The Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) has pledged $1 million over and above its already approved budget for partners in the developing world whose work might be affected by the Trump administration’s recent cuts to foreign aid.
The decision was agreed to by the boards of MCC Canada and MCC U.S. The funds will be taken out of the organization’s reserves.
None of MCC’s projects around the world have been directly financially impacted by the foreign aid cuts, as MCC U.S. doesn’t take any money from USAID, the U.S. agency formerly responsible for administering foreign aid. But many of MCC’s partners have been greatly affected by the cuts, says Ken Kim, MCC Canada’s executive director.
“The demands will remain high, but there will be fewer resources,” Kim said. The above-budget funding that MCC is offering is a way for the organization “to make a statement of concern about the cuts, as well as doing something practical.”
It is a way to demonstrate our “love for neighbours, near and far,” he added.
One partner that is impacted by the USAID cuts is Zambia Correctional Service (ZCS), where MCC distributes pencils and notebooks to inmates to use for school lessons. USAID’s cuts will not impact MCC’s work with inmates, but it will affect health-care services in the prisons for things like tuberculosis screening and prevention.
The cuts also impact Comision Accion Social Menonita (CASM), a long-time MCC partner in Honduras that serves migrants in that country. CASM lost critical funding for job training, psychological support and other migrant responses that will put additional strains on the organization.
The additional funds cannot replace the lost funding from USAID, says Mark Epp, MCC Canada’s senior director of international program.
But they can “bridge a small part of the gap,” he said. MCC wants to do its part “as a member of the worldwide church, called by Christ to care for our brothers and sisters, whether close by or across the globe.”
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