What We Do - Community-Based Development

Genuinely fruitful programs and projects must come from communities themselves - not be imposed by others. Thus, Church World Service programs depend upon not only the collaboration of local partners but also the full participation of local populations in their own development. This participation begins with people coming together at the community level to identify local needs and resources and continues through their formulation of plans, implementation of activities, and realization of goals. The vast array of CWS-supported community-based projects includes agriculture and food security, cooperative and association development, and income-generation and credit programs - for both urban and rural populations.

Examples of current projects:

Nkongooro Integrated Development, Uganda
Rebuilding Liujiaba Canal and using biogas in Xincheng Village, Hunan, China
From planting seeds to managing small businesses in Gambia
Micro-Credit for Poor Women in Majiacha Village, Gansu, China
Income Generation for Roma Families – Serbia
Bosansko Grahovo Milk Cooperative – Bosnia
Community Development in Svay Rieng Province, Cambodia
Food Production and Income Generation for Rural Families in Southwest Colombia
Supporting the Luang Prabang Orphanage, Laos
Agricultural Support Program in Sierra Leone
Self-Empowerment Brings Success in Indonesia
Empowering Rural Women in Pakistan through Literacy and Micro-Credit
Providing Education and Vocational Training for Young People in Haiti
Community Organizing & Training for Food Security with Indigenous Families, Guatemala
Farmers for Rural Enterprise, Environment, and Development, Philippines
Partnership Program, Cambodia
Food Security in Mateare Municipality, Nicaragua
Post Jeanne Rural Development Program for Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security, Haiti
Faith, Economy and Society Program, South America
Land & Livelihood for Indigenous Peoples of the Chaco Region
Sustainable Food Security for Sugar Cane Cutters and their Families, Dominican Republic
Food Security in Northern Choluteca, Honduras
Water Cistern Program in the West Bank
Together for a Better Tomorrow, Bosnia & Herzegovina
Agricultural Training, Production and Micro-credit programs, Pakistan
Battambang-Banteay Meanchey Partnership, Cambodia
Kompong Thom Partnership Project, Cambodia
Community Development, Cambodia
People's Participatory Rural Development, Bangladesh
Tribal Women's Blanket Project, Bangladesh
CWS Vietnam
Christian Council of Mozambique Core Activities Program, Mozambique
Women's Agriculture & Irrigation Program, Senegal
Campesino to Campesino Self-Managed Development Project, Guatemala
CASA Core Program, India