MCC Relief

G4 S U P P L E M E N T T O T H E W I N N I P E G F R E E P R E S S | S A T U R D A Y , J U N E 1 8 , 2 0 2 2 No one-size-fits-all approach to migration Today, the United Nations (UN) reports more than 100 million people displaced worldwide. It's a staggering number and it has never been higher. What is our role in responding to today's crisis of displacement? And how do we begin? I n recent months, media coverage on the crisis in Ukraine has prompted many of us to ask how we can help. For Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), responding needs to address the root causes of displacement and migration. The reasons people leave home are often complex. While a refugee flees their country because of persecution, war or violence, there are millions of others who are forced to leave home for less recognized, but similarly critical reasons. And still others, unable to leave desperate situations. Political unrest disperses family in South Sudan In 2016, Augustine Bidali's life changed in the blink of an eye. Bidali and his brothers, ages 13, 11 and 7, were separated from their parents and other siblings when circumstances forced them to flee South Sudan's Central Equatoria state for a UN camp in Uganda. In South Sudan, opposing armed groups began fighting for control of the government just two years after the new country established its independence from Sudan in 2013. When war began escalating in 2016, Bidali and his brothers were like droplets in a wave of South Sudanese refugees seeking safety. Last year, the UN reported more than 2.3 million refugees, most living in neighbouring countries, and 1.7 million people displaced within South Sudan. They need food, trauma care and job training. So, for the past several years, MCC has been supporting its partner organizations in Uganda, Ethiopia, and South Sudan to help meet those needs. In Uganda, Bidali was accepted into a tailoring course funded by MCC. He completed his tailor's training just before the first COVID-19 lockdown and began supporting himself and his brothers on about $20 a month through sewing, along with another $20 a month from the UN for food. "If I had not been trained on tailoring and provided with the start-up kit (sewing supplies and sewing machine), I don't know what could have happened to us by now," says Bidali. In South Sudan, MCC's partner SSUDRA (South Sudanese Development and Relief Agency) offers counselling for couples, peer support clubs in schools and brings local leaders together to foster healing and community building. Back in Uganda, Bidali has taken steps to grow his craft, both to support his family and equip others in situations like theirs. He's offering tailor's training for a small fee until he is convinced it's safe to take his brother's home. Vulnerable groups unable to flee Ukraine In situations of conflict, vulnerable groups face added disadvantages. It can be difficult for people with disabilities, the elderly and sick to advocate for their rights and find the support they need. But in Ukraine, MCC's local partner KECB (Kharkiv Independent ECB Churches) seeks out the vulnerable to provide safety in villages that are not directly targeted by Russian military forces. KECB operates out of a village near Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city and home to some of the worst destruction by Russian military forces to date. Some 80 per cent of the population has fled the city and the area around it. And while many have escaped to neighbouring countries seeking refuge, others are unable to flee the death and destruction, particularly those who are disabled, sick or very old. In response, KECB pivoted their programming to transport vulnerable Kharkiv residents to smaller villages near the city, providing shelter, food, and medication for chronic conditions. Because of an incredible outpouring of support, KECB has received MCC funding to continue its life-saving work with those who are unable to flee. A changing climate and economic migration in India Santosh Birhor hated leaving family behind in his home village of Koilary, India. But every year, he didn't really have a choice — if he didn't leave to find work, his family could barely afford one meal a day. While he was away working, Birhor held on knowing that during the few rainy months of summer monsoon season, he'd get to come back to farm his land and be with his wife and children again. But then, when the rains stopped and the land dried, he'd once again be forced to leave to find work and send money back home. Climate change is increasingly affecting people's livelihoods in India and around the world. In many regions, water has become scarce and agricultural production meagre, making it difficult for people like Birhor to support their families. When MCC's local partner CASA (Church's Auxiliary for Social Action) began an agriculture project in his village, Birhor was given something he hadn't had before — the choice to stay. He says that what he learned from CASA has made it financially possible to farm his own land. "Before joining CASA, I would get two to three bags of rice from one paddy field," Birhor says. "But with all the things I've learned, now I'm getting 20 to 22 bags from the same field. I'm also growing different crops like millets, pulses, and vegetables too." In addition to the techniques that increased his yields, CASA teaches farmers skills like making chemical-free pesticides using local plants and biowaste produced on their farms. With all he's learned, Birhor believes that he won't have to leave his family for work again. "Now that we're getting enough food in the village, I am excited to be able to stay with my family," he says. "Migration is an incredibly complex problem to address, as every person's situation is unique," says Deepti Bhattacharjee, MCC representative for India. "A one-size-fits-all approach simply does not work. But MCC and its partners are committed to ensuring every person has the right to stay where they'd like and the right to go where they want." By Nikki Hamm Gwala with content from Jason Dueck and Linda Espenshade Augustine Bidali, a refugee from South Sudan now living in the Imvepi settlement area of Uganda, completed a tailoring course supported by MCC. Bidali plans to use his tailoring skills to support himself and his three younger brothers until it's safe to go home. (Photo courtesy of RICE-WN) INSURANCE RESTORATION www.wbdmb.ca l 204.942.6121 l 24/7 Emergency Services for over 60 years NEW CONSTRUCTION & INSURANCE RESTORATION www.wbdmb.ca l 204.942.6121 l 24/7 Emergency Services for over 60 years NEW CONSTRUCTION & INSURANCE RESTORATION www.wbdmb.ca l 204.942.6121 l 24/7 Emergency Services 60 years NEW CONSTRUCTION & TRUSTED QUALITY for over 60 years INSURANCE RESTORATION www.wbdmb.ca l 204.942.6121 l 24/7 Emergency Services for over 60 years NEW CONSTRUCTION & 204.255.1000 westgate@mts.net 204.257.7214 P E F ENTERPRISES LTD. 95 SYMINGTON LANE • WINNIPEG, MB Proud to Support the important work of the Mennonite Central Committee Commercial & Residential Excavating & Hauling 204.255.1000 P ENTERPRISES 95 SYMINGTON Proud to of the Mennonite Commercial 204.255.1000 westgate@mts.net 204.257.7214 P E F ENTERPRISES LTD. 95 SYMINGTON LANE • WINNIPEG, MB Proud to Support the important work of the Mennonite Central Committee Commercial & Residential Excavating & Hauling 204.255.1000 westgate@mts.net 204.257.7214 P E F ENTERPRISES LTD. 95 SYMINGTON LANE • WINNIPEG, MB Proud to Support the important work of the Mennonite Central Committee Commercial & Residential Excavating & Hauling

• Cover