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Forced to Flee

Thirsty, hungry and often without hope, refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs) arrive in temporary camps every day. Escaping with the little they can carry, they share a dream of freedom, access to food and the comfort of a safe home for themselves and their children.

Displaced families often do not have their basic needs met. They have little food, unclean water and insufficient shelter. If they live in an area with a cold season, they need resources to prepare for winter. Children living in displacement or refugee camps often do not have a place of safety or access to an education. The physical and emotional toll on children and their families is catastrophic.

Today, we are asking you to join us in responding to the needs of displaced children and their families across several projects where our work is having a positive impact. You will provide the hope and tangible care to which Christ calls us.

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Our Work

The Democratic Republic of Congo
In the DRC, chronic poverty is compounded by conflict. Currently, 6.2 million people across the country have been displaced from their homes and are living in IDP camps, while 26.4 million people do not have enough to eat.

Working alongside a local partner, we will meet essential needs and improve the living conditions of families living in five IDP camps throughout the Tanganyika Province. 1,542 of the most vulnerable households (7,500 individuals) will receive four monthly food packages comprised of maize flour, beans, vegetable oil and salt. This program is matched 4:1 through ERDO’s membership with Canadian Foodgrains Bank.

Burkina Faso
Conflict has caused families to flee from danger to find more secure villages within the country. They have traded their ways of earning an income for survival. With our partner, ERDO is helping 50 people to earn an income through chicken breeding. These 50 individuals will undergo a four-day training workshop to learn how to properly care for chickens, prepare food, manage the chicken habitat, and learn what veterinary products to use to ensure a healthy flock. They will then receive their own chickens to raise for household nutrition and to earn an income.

Uganda
ERDO is partnering with the Pentecostal Assemblies of God (PAG) Uganda in a three-year agriculture and livelihoods project in five villages in Arua, Uganda. This area of Uganda has large refugee communities, mainly from South Sudan, but also from the DRC. Most households in this area depend on subsistence agriculture for their livelihoods and face many challenges that prevent them from producing enough food, such as land degradation, irregular rainfall and limited land size to grow crops.

This project aims to improve the overall livelihoods and food security of refugees and host communities by increasing food production through conservation agriculture, harmonizing host and refugee community relationships, enhancing livelihoods, and transforming gender relations for 600 households (approximately 4,200 individuals).

This program is matched 1:1 through ERDO’s membership with Canadian Foodgrains Bank.

Myanmar
Conflict in this country has led to more than 2.6 million people being internally displaced and in need of humanitarian assistance. This has affected the availability of food, as well as the prices of food. Families are hungry and not able to meet their basic needs.

ERDO is continuing to provide families with access to nutritious food in regions that have been affected by conflict, as well as ensuring the well-being of families by providing psychosocial support.

Gaza
ERDO is working through two partners in Gaza to distribute emergency food for families in need. The World Health Organization reported on March 5th that children are now dying of starvation, so help cannot come quickly enough.

Though it is difficult to work in this area, and things are moving slowly, our partners through Canadian Foodgrains Bank are working through the challenges to get food to people in need.

Rohingya Refugees in Bangladesh
Partnering with the Pentecostal Assemblies of Bangladesh, this two-year project is providing children of all ages who are living as refugees in Cox’s Bazar Rohingya refugee camp with access to Child Friendly Spaces (CFS). CFS’s are one of the main Psychosocial Support (PSS) interventions used to provide psychosocial activities for children who have been traumatized and are constantly in need of protection in an unsafe environment. These spaces provide structure, normalizing activities, safety, socialization, adult supervision and are virtually the only structured activities offered for children in the Bangladesh Rohingya refugee camps.

This project is providing age-appropriate programs for 250 children every week, 5 days a week on a rotational basis. Children have a safe place where they can play, and where they are protected.

Ukraine
With war ravaging homes and infrastructure, there is an incredible need to rebuild lives in Ukraine, both for those returning to the country and those who are internally displaced.

In response, ERDO is working with our partners to provide food, water, shelter, sanitation and transportation to assist 20,000 individuals in total (5,000 households).

Your Support is Critical

There is no joy in being forced to flee. The men, women and children who never chose to be refugees and IDPs are created in the image of God and are our global neighbours. The adults and children who have been forced to flee have basic human needs that ERDO and our partners are equipped to help meet. While we know we can’t help the over 110 million people worldwide who have been forcibly displaced from their homes, we can express the love of Christ and provide practical care to some of those who are suffering.

As Christ-followers, we are called to help the most vulnerable. ERDO has 40 years of experience in helping the most vulnerable children and families. Our mission to reach people with transformative care is only possible with financial partners like you.

Thank you for partnering with ERDO by giving whatever you can toward our refugee projects. Funds collected will be allocated by our International Programs team to ensure urgently needed support is distributed among these areas of need.

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