T O W A R D S A T R U LY J U S T, H E A L T H Y A N D P E A C E F U L W O R L D
UNDER THE
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JUNE 2025 | INNOVATION
NEWS FROM ALONGSIDE HOPE
INNOVATION : a new idea, method, or device : the introduction of something new
At its root, the word innovate means to make something new. But we’ve come to understand that innovation also means to make something better through that newness. We didn’t need to look far among our partners to find examples of innovation. From supporting partners with our new Resilience Fund, to learning how our partners are changing lives in Ukraine, Zimbabwe, Kenya and Canada, Alongside Hope celebrates improvements that are both significant and incremental. We also celebrate the generosity of you, our donors, whether it’s through an anonymous gift or a heartfelt fundraiser, you are renewing our hope for a better world. And that is truly an innovation.
Mary Obiero, country director for Church World Service, demonstrates how community leaders carry long sticks, regardless of their gender.
Driven by drought: Rural Kenyans determined to thrive By the Venerable Patrick Stephens, Alongside Hope Representative, Diocese of Ottawa
A Donor matches donations to Resilience Fund up to $250,000
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longside Hope has launched a new Resilience Fund in response to the devastating cuts to international aid by the U.S. and other governments. The fund will support many of our partners who have lost funding from other sources. Shortly after the fund was announced, a donor shared some exciting news with Carolyn Cummins, Director of Fundraising and Supporter Relations. The donor offered to anonymously match all donations made to the Resilience Fund by June 30, 2025, up to $250,000. Continued on page 2
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s we arrived at the community gathering in a rural village in Kenya, we were greeted by several women, each holding long, narrow sticks. I was with a delegation of Alongside Hope staff and fellow volunteers, visiting partner organizations and learning about the work they do in Kenya. In other communities, we noted some of the men were holding sticks, but our hosts from Church World Service were especially surprised to see women holding sticks at a community gathering. When asked about this, a village leader noted that the women of this village had recently assumed new roles of leadership and responsibility in the community. It was agreed that a person’s role in the community – not their gender – that entitled them to hold a stick. This was one of many surprises we would see on our trip. Kenya is a large country with a diverse population and varied climate. Besides Church World Service (CWS), Alongside Hope works with four other partners in Kenya to improve food security, access to clean water, sustainable agriculture, community financial development, gender justice and more. These partners include ECLOF, Anglican Development Services-Eastern, Utooni Development
Organization (UDO) and National Council of Churches Kenya (NCCK). Most of the time we spent in Kenya was with CWS, an international organization that offers humanitarian and development programs in several communities throughout the country. CWS took our group to visit several communities in the remote northern county of Marsabit. Access to the villages involved hours of driving on some very rough roads. As we journeyed north, the environment became hotter, drier and less populated. We learned that the region had recently endured a severe multi-year drought resulting in food insecurity for the local population. CWS worked with the communities to provide food assistance during the drought and, at the invitation of local leadership, continued to work with villages to diversify income and nutrition sources. These communities traditionally obtain most of their livelihood from
the herds of goats and camels they keep. When water is scarce, however, men often leave with the herds to find better grazing conditions, while women and children are left in the village with limited resources. The hope is that by diversifying income and nutrition sources with new and innovative ideas, the communities would be in a better position to adapt to extreme weather events in the future. Our hosts in each community shared their experiences growing food in the programs that CWS has been implementing. They showed us how they had recently begun raising poultry. We also learned about the Village Savings and Loans Associations they had set up to encourage financial stability and opportunity within the community. Most of these initiatives were led by and participated in by women, hence the sticks. As we walked through the village and learned more about the work people in Marsabit are doing to improve their communities, I was quite moved to see women holding sticks as they worked, shared, and took pride in their community.
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