U.S. and Worldwide Support
75% of funds raised by the Concord Area CROP Walk for the Hungry go to Church World Service for worldwide emergency relief of disasters and for fighting the root causes of hunger through community development programs in 30 underdeveloped countries. Here are a few examples of the many programs CWS supports. Visit the CWS web site to learn more.
Refugees –CWS has 23 refugee and immigration offices that provide services to newly arrived refugees and immigrants, helping them to integrate into local communities, find jobs and learn the necessary skills to support their new life in the United States. CWS welcomed 7,644 Afghans this year.
Education - Education is the gateway to a brighter future. Sometimes, though, there are a lot of barriers between a student and finishing school. We're teaming up with communities in rural Kenya to break down these barriers. We help them build classrooms, dormitories, bathrooms and water systems for local schools. We work with teachers to make sure they have the supplies they need to help children learn. And we engage communities in conversations about why education is important for children. We're also working with young adults who haven't had the chance to learn to read. We're working with hundreds of students in Kenya’s Kakuma Refugee Camp, as well as from the local community, to focus on adult literacy.
Renewable Energy Technologies - We’re fighting a specific kind of poverty in Moldova, Georgia and Bosnia and Herzegovina: energy poverty. Electricity and fuel are either unavailable or very expensive, especially in rural areas. Children often learn in classrooms that don’t have enough heat and study by candlelight at night. The limited fuels that are available pollute the environment and damage the health of the people who use them. Working with local organizations, we're helping families install and use renewable technologies instead. That means solar panels for electricity. Solar water heaters so that houses and schools have hot water. Solar dryers for fruits and vegetables so that families or cooperatives can preserve and sell produce.