Help Mercy Corps Turn Crisis Into Opportunity

If you're a girl in many parts of the world, the odds are stacked against you.

• In sub-Saharan Africa, there is only a 20% chance that girls will study past elementary school. 
• Girls in Afghanistan face some of the most severe repression anywhere in the world. They are denied education, the opportunity to support themselves, and even the freedom to leave their homes. 
• Fighting in the Central African Republic has left many girls orphaned or separated from their parents.

But these odds can change.

Mercy Corps has a mission to educate and empower girls to end poverty in places like Afghanistan, Ethiopia and the Central African Republic.

Here's a snapshot of what we've been able to accomplish:

• In a dusty provincial capital that was once a Taliban stronghold, thousands of girls are stepping outside to learn job skills for the first time at a vocational school run by Mercy Corps.
• Scholarships provided by Mercy Corps have given girls in Ethiopia the chance to complete high school — and spread the power of their education through their family, community and country.
  
• Mercy Corps helps girls in conflict-ridden Central African Republic heal from violence, stay in school and make choices that keep them safe.
  

When we invest in a girl through education, we give her a chance to succeed. And we set in motion a change that lasts for generations. Thanks to your support, we are providing opportunity and hope to these girls!

See more of what a girl can do today. 

With gratitude,

Carlene Deits

Links:

• Mercy Corps - A Girl Can
• Mercy Corps Transforming Lives Around the World

As we ring in the New Year, we spend time reviewing what has been done in 2012. Because of you, we at Mercy Corps were able to do some real life-changing work this year! 

You are the reason we were able to provide emergency food in the Sahel region, vocational training in Afghanistan, and Hurricane Sandy relief in Haiti -- among our many other projects and programs around the world. Thank you.

We like to see the people you impacted, and I bet you do too. Over 17,000 photos were collected this year and we would like to share some of them with you! 

Check out our slide show of the ten best images from 2012 and witness photos of:

• Wiam, a seven-year-old living with just a suitcase and a cardboard box of belongings in the Za'atari refugee camp in Jordan.
• Donatien, 13, on his daily trek to fetch water. He and his family fled to this new village during attacks by the Lord' Resistance Army in the Central African Republic.
• Jhon, during his training as a mechanical engineer in our rehabilitation program in Colombia. Jhon escaped life as a child soldier with the FARC militants.

And many others!

These images capture the resilient and strong-willed spirit of those we work with, but there is still so much to be done.

As you consider your end-of-year giving, I encourage you to donate to Mercy Corps through Global Giving. Pick a project to make a lifesaving difference for families in need:

• Saving Lives in Niger, Mali & Sahel in West Africa
• Relief and Recovery for Haiti Disaster Survivors of Hurricane Sandy and previous disasters
• Continued Response to Japan Earthquake and Tsunami
• Food Crisis Hits Horn of Africa
• Breast Feeding in Indonesia Saves

With you, in 2013, we will continue to make it a brighter, healthier year for families in the world’s most desperate places. With your support, we can make it happen - together!

In gratitude,

Carlene Deits

Links:

• Mercy Corps' Top 10 Photos of 2012 Slideshow

While crises have been happening around the world and continue even today, you have helped to save and change the lives of many men, women, children -- and whole communities. Thank you for caring and for turning your caring into action!

Because of your compassion and generosity we were able to achieve so much in 2012. You made change possible!

The accomplishments shared below are a testament to the more than 70,000 donors (including you!) who’ve made this work possible. Because of you:

• Our teams in Mali helped 2,300 families survive the worst food shortage in decades.
• In Iraq, we taught 5,500 women to read — and learn their rights in a newly democratic country.
• We staved off malnutrition in 23,585 Guatemalan mothers and infants.
• In the new nation of South Sudan, school supplies and newly constructed classrooms are helping 13,969 children continue their education.
• In Afghanistan, 2,000 women graduated from our job training classes.

To show how your caring has made an impact in the world, we have put together a slideshow of what we were able to accomplish in 2012. Check out how you transformed lives this year!

And if you haven't received our free 2013 Mercy Corps calendar yet, we still have some left! Just send your mailing address to fundraising@mercycorps.org.

