Mennonite Central Committee - MCC AB

What should have been a regular morning for 10-year-old Alisha Tamang became a fight for survival as floodwaters destroyed much of the peaceful life in Nepal that she’d known.

Alisha escaped to safety with her mother and younger sister but is now living in temporary shelter. With dozens of bridges across Nepal destroyed, there are few safe routes to bring emergency food and supplies to her family.

Through one of our local partners, SAHAS (Group of Helping Hands), MCC has delivered emergency food and relief items to Alisha’s family in Bidur, Nepal. Now she and her family have the essential food they need, while much around them remains uncertain.

Alisha’s mother, Sita, still worries about her daughter’s health and future. “We give the children whatever nutritious food comes in the relief items. I worry about their health.”

Your support of MCC's response to the flooding in Nepal will continue to support families like Alisha’s. A gift today will provide food, water purification tablets and trauma support to those in need. https://mcc.org/get-involved/giving/designations/nepal-flooding-response

Photo courtesy of SAHAS

Q&A: Village Savings and Loan Associations

Q: How does a Village Savings and Loan Association work?

A: Village savings and loan associations allow people like Againmore Dziva (pictured) in Zimbabwe who don’t have enough income to meet all their needs to pool their resources and support each other. Members of their group would never meet the financial requirements for a loan at a typical bank, but their VSLA allows them to invest in each other in ways they couldn’t have before.

Q: Where does the money come from?

A: Each member of a VSLA pays a set amount to join, $10 to $20 is typical. Then each month, they each contribute a fixed amount, ranging from $6 to $25 for different groups — up to a week’s wages for some. All the VSLAs that MCC Partner SCORE supports were also given $250 of seed funding from MCC’s LINCZ initiative, creating a starting pool of between $300 to $710 depending on the size of the group.

Q: How does the money get used?

A: Each VSLA meets monthly, led by their elected treasurer and chairperson, and each member presents their needs that month; school fees, medicine, food, livestock, a new fence, etc. Everyone presents to the group, and the total pot is divided up fairly amongst the members. In some cases, the VLSA might opt to collectively invest in nearby small businesses as another way to generate profits.

Q: How can a VSLA grow so quickly?

A: Whatever someone withdraws from the group fund, they’re expected to pay back the amount they withdrew with 20% interest, in addition to their monthly investment. While 20% could be considered predatory if it were charged by a bank, it’s by design for these VSLAs. It not only encourages members to consider amounts that are realistic to pay back within a month to create sustainable growth, but it also means their total fund can grow aggressively in the right conditions.

Q: What if someone can’t pay it back?

A: There are policies in place for rare cases where repayment isn’t possible under those terms, but the members are already in community and want to see each other succeed together. Once repayments are logged and the coffers are reloaded, the process begins again and a new month’s needs are presented.

Additional Info: This project was funded in partnership with Canada’s International Development – Global Affairs Canada and MCC’s LINCZ initiative. LINCZ helps communities across Zimbabwe lead their own solutions to adapt and thrive in the face of climate change.

MCC/Fairpicture photo/Tendai Marima

WOW! 🤩 Because of your enthusiasm for the MCC School Kit Challenge, this year we collected over 46,000 school kits! That's way above our goal of 30,000 kits! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Thank you to everyone who posted on social media about the ! Winners of the pizza parties will be contacted directly.

What would you do if you had to leave everything behind?

Forced to Flee is an interactive refugee simulation, created by the Canadian Foodgrains Bank, that helps participants better understand some of the difficult choices faced by people who are forced to flee their homes because of conflict, violence or hunger.

Through a guided group experience and discussion, participants gain insight into the realities of displacement, build empathy for refugees and newcomers, and explore how communities can respond with welcome, compassion and support.

Forced to Flee is part of MCC Canada’s We’re Better Together campaign, which celebrates the ways stronger communities are built through welcome, inclusion and belonging.

To learn more, visit https://mcc.org/resources/forced-flee

Sanvi Silwal is 4 and had just begun her first term of preschool in Machhapokhari, Nepal. When deadly floods swept through the region in late August, Sanvi’s family was lucky to escape alive. But their home, all their belongings and Sanvi’s school were ripped away by the surging water.

With dozens of bridges across the country destroyed, getting relief to families like Sanvi’s has been incredibly challenging.

Sanvi’s mother, Smita, says, “She needs nutritious food to grow healthy and develop well. I worry when I cannot give her the food she needs.”

But through one of our local partners, SAHAS (Group of Helping Hands), MCC has brought emergency food and relief items to Machhapokhari, ensuring that Sanvi and her family have the food they need as much around them remains uncertain.

Thank you for your continued support to MCC's response to the flooding in Nepal. Your gift today will provide food, water purification tablets and trauma support to those in need. https://mcc.org/get-involved/giving/designations/nepal-flooding-response

(Photo courtesy of SAHAS)

Bangladesh stands at a critical moment in its journey towards stronger, more equitable healthcare. Across the country, communities face a severe shortage of midwives and nurses. While government efforts to expand the health workforce and advance universal health coverage are gaining momentum, significant gaps remain.

With your support, MCC's partner World Mission Prayer League (LAMB Hospital) is helping train the next generation of nurses and midwives in Bangladesh. For 140 nursing students, scholarships that cover almost half of their tuition are easing financial pressure, enabling students to stay in school and work towards this meaningful career with high earning potential.

For Jonota Tudu, a third-year student at LAMB Nursing & Midwifery Institute, benefits from this lifechanging financial assistance, enabling her to go to school to be a nurse. This will provide her with a career and steady income and help address the nursing shortage across Bangladesh.

Photo courtesy of World Mission Prayer League — LAMB Hospital/Manik Sarker

Apply for the position here! https://mccglobal.my.site.com/MCCJobs/s/vacancy-details?vacancyId=a2SIV000003csTt2AI

Answer a calling that is more than a career. We're hiring! Are you ready to use your retail experience to make a meaningful difference and help turn donated goods into hope and opportunity for people in our communities and around the world, all in the name of Christ? Click here to apply! https://mccglobal.my.site.com/MCCJobs/s/

Will you get READY, get SET and GO for MCC Alberta this summer? There still time to join! Rally with us to raise $100,000 to support people in vulnerable situations through relief, development and peacebuilding. Organize an event or set up a personal challenge and help fuel this summer’s fundraiser! Every move matters!

Please note that most Ready, Set, Go participants will now be found on Canada Helps, due to some technical challenges with the previously used platform. Click here for a link to the participants on Canada Helps or to sign up! https://mcc.org/events/ready-set-go.

We hope that you enjoyed the Relief Sale as much as we did! Despite some windy weather, the event was a success! We are deeply grateful to announce that your efforts raised $152,725 for relief, development and peace efforts through MCC. Your presence, generosity, and encouragement made the occasion truly meaningful.

Donita Wiebe-Neufeld and Cecil Goutbeck spoke on Global News about how Grow Hope Alberta is playing a role in the food crisis. Listen below!

Grow Hope Alberta helping the global food crisis | Watch News Videos Online Watch Grow Hope Alberta helping the global food crisis Video Online, on GlobalNews.ca

https://mcc.org/events/mcc-alberta-relief-sale-2026

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