Mennonite Central Committee - MCC BC

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Mennonite Central Committee - MCC BC MCC BC strives to demonstrate God’s love to people suffering from poverty, conflict and oppression. Read more at: mcccanada.ca/learn/about

Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) is a global, non-profit organization that strives to share God’s love and compassion through relief, development and peacebuilding. In all our programs we are committed to relationships with our local partners and churches — their needs guide our priorities. As an Anabaptist organization, we strive to make peace a part of everything we do. When responding to disasters we work with local groups to distribute resources to minimize conflict. In our development work we consult with communities to make sure the projects meet their needs. And we advocate for policies that will lead to a more peaceful world. Through local programs, MCC British Columbia (MCC BC) works to meet needs here at home. We also support MCC’s work in 65 countries around the world by raising funds, mobilizing materials, and providing international workers. MCC British Columbia is one of six provincial offices in Canada. We hope you will be part of our work of relief, development and peace in the name of Christ.

What should have been a regular morning for 10-year-old Alisha Tamang became a fight for survival as floodwaters destroy...
09/19/2026

What should have been a regular morning for 10-year-old Alisha Tamang became a fight for survival as floodwaters destroyed much of the peaceful life in Nepal that she’d known.

Alisha escaped to safety with her mother and younger sister but is now living in temporary shelter. With dozens of bridges across Nepal destroyed, there are few safe routes to bring emergency food and supplies to her family.

Through one of our local partners, SAHAS (Group of Helping Hands), MCC has delivered emergency food and relief items to Alisha’s family in Bidur, Nepal. Now she and her family have the essential food they need, while much around them remains uncertain.

Alisha’s mother, Sita, still worries about her daughter’s health and future. “We give the children whatever nutritious food comes in the relief items. I worry about their health.”

Your support of MCC's response to the flooding in Nepal will continue to support families like Alisha’s. A gift today will provide food, water purification tablets and trauma support to those in need. https://mcc.org/get-involved/giving/designations/nepal-flooding-response

Photo courtesy of SAHAS

Q&A: Village Savings and Loan AssociationsQ: How does a Village Savings and Loan Association work?A: Village savings and...
09/18/2026

Q&A: Village Savings and Loan Associations

Q: How does a Village Savings and Loan Association work?

A: Village savings and loan associations allow people like Againmore Dziva (pictured) in Zimbabwe who don’t have enough income to meet all their needs to pool their resources and support each other. Members of their group would never meet the financial requirements for a loan at a typical bank, but their VSLA allows them to invest in each other in ways they couldn’t have before.

Q: Where does the money come from?

A: Each member of a VSLA pays a set amount to join, $10 to $20 is typical. Then each month, they each contribute a fixed amount, ranging from $6 to $25 for different groups — up to a week’s wages for some. All the VSLAs that MCC Partner SCORE supports were also given $250 of seed funding from MCC’s LINCZ initiative, creating a starting pool of between $300 to $710 depending on the size of the group.

Q: How does the money get used?

A: Each VSLA meets monthly, led by their elected treasurer and chairperson, and each member presents their needs that month; school fees, medicine, food, livestock, a new fence, etc. Everyone presents to the group, and the total pot is divided up fairly amongst the members. In some cases, the VLSA might opt to collectively invest in nearby small businesses as another way to generate profits.

Q: How can a VSLA grow so quickly?

A: Whatever someone withdraws from the group fund, they’re expected to pay back the amount they withdrew with 20% interest, in addition to their monthly investment. While 20% could be considered predatory if it were charged by a bank, it’s by design for these VSLAs. It not only encourages members to consider amounts that are realistic to pay back within a month to create sustainable growth, but it also means their total fund can grow aggressively in the right conditions.

Q: What if someone can’t pay it back?

A: There are policies in place for rare cases where repayment isn’t possible under those terms, but the members are already in community and want to see each other succeed together. Once repayments are logged and the coffers are reloaded, the process begins again and a new month’s needs are presented.

Additional Info: This project was funded in partnership with Canada’s International Development – Global Affairs Canada and MCC’s LINCZ initiative. LINCZ helps communities across Zimbabwe lead their own solutions to adapt and thrive in the face of climate change.

MCC/Fairpicture photo/Tendai Marima

WOW! 🤩 Because of your enthusiasm for the MCC School Kit Challenge, this year we collected over 46,000 school kits! That...
09/17/2026

WOW! 🤩 Because of your enthusiasm for the MCC School Kit Challenge, this year we collected over 46,000 school kits! That's way above our goal of 30,000 kits! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Thank you to everyone who posted on social media about the ! Winners of the pizza parties will be contacted directly.

What would you do if you had to leave everything behind?Forced to Flee is an interactive refugee simulation, created by ...
09/16/2026

What would you do if you had to leave everything behind?

Forced to Flee is an interactive refugee simulation, created by the Canadian Foodgrains Bank, that helps participants better understand some of the difficult choices faced by people who are forced to flee their homes because of conflict, violence or hunger.

Through a guided group experience and discussion, participants gain insight into the realities of displacement, build empathy for refugees and newcomers, and explore how communities can respond with welcome, compassion and support.

Forced to Flee is part of MCC Canada’s We’re Better Together campaign, which celebrates the ways stronger communities are built through welcome, inclusion and belonging.

To learn more, visit https://mcc.org/resources/forced-flee

Sanvi Silwal is 4 and had just begun her first term of preschool in Machhapokhari, Nepal. When deadly floods swept throu...
09/15/2026

Sanvi Silwal is 4 and had just begun her first term of preschool in Machhapokhari, Nepal. When deadly floods swept through the region in late August, Sanvi’s family was lucky to escape alive. But their home, all their belongings and Sanvi’s school were ripped away by the surging water.

