Relief impact report - Winter 2025

An update on MCC relief projects

Adeh Hamed, holding her son Mohammed Musa (2 years old), waits to receive emergency food rations for malnourished women and children in Burimudayto Woreda on March 30, 2024, where ongoing drought conditions have killed livestock and crops. Many of the children were recovering from a measles outbreak, but were extremely frail.

Ethiopia Cuba — Feb 2025

menu_book Impact report
Disaster response
February 14, 2025

Amidst disaster, your generosity shines

You’ve supplied cash to feed families in the wake of conflict
Atsede Tadesse, 46 years old, is a cash transfer beneficiary from Tsigereda, Gera Alta woreda in Ethiopia's Tigray region.
For Atsede Tadesse, the cash transfer you generously provided helped her buy 100 kg of maize as well as the money to get the maize ground at a mill. For a single mother of five growing children — sevenyear- old Handeya Getet (pictured here) and four older boys — your support has been vital. (MCC photo/Paul Mosley)

In November 2020, northern Ethiopia descended into chaos as fighting broke out between the Tigray People’s Liberation Front and the Ethiopian National Defence Forces. Even with a unilateral ceasefire now in place, thousands of people have been killed, 2.2 million people have been displaced and 4.5 million people are in need of urgent humanitarian assistance.

Your compassionate response equipped MCC partner, Meserete Kristos Church Development Commission (MKCDC), to respond quickly with cash transfers to 850 families. 

This cash has allowed families to buy food items like teff (a local staple grain), maize and oil - providing critical nutrition and easing the burden on families living hand-to-mouth for years since the conflict erupted.

Relief and care for families in Cuba

Your compassion is feeding hope and restoring dignity
Yamile González López holds an MCC relief kit. The Brethren in Christ Church of Cuba continues to distribute both MCC canned meat and MCC relief kits to vulnerable people in Cuba in a time when the whole island faces a shortage of food and basic items, along with daily energy rationing.
Yamile González López beams as she receives an MCC relief kit and canned meat made possible by the generosity of donors like you. (Photo courtesy of BIC Church of Cuba/Pastor Luis Ramón Blanco Angulo) 

Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, Cuba was already economically vulnerable. A decrease in agricultural production along with increased U.S. economic sanctions, took the country to the brink of recession. When the Cuban tourism economy shuttered during the pandemic, the country’s primary source of income evaporated. Many young people are migrating to Canada, the U.S. and Mexico in search of opportunity, leaving behind a massive gap in the country’s workforce and hindering economic recovery.

Thanks to your compassion, MCC has worked through an extensive network of 200 Brethren in Christ Church congregations to deliver relief to Cuba’s most vulnerable families.

Thanks to your compassion, MCC has worked through an extensive network of 200 Brethren in Christ Church congregations to deliver relief to Cuba’s most vulnerable families.

 

Here's a snapshot of the relief you have provided:

4,032 relief kits have been distributed to families, reaching 31,433

This includes 5,924 elderly people, 10,951 children and 3,371 people with special needs. 

48,000 cans of canned meat were distributed. Typically two cans of meat per person per household were delivered. 

What's in a relief kit?

Relief kits are a tangible reminder to families in crisis that their needs have not been forgotten. Click here to learn more about what goes inside a relief kit and how you can assemble one yourself. 

In times of crisis, generosity sparks hope.

Stories about Disaster Response

From hurricanes and flooding to conflict and drought, MCC is actively responding to disasters and humanitarian crises around the world. Learn more about our relief projects and give today to help provide assistance and support communities as they rebuild.