MCC.

Peace and Justice Student Seminar

The MCC Peace & Justice Student Seminar is an opportunity for young adults to meet MCC staff, engage with parliamentarians and civil society actors, and hear from experts in a variety of contexts about how they are building bridges to create a more sustainable future for all.

The virtual seminar is on February 22-24, 2022, and costs $20 to attend.

For more information and to register, click here.

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Take the sting out of winter’s chill by joining The Great Winter Warm-up: At Home. Throughout the month of February, compassionate people like you are giving the gift of warm comforters to those in need.

Last year, countless volunteers generously gave their time and talents to create more than 4,300 comforters from their homes.

While we’d love to tie comforters together in person, this year again we’re asking people to stay safe and participate from home instead.

That doesn’t mean you can’t still stay connected. You can host a virtual comforter-making party over a video call with friends and family or send them a digital valentine when you donate towards the cost of comforter supplies.

Thanks to caring people like you, thousands of our global neighbours received a comforter last year. Together we can share warmth, comfort and a tangible message of God’s love with those in need.

For more information on how to participate, click here.

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Forced from home but still learning

When Raymond Khaled John Al-Hajana, a 12-year-old refugee from Sudan, was ready to start school in Egypt in 2016, he did not have enough education to go to class with youth his own age. Instead, he needed to learn skills and information that children are taught in early primary grades. Like many Sudanese refugees who had lost years of schooling to war and conflict, he was just too old to start his education in Egyptian schools.

But in Egypt, St. Raphael Center for Basic and Secondary Education, with support from MCC, provides a rare opportunity for Al-Hajana and other Sudanese students to catch up. St. Raphael is one of the largest Sudanese schools in the area, with about 230 students, says principal Emmanuel Issa Zaid, a Sudanese refugee with a university degree and experience training teachers. Students who finish their secondary education at St. Raphael can take the Sudanese Certificate Examination through the Sudanese embassy in Egypt. Those who pass are qualified to apply to Egyptian universities.

MCC supports education projects because they provide so much more than the learning of lessons, says Karen Friesen, MCC representative in Egypt with her husband, John Friesen. They are from Manitoba and North Carolina.

“Schools like St. Raphael provide sanctuary and care for the vulnerable, persecuted, marginalized and poor,” she says. “These education projects seek not only to educate but also to daily nurture dignity, resilience and hope for students, families, and communities who are strangers in the land.”

Adapted from a story by Linda Espenshade. Read the full story here.

CMU.

Xplore: At the Intersection of Faith and Life – A 55-Plus enrichment program, Xplore offers courses that investigate dimensions of the Christian faith, our world, and life in it. All without any assignments or examinations! Xplore happens in a six-week block, with online courses offered Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday mornings, beginning March 1. Click here for more information.

Canadian School of Peacebuilding, June 6-10; 13-17 – Registration is now open for courses taught by local, national and international peacebuilders, to serve practitioners, professionals, activists, students, non-governmental organizations,
and faith-based groups. Click here for more information.