Economic opportunity
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Photo: Sean Sheridan for Mercy Corps
Markets, whether large or small, keep communities thriving. But conflicts, disasters and