Arnold Alcimé stood on his two-acre plot of land and shook his head in frustration. Life as a farmer has never been more difficult than it is now, said the octogenarian, recalling earlier times when credit and new equipment were easier to get and when the land itself seemed to suffer less. Though this seemingly lush farmland often called Haiti's "rice bowl" looks fertile, recent years have taken a severe toll. Hurricanes in 2008 destroyed three-quarters of Haiti's agricultural land, according to the World Food Program – a situation worsened by Haiti's deforested and denuded hillsides, which made farmland in valleys like the one in which Alcimé lives and works all the more vulnerable. Read more.

In the midst of historic flooding CWS continues to provide food, shelter materials, and medical assistance. Read more.

CWS is urging a more robust response from the international community to Pakistan’s devastating flooding. Read more.

CWS asked staff, partners and ecumenical family – working in Haiti or having visited Haiti since the Jan. earthquake – to respond to a question about next steps: What needs to happen next in Haiti for it to recover from both the immediate disaster and the earlier, deeper structural problems that have hobbled the country for years?

"Think recovery as a matter of building," said Rosangela Oliveira, United Methodist Women Regional Missionary in Latin America," structures that shelter and relationships that heal." Read her response and others.