On behalf of the millions of people our work has touched this year, thank you!

In gratitude,

Carlene Deits

Links:

• How Mercy Corps has helped turned crisis into opportunity.
• Mercy Corps' Accomplishments of 2012

Thank you for your support. Because you have put your caring into action to Mercy Corps through GlobalGiving, we are able to make a positive impact on lives throughout the world. To show our appreciation, we'd like to give you a Mercy Corps calendar as a thank you and daily reminder of how you are changing lives! 

Because of you, Mercy Corps helps people turn the crises they confront into the opportunities they deserve. Driven by local needs, our programs provide communities in the world's toughest places with the tools and support they need to transform their own lives.

Please send an email to fundraising@mercycorps.org with your mailing address, and we will send you a free 2013 Mercy Corps calendar! Your address will not be used for any other purpose than mailing you this calendar. 

If you are a resident of the Portland, Oregon metro area, please keep in mind that Mercy Corps has several upcoming free events that we would love for you to attend. Tuesday evening on October 30th, we have team members share their stories from the field of how positive changes are being made. Please click here for details of this and other upcoming events and exhibits. If you'd like to attend or receive a monthly email of these events, let us know!

As the end of 2012 quickly approaches, others lives can change because of you too as you keep Mercy Corps in mind as you donate. 

Again, thank you!

Links:

• Mercy Corps Events in Portland, Oregon
• Mercy Corps' Website

In the aftermath of natural disasters and wars, children need help to make sense of what's happened. Our emergency-response teams lay the groundwork for emotional recovery in children by using two programs:

Comfort for Kids, developed in partnership with Bright Horizons Family Solutions, combines training for adults to help kids process trauma with an interactive workbook for children, which helps them tell their story of the disaster in a safe environment. Moving Forward promotes physical and emotional recovery through sports such as volleyball and soccer.

Here's how your incredible support helps Mercy Corps heal and rebuild lives for kids all over the world:

• After Hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated New Orleans and swaths of the U.S. Gulf Coast, we distributed 55,000 Comfort Kits to children that included school supplies and stuffed animals. We also helped rebuild playgrounds lost to the storm.
• New school supplies helped more than 9,000 children feel safe again in classrooms after the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake, which caused school collapses that killed up to 10,000 students.
  
• Nearly 70% of the parents in Gaza said their children showed more optimism and fewer behavior problems after receiving emergency counseling from our teams in 2009, in the wake of Israel's Operation Cast Lead.
• In our largest response yet, Mercy Corps teams in Haiti trained parents, doctors, teachers and other caregivers to help 90,000 children overcome their fear after the 2010 earthquake.
  
• Mercy Corps brought play and art activities to 2,300 Japanese children after the March 2011 earthquake and resulting tsunami.
• In Yemen’s capital, Mercy Corps and partner UNICEF are providing safe spaces for children to learn and play, reclaiming schools that had become war zones.
  
• Our teams in the Central African Republic have recently expanded play therapy groups to reach more children displaced or orphaned by the terrorizing Lord's Resistance Army.
  

To learn more about how your support helps children in need, please click here to check out heartwarming photos from our new Comforting Kids Around the World photo essay.

Our most recent Comfort for Kids initiative is helping Syrian kids who have fled with their families to Jordan and Lebanon. We've built the only playground at Za'atari camp in northern Jordan. Even the refugee camp, far from the fighting, is a distressing place for children, who make up nearly half of the 20,000 refugees here.

Nine-year-old Amani, like most kids in the camp, wants to go home as soon as she can. “We had a happy home with four bedrooms and a nice living room and a garden. I had toys and clothes and there were parks nearby to play in. Now we have nothing.” 

But Amani’s face lights up as she plays. She tells her new friends that she wants to be a nurse when she grows up so she can help people in need. The playgrounds help brighten each day for her and best friend, Lyat, 11 years old, in otherwise harsh and bleak surroundings.

Your continued support allows Mercy Corps to help children like Amani and Lyat heal and recover from unimaginable trauma. Thank you. 

Links:

• Mercy Corps Website
• Photo Essay: Comforting Kids Around the World
• Comfort for Kids Stories