needed and impact they have. Get involved
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Welcoming IDPs with water in DR Congo / Reverend Kimbila
Relief, development and podcast
What does it take for an internally displaced person in DR Congo to become stable? Reverend Antoine Kimbila, general secretary of the Community of Mennonite Brethren Churches in the Democratic Republic of Congo, shares about the needs of this growing community in Kikwit and how the church is supporting those who have been displaced by violence in Kasai.
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Update on the hunger crisis / Andy Harrington
Relief, development and podcast
"For those of you listening to this podcast, I want you to imagine this was happening to your family." The global hunger rate began climbing in 2019 and grew exponentially with the arrival of the pandemic, escalating climate disasters and the invasion of Ukraine. Today on the show, an update on the hunger crisis. Our guest today is Andy Harrington––executive director of Canadian Foodgrains Bank, also known as CFGB. You may remember Andy from when we spoke with him around this time last year. We wanted to check back in with him after a new report on the State of Food...
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Lay of the land / Colleen Hookimaw and Bill Loutitt
Relief, development and podcast
A rebroadcast of our sibling podcast Undercurrents. In this episode, host Ken Ogasawara joins Colleen Hookimaw, a Cree woman, who shows him the lay of the (physical and metaphorical) land. We also hear from Bill Loutitt, who shares his lifelong journey with traditional Indigenous foods. Together, they explore historical, and current challenges to Indigenous food sovereignty in Canada. Full transcript available .
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Telling the Palestinian story in the U.S. / Anthony Jeer
Relief, development and podcast
Seeing humanity on every side of the world, and every side of the wall. In this episode Anthony reflects on his visit to the U.S. Mexico border wall as a Palestinian who lives next to the wall when he is at home Bethlehem. As a Palestinian Christian he has had a unique experience sharing his story in the U.S. this year and is working to help people understand what life has been like for him and his family in Palestine. We ask the question, what does peace and justice look like for Palestine? Anthony has also used the English transliteration for his last name, so you may...
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State of exception in El Salvador
Relief, development and podcast
El Salvador has been dealing with a lot of gang violence over the past several decades. In response, the President announced the state of exception. While gang violence has quieted since then, another issue has arisen. People are being arrested and taken away from their communities with no explanation or evidence. People have no recourse because the government is above the law. The most impacted are the country’s youth. Today on the show, we hear from some young people in El Salvador. They share their struggles under the state of exception and what they’re doing about...
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Women's literacy in Afghanistan
Relief, development and podcast
On this episode, an interview with a partner in Afghanistan who is teaching women to read in country where that’s become increasingly difficult since the Taliban took control. We're not using the name of the guest or the partner for security reasons. Full transcript and show notes available .
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A conversation with Malcolm Gladwell
Relief, development and podcast
We’re taking a break from the usual programming to bring you an episode from our sibling podcast Undercurrents, produced by MCC Ontario and hosted by the very wonderful Ken Ogasawara. In this episode, Ken speaks with best-selling author, public speaker and podcaster Malcolm Gladwell. They cover a lot of ground—from pacifism, to soccer, climate change and more. This episode has been edited for length. Full transcript available here:
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MCC responds to earthquakes in Syria / Petra Antoun
Relief, development and podcast
“There [will] always be hope somewhere but now, everything is destroyed. There are still areas that were not affected directly, not destroyed but the people there are destroyed from inside.” Today on the show, an update from MCC staff Petra Antoun in Syria on the aftermath of the earthquakes and how MCC is responding. Full transcript and show notes available .
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Men Can Cook / Zimbabwe
Relief, development and podcast
In this episode we bring you to the Mwenezi district of Zimbabwe to a program that cooks up more than just food...they’re also...stirring up the patriarchy! A story of what happened when Zimbabweans from MCC’s local partner SCORE Against Poverty came together to create a program that addresses gender inequities in their community. The program is called Men Can Cook! Full transcript and show notes available .
info_outlineWe're taking a short break this month from our usual episodes to bring you an update from Mark Epp, Director of International Program for MCC Canada. He shares some of the challenges and surprises we've encountered in responding to COVID-19.
We also bring you a "bright spot story" from Lucas Land, former MCC staff in Bolivia.
We'll be back next month with another full episode.