Development and Peace's emergency program exists for one purpose: to provide aid to needy individuals and communities. Development and Peace is the Canadian member of Caritas Internationalis, one of the world's largest humanitarian aid networks.
Somalia:
Somalia has been hit particularly hard by the current drought affecting the Horn of Africa. Conflict and the absence of a legitimate government have made the impacts of the drought far more difficult to cope with. There are six regions where communities are currently experiencing famine and an estimated 750,000 people are at risk of death. There are also close to 1 million Somalis that are now living as refugees in the four neighbouring countries of Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Eritrea, and more continue to make the perilous migration to get across the Somali border.
Pakistan:
After destructive floods hit Pakistan this summer, many farmers in the country have been living in fear that there will be no crops for the coming year. This could mean widespread food shortages for thousands who depend on agriculture to feed their families and their communities.
Development and Peace with the support of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) is helping to address this issue with a program that will provide emergency agricultural assistance to 6,800 families (55,000 people) in the provinces of Sindh and Balochistan.
Haity - One year later:
Develpment and Peace is working in solidarity with Haitian grassroots organizations to affect sustainable, meaningful change in the development and reconstruction of the country. It is a long road but one filled with hope that we want to share with you:
Development and perace has raised $20 Million from the Canadian public for the reconstruction of the country;
Development and Peace has helped its partners restart their activities by financing a solidarity fund that has enabled staff to get back to work and is also providing financial aid for rebuilding their offices and replacing essential equipment;
Development and peace is supporting local group Iteca in their program to rebuild 1,700 permanet houses using local materials;
Development and Peace is getting children back in school by financing school canteens, purchasing equipment, subsidizing teacher's salaries and rebuilding a primary school for 850 students operated by the Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Conception;
Develpoment and Peace is Supporting women’s organizations that are taking action on the issue of protecting women and children in the IDP camps – security patrols in the camps, raising awareness about violence against women, supporting victims of violence – and are promoting the rights of women in Jacmel and Port-au-Prince;
Development and Peace is promoting food security, with a focus on food sovereignty through ecological and responsible agriculture in response to environmental degradation in the country;
With the support of Development and Peace, the Papaye Peasants’ Movement (MPP) has distributed seeds to more than 20,500 farming families affected by the earthquake;
Development and Peace Is implementing a major three-year program to strengthen the food security of farmers in the Central Plateau;
Development and Peace is monitoring human rights in the post-earthquake context;
Development and Peace is strengthening communications in order to ensure that the viewpoint of civil society is known to the public and to better inform communities about reconstruction and disaster-prevention issues;
Development and peace supports two community radio associations in the country. REFRAKA, which produces women-oriented programming, and SAKS are both creating content adapted to the post-quake context for broadcast on member community radio stations across the country. They also offer their members technical training and journalism courses;
To Learn more about the Work of Development and Peace, Please visit our website www.devp.org or call our Parish.