A Common Place Month 2013
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A publication of Mennonite Central Committee Fall 2016 Enough to eat in Ethiopia | Better growing in Burkina Faso | The taste of welcome in Haiti A Common Place MCC Find more news at: Volume 22 Number 4 Fall 2016 news mcc.org Working together Cover story from Herald Press combines hundreds reports one woman (name not avail- J RON BYLER 4 Enough to eat in of Longacre’s recipes and tips with able for privacy reasons) who received MCC U.S. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Ethiopia updates by award-winning food writer meat in Nicaragua as part of an out- In the face of hunger and Rachel Marie Stone. Learn more about reach to people living with HIV. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ drought, MCC is working the book, whose sales benefit MCC, at Jesus to do good works . (Eph. 2:10, NIV) at long-term solutions and store.mennomedia.org. meeting immediate needs. As I write these brief reflections, I am worship- ping with the Mennonite Brethren churches at 10 First person their biennial conference in Denver. Several weeks Yihenew Demessie shares ago, I did the same with the Brethren in Christ how he began reaching out churches near Orlando. to others in Ethiopia. In each gathering, the desire for God’s people to work well together to be a part of God’s mission in the world is very clear. Features Nepal 12 Better growing The MCC impulse from the very beginning almost 100 years ago was to Cauliflower and more In Burkina Faso, MCC- bring the church together in the name of Christ to do good works. In Nepal’s Dhading District, Thuli supported agricultural Chepang and other farmers are learn- Working together remains a key emphasis for MCC efforts around the programs provide new ing improved techniques to grow cau- world. In this issue, Yihenew Demessie, of MCC partner Migbare Senay opportunities for farmers. liflower and other vegetables on steep, Children and Family Support Organization in Ethiopia, says that, “As rocky hillsides where they have land. Iraq human beings God expects us to share and to love.” 16 The taste of Through this project, which MCC Capturing rainwater Demessie recalls that starting out in humanitarian work in a refugee welcome in Haiti supports through its account with MCC canned meat In the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, MCC camp on the border between Ethiopia and South Sudan, he was fearful. MCC representatives in Canadian Foodgrains Bank, families A community effort supports the building of dams that hold Then, as he got to know the people of the camp and heard their stories, he Haiti reflect on a tradition can eat a greater variety of vegetables Each year from October to April, a water from winter rainy seasons. The put himself in their shoes and found joy in supporting them. of sharing and generosity. and sell their crops to meet other needs. four-person MCC meat canning crew water then can be used for agriculture and portable cannery hit the road, and livestock during hot, dry summers. You’ll see this concept of coming together with others for good works 3 MCC news More-with-Less Cookbook traveling to 31 communities in the In Shakha Piska village, community surface time and again. In Ethiopia, Haiti, Cambodia and elsewhere, we 18 On assignment 40th anniversary edition U.S. and Canada to work alongside leader Mohammed (last name not used join together to improve lives and support families. Our work with partners Supporting partners In 1976, MCC staff member Doris local volunteers. The effort annually for security reasons) used to grow only and the church, both here at home and across the globe, is a process of two- 19 Hello Ethiopia Janzen Longacre’s More-with-Less produces about 950,000 pounds of crops like barley and wheat that thrive way learning and accountability. That’s the MCC way. (for children) Cookbook was first published and canned meat to be shared in orphan- with scant rainfall. Now he can culti- We are created by God to do good works. In the U.S. and around the quickly embraced — not only for sim- ages, schools, refugee camps and vate eggplant and tomatoes and even world, MCC is evidence of this biblical truth day after day. Your partner- ple, nourishing recipes but also for its other settings. “This has become a plant pomegranate and fig trees. And ship makes this possible. Thank you. inspiring emphasis on sharing resourc- great blessing to me because I can’t with a closer source of water, he and es and choosing to live with less. This digest tough meats, and this meat is other farmers can increase their herds fall, a new 40th anniversary edition soft, nutritional and high in protein,” of cattle, sheep and goats. Sewing kits J RON BYLER’S EMAIL ADDRESS IS YOU CAN HELP PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD HAVE THE BASIC TOOLS THEY NEED TO MAKE OR MEND CLOTHING, TO [email protected] DEVELOP THEIR SEWING SKILLS OR TO BEGIN A CONVENIENT, HOME-BASED BUSINESS. (NEW items only) 1 pkg needles (approx 25) Sewing kits are distributed in useful, double-drawstring cloth bags. You may Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), a worldwide ministry of A Common Place (USPS 013-937) Postmaster: MCC East Coast 3 spools white thread 1 pkg straight pins (approx 100) Anabaptist churches, shares God’s love and compassion for all in the is MCC’s quarterly publication, Send address changes to: 900 E. Howell Street sew the bag yourself, request bags name of Christ by responding to basic human needs and working for available free to anyone who wishes PO Box 500, Akron, PA 17501-0500. Philadelphia, PA 19149 3 spools black thread (each spool 250 12 matching, shirt-style, black or peace and justice. MCC envisions communities worldwide in right to receive it. To add, remove or Periodical postage paid at Akron, Pa., 215.535.3624 from a drop-off location or donate relationship with God, one another and creation. mcc.org change your address on our mailing and additional mailing offices. yards minimum; all-purpose; cotton/ white buttons (approx size ½–1 in; MCC Great Lakes contents that we will place in a bag. For list, contact: MCC offices in the United States 1013 Division Street Marla Pierson Lester polyester or 100% polyester) place loose buttons in resealable Copyright ©2016 Mennonite Editor in chief: Goshen, IN 46528 bag instructions and drop-off locations, A Common Place Mennonite Central Committee U.S. Central Committee Canada and Cheryl Zehr Walker 574.534.4133 plastic bag) 21 South 12th Street, PO Box 500 21 South 12th St., PO Box 500 1 metric fabric tape measure contact your nearest MCC office (see Mennonite Central Committee U.S. Managing editor: Akron, PA 17501 West Coast MCC All rights reserved. Marla Pierson Lester Akron, PA 17501 717.859.1151 1010 G Street 1 pkg sew-on snaps (approx 20–25) page 2) or go to mcc.org/kits. ISSN 1083-818X 717.859.1151 1 thimble (medium size) Designer: Reedley, CA 93654 Tasha Friesen Email: [email protected] MCC Central States Printed in the U.S. Online: mcc.org/acommonplace 559.638.6911 10 assorted safety pins Production coordinator: 121 East 30th St., PO Box 235 1 dressmaker’s scissors (good quality) Torrie Martin North Newton, KS 67117 Call MCC toll free 888.563.4676. Cover photograph: In Ethiopia, 39-year-old Wallay Meselue and other farmers are part of an MCC-supported project to rehabilitate watersheds, gaining back land to cultivate crops. to rehabilitate part of an MCC-supported project Meselue and other farmers are Wallay Cover photograph: In Ethiopia, 39-year-old 316.283.2720 A Common Place is printed on Rolland Enviro100 Satin, a chlorine-free paper that is 2 A COMMON PLACE FALL 2016 FSC®– and Ecologo–certified, and produced A COMMON PLACE FALL 2016 3 from 100% recycled fibers, using biogas energy. Chanie Yalew, left, and family members Bayleyegen Sewalem, Gojjam Abebaw (5), Cover story Amognesh Workneh, Birahanu Abebaw (10), Edmealem Abebaw (13) and Abebaw Chanie participate in an MCC-supported project in the Shegeza watershed. Enough to eat in Ethiopia As families in Ethiopia face chronic hunger and the immediate effects of drought, MCC is working at long-term solutions and helping to meet urgent needs. STORY BY JULIE BELL PHOTOS BY MATTHEW SAWATZKY ear by year, 60-year-old Chanie Yalew First the supply of high-value grains such as teff, used to watched the land his family has make the traditional bread injera, dwindles. As spring turns farmed for generations wash away in to summer, the corn and beans are gone. Sometimes Yalew’s the rain. As the topsoil disappeared family is down to just cabbage and potatoes. and the harvest declined, his fam- “It gives us stomachaches,” Yalew says, “but we have to ily faced hunger and eat something.” malnutrition more and Families try to survive until the fall harvest. more often. They reduce their daily meals from three to In the area around one and rely on less nutritional foods such as the Ethiopian city of Debre Markos, about wild oats. Y200 miles north and west of the capital, Addis It gives us MCC’s partner organization in Debre Ababa, most rural households suffer through stomachaches, Markos, Migbare Senay Children and Family extended periods without sufficient food. Support Organization (MSCFSO), estimates It’s so common throughout Ethiopia it has a but we have to that about 60 percent of households the orga- name — the hunger season. eat something.” nization works with don’t have adequate 4 A COMMON PLACE FALL 2016 A COMMON PLACE FALL 2016 5 In the Afar region, Mohammed food for three months of the year.