CHF’s Haiti Emergency Fund

On January 12, Haiti was devastated by a powerful earthquake. The international community has responded with outstanding rescue and relief operations, as well as generous donations from citizens.

Once this first phase of response ends, however, the people of Haiti will need support in rebuilding their livelihoods. Fonkoze, a Haitian NGO with extensive development experience in the country, will be there to fill this role.

Since 2006, CHF has developed a partnership with Fonkoze in Haiti. CHF will work with Fonkoze to help rebuild.

Learn more about Fonkoze.

Contribute to CHF’s Haiti Emergency Fund, here.

2009: A Year of Development in Review

Economic crisis hits the poor

“At the beginning of the economic crisis of 2009, it was thought that developing countries would be well protected from its effects,” explains Tony Breuer, Executive Director of CHF. “This has proven to be untrue. Overlooked factors such as higher food prices and decreases in remittances from relatives in the wealthier countries have had severe effects on vulnerable people in the south.”

In fact, the World Food Program announced last year that the number of those chronically hungry had risen to one billion people. This increasing vulnerability, combined with the UN’s Millenium Development Goal to decrease world hunger, has brought new emphasis to the issue of food security.

World focuses on food security

In November, the world participated in the World Food Summit and discussed the roles of agriculture and rural communities in food security.

Although no new policies or funds came of the summit, the renewed public exposure of rural development organizations is very promising, said Breuer.

Dealing with the effects of climate change

December’s climate conference in Copenhagen brought the world’s attention to the effects of climate change. Throughout the event, it became more and more apparent that developing countries suffer the brunt of climate change effects.

According to Breuer, “There appears to be a shift in focus from prevention to the mitigation of climate effects. The next step is to discuss how to help the most vulnerable deal with these changes.”

Now, a brief look ahead

With these three major themes dominating the past year — climate change, food security and economic hardship — one may wonder where international development will go in 2010.

“In the past year, governments have managed to minimize the impact of the economic crisis, however we will still be feeling its effects throughout the next few years,” explains Breuer.

As for food security, Canadian international development initiatives will continue to help small rural farmers in developing countries.

A greener future

Environmental sustainability in international development will also continue to grow.

“Increased public attention of the issues means increased political attention,” explained Breuer. “This is a hopeful sign for a greener future.”

To Our Donors: Thank You

Another year has passed, and so has a great Gifts That Matter Holiday Campaign. With your generous support, we have once again surpassed past donation records. In this New Year, even more families will benefit from life-altering gifts.