Mercy Corps helps meet urgent needs in times of crisis

Eman was just 10 years old when she fled from Syria to Jordan with her family. She suffered from war injuries and her right leg was amputated below the knee. Despite her challenging circumstances, Eman never lost hope. 

Through physical therapy she learned to walk with a new, artificial limb and enrolled in arts education through Mercy Corps’ inclusive education program. In addition to building community between her and the other students, the Mercy Corps art classes she takes have provided an opportunity for her to express herself and cope with stress. 

In Jordan, where a lack of educational resources for children with disabilities force many Syrian and Jordanian students to stay out of school completely, Mercy Corps’ inclusive education interventions aim to boost enrollment and educational quality by training educators, building awareness and providing customized support like equipment and rehabilitation.

This is just one of many programs the international humanitarian organization Mercy Corps provides. In more than 40 countries around the globe, their nearly 5,600 team members respond to the world’s toughest challenges — from the climate crisis to humanitarian disasters — to provide immediate life-saving support as opportunities and community well-being for a stronger tomorrow. 

Helping small-scale farmers adapt to climate change 

“Is it going to rain, or will we experience drought?” These are the questions small scale farmers are asking, with little information or resources to address these concerns. Mercy Corps’ AgriFin program helps farmer-serving organizations reach farmers more effectively and with profitability in mind so they can continue to reach farmers over the long term. From better seeds to access to banking, Mercy Corps is providing critical resources to help farmers adapt to the impacts of a changing climate and shocks like COVID-19. 

Providing urgent humanitarian assistance and recovery building in the face of disaster  

Mercy Corps has responded to almost every global natural disaster in the last 20 years, including the Nepal earthquake, the hunger crisis in the Horn of Africa, the Indian Ocean tsunami and Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas. Expanding upon a foundation of success fighting Ebola in places like Liberia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Mercy Corps teams are protecting the health of communities through public outreach, clean water and sanitation services in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis. They’re meeting immediate needs with cash distributions that provide families with food, soap and health care. And they are working to strengthen local economies by supporting small-holder farmers and small businesses through the economic impacts of the pandemic.

Stopping the spread of COVID-19 in vulnerable communities 

As higher-income countries inch closer to vaccinating the majority of their populations, the catastrophic surge in COVID-19 infections in other places around the world is a sobering reminder that we are nowhere near eradicating this global threat. Mercy Corps is working in places like Uganda and Indonesia where positive COVID-19 cases are rising at an alarming rate with urgently needed relief including emergency cash, hygiene education and supplies, clean water and long-term support to families and communities. 

To learn more and get involved with Mercy Corps life-saving global humanitarian work, please visit www.mercycorps.org or follow the organization on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook.