February 3-9 is International Development Week (IDW), a chance to celebrate Canadians who are helping reduce poverty and grow peace and opportunity in communities around the world. (Start the celebration in your congregation on February 3 – PWS&D Sunday!) This year’s theme “Together for Gender Equality” embodies Canada’s commitment to the global effort to address […]
On PWS&D Sunday, we celebrate the work our church is doing to serve vulnerable communities around the world. Inspired by God’s promise of abundant life, we are building a more sustainable, compassionate and just world! Make February 3 a day to reflect on those enduring poverty, hunger and injustice and inspire action here in Canada to […]
Wilma Lamb-Stewart lives in Kingsville ON. She is the Chair of the Leamington Area Ecumenical Refugee Committee. A member of the United Church, she is LAERC’s primary contact with the refugee team at the national offices of the Presbyterian Church. (Ian Panton of Knox Presbyterian Church, Leamington, a Presbyterian member of the ecumenical group, and […]
Yemen is the worst humanitarian crisis the world currently faces. Conflict has resulted in widespread hunger, with more than eight million people facing famine. Ongoing bombing campaigns and disease outbreaks are devastating the lives of millions as the war continues into its fourth year. Yemen’s cholera outbreak is the worst in the world—those facing extreme […]
Like most mothers, Meena from Pakistan wants her children to be healthy, to go to school and pursue their dreams. These are opportunities Meena never had. “My family couldn’t afford to send me to school, and I was married at a young age,” she shares. “My dream to become a teacher was left in vain. […]
A reflection from Susan Viegas, PWS&D Committee Member and member of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Toronto. In September 2018, I had the privilege of accompanying Kristen Winters, PWS&D’s Africa program coordinator, on a monitoring and evaluation trip to Ghana. As a newly appointed member of PWS&D’s committee, this was a fabulous and timely opportunity to […]
Globally, the AIDS response over the past five years has seen unprecedented gains. Today, there are 21.7 million people accessing HIV treatment. Eighty per cent of those who know their HIV status are accessing treatment. Four out of every five pregnant women living with HIV have access to treatment which prevents transmission of HIV to […]
Poonam was only 13 years old when she learned that her parents had arranged for her to be married in just a few months. Poonam had been attending school in the village of Nandlali in a poor region of India, close to the Nepali border. Now, she would have to give up her dream of […]
An unprecedented number of people across the African continent are in need due to natural disaster and violent conflict. While we may not hear about these crises in the media, they are very real for the hundreds of thousands who are affected on a daily basis. In South Sudan, where ongoing violent conflict has caused […]
Putting passion into action, 30 PWS&D supporters hit the streets of London, Toronto, Brampton and Hamilton in the Ride for Refuge on Saturday, September 29. The Ride for Refuge is a nation-wide cycling and walking fundraiser that helps charities raise money for the displaced, vulnerable and persecuted. For the third year in a row, PWS&D […]