With dozens of bridges across the country destroyed, getting relief to families like Sanvi’s has been incredibly challenging.

Sanvi’s mother, Smita, says, “She needs nutritious food to grow healthy and develop well. I worry when I cannot give her the food she needs.”

But through one of our local partners, SAHAS (Group of Helping Hands), MCC has brought emergency food and relief items to Machhapokhari, ensuring that Sanvi and her family have the food they need as much around them remains uncertain.

Thank you for your continued support to MCC's response to the flooding in Nepal. Your gift today will provide food, water purification tablets and trauma support to those in need. https://mcc.org/get-involved/giving/designations/nepal-flooding-response

(Photo courtesy of SAHAS)

Bangladesh stands at a critical moment in its journey towards stronger, more equitable healthcare. Across the country, c...
09/12/2026

Bangladesh stands at a critical moment in its journey towards stronger, more equitable healthcare. Across the country, communities face a severe shortage of midwives and nurses. While government efforts to expand the health workforce and advance universal health coverage are gaining momentum, significant gaps remain.

With your support, MCC's partner World Mission Prayer League (LAMB Hospital) is helping train the next generation of nurses and midwives in Bangladesh. For 140 nursing students, scholarships that cover almost half of their tuition are easing financial pressure, enabling students to stay in school and work towards this meaningful career with high earning potential.

For Jonota Tudu, a third-year student at LAMB Nursing & Midwifery Institute, benefits from this lifechanging financial assistance, enabling her to go to school to be a nurse. This will provide her with a career and steady income and help address the nursing shortage across Bangladesh.

Photo courtesy of World Mission Prayer League — LAMB Hospital/Manik Sarker

09/10/2026

Volunteers rock! We could not do our work of relief, development and peace without them!

09/09/2026

Together, we can open our country’s doors wider to refugees once again and help build a better Canada. Send a letter to the Prime Minister today by asking him to keep Canada a country of welcome. https://mcc.org/campaign/keep-canada-country-welcome
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MCC Canada has joined with the Canadian Council for Refugees and partners across Canada for the We're Better Together campaign. Learn more, explore resources and take action to help build welcoming communities — because we're better together.

09/08/2026

They drew their dream future. Then it started coming true.

See how a simple tool called the visioning journey helped families transform their future in Kenya.

This project is supported by MCC through Canadian Foodgrains Bank and Canada’s International Development – Global Affairs Canada

MCC Video/Jessica Banninga

Cyclathon 2026 is right around the corner! Register now for a community-driven movement dedicated to providing food for ...
08/24/2026

Cyclathon 2026 is right around the corner! Register now for a community-driven movement dedicated to providing food for families facing food insecurity Ethiopia, Haiti, Ukraine and Gaza. Ride individually or as a team on September 12 at the Abbotsford Tradex or participate in a Virtual Ride on a day that works for you!

This year, every Cyclathon donation will have up to 4x the impact- meaning every $1 you raise becomes $4!

Check out our page for more information and register to ride for global food security!

Cyclathon at MCC Festival
📅 Sept. 12, 2026
📍 Tradex Abbotsford

www.mccfestival.com/cyclathon

The board of directors of Mennonite Central Committee British Columbia (MCC BC) is pleased to announce that Carissa Yous...
06/03/2026

The board of directors of Mennonite Central Committee British Columbia (MCC BC) is pleased to announce that Carissa Youssef has been appointed the new MCC BC executive director. Carissa will join MCC BC in June and work closely with Wayne Bremner and the team over the summer to support a smooth leadership transition, formally assuming the Executive Director role following Wayne’s retirement in September.

Carissa brings a strong blend of nonprofit, business, and governance leadership to the role. She most recently served as Executive Director of One Day’s Wages, and previously held leadership roles with Stattonrock Homes and Food for the Hungry Canada. She also currently serves on the boards of Kaleo Labs and Trinity Western University.

She lives in Abbotsford with her husband, Bob, and their two daughters, Alexandria (16) and Abigail (14). Deeply shaped by her faith and commitment to community, Carissa is a member of Northview Community Church (Mennonite Brethren).

Carissa joins MCC BC with a deep appreciation for the organization’s longstanding witness, community relationships, and commitment to relief, development, and peacebuilding both locally and globally.

“We are pleased to welcome Carissa to MCC BC,” says Peter Wolfe, MCC BC board chair. “Carissa brings a passion for relief, development and peace along with a strong commitment to MCC BC’s work with the vulnerable in BC and around the world.”

Please join us in warmly welcoming Carissa to MCC!

In January 2025, BC's premier David Eby declared gender-based violence an epidemic, as 1 in 3 women experience an abusiv...
05/02/2026

In January 2025, BC's premier David Eby declared gender-based violence an epidemic, as 1 in 3 women experience an abusive relationship in their lifetime. Abuse has a variety of forms, with some more obvious than others.

Karen McAndless-Davis is the co-author of When Love Hurts: A Woman’s Guide to Understanding Abuse in Relationship. She is a Master Practitioner Clinical Counsellor with a private practice in New Westminster, BC. The focus of her work, for almost 30 years, has been supporting women impacted by abuse.

Join us for 2 days of inspiring stories and impactful insight, as you learn to recognize abusive patterns of behaviour, its effects on women, how to support those abused and to address domestic abuse in your community.

Register at whenlovehurts.rsvpify.com

Address

33933 Gladys Avenue
Abbotsford, BC
V2S2E8

Opening Hours

Monday 8:30am - 4:30pm
Tuesday 8:30am - 4:30pm
Wednesday 8:30am - 4:30pm
Thursday 8:30am - 4:30pm
Friday 8:30am - 4:30pm

Telephone

+16048506639

Website

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