Bosnia
Some 3,200 vulnerable people in the Tuzla region of Bosnia-Herzegovina are benefiting from a Church World Service-supported wheat-growing project.
The 1992-1995 war in Bosnia damaged the infrastructure of the country, and many people lost everything. CWS partner Merhamet operates five soup kitchens to help sustain those still struggling to survive.
The soup kitchens serve women, children, ethnic Roma, elderly, displaced, unemployed and disabled people.
Several of the participants are employed in the wheat-growing project. They are helping to prepare the soil and sow nearly 60 acres of rented land. They are also learning how to keep the crop free of disease. They harvest the wheat, deliver it to the grindery, then store it properly in Merhamet's Tuzla warehouse.
The farmworkers then deliver the flour to bakeries, which make it into loaves of bread they deliver each day to local soup kitchens.
The wheat project is part of a larger recovery plan to assist the most vulnerable families and to reestablish livelihoods in Bosnia.
Pakistan
More than 3.6 million people have fled fighting between Pakistani military forces and Taliban insurgents in the Swat Valley, in the northeast part of the country. CWS staff and partners in Pakistan are working to meet the emergency needs of many of the displaced families.
This past week, CWS Executive Director and CEO John L. McCullough was in the region to meet with staff and see the situation firsthand.
"One of the most critical issues is the lack of health facilities for women, particularly with the lack of female health staff," says Saleem Dominic from Church World Service.
Church World Service and its partners are working to meet the healthcare needs of displaced Pakistanis, particularly women and girls. CWS mobile health units are treating displaced people and host families for common illnesses.
CWS's Mansoor Raza notes that CWS and its partners in Pakistan share a growing concern for how long the current situation is tenable for the millions of displaced. Host communities are facing major pressure on their shrinking resources.
Displaced women, men and children directly voiced their concerns and needs to humanitarian agencies and local media at a recent event entitled "Learning from the voices of the IDPs (internally displaced persons)." The event, organized by CWS with their local partners in Islamabad, was broadcast on live radio.
In the coming weeks and months, CWS will be working in partnership to meet the needs of potentially one million displaced Pakistanis and host family members, providing emergency relief, education, livelihood assistance, healthcare, awareness-raising, and work on quality and accountability standards with our partners in the region. CWS mobile health units are treating displaced people and host families for common illnesses.
H1N1 Flu
On June 11, the World Health Organization reported that the H1N1 flu is now in widespread parts of the globe and has reached pandemic level. It is the first pandemic flu in 41 years.
Church World Service is monitoring the spread of H1N1 and, says CWS Executive Director and CEO John L. McCullough, "is engaged in regular briefings by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the event the disaster response community would need to become further involved."
For links to information about H1N1 and how you can help prevent its spread, please visit www.churchworldservice.org/h1n1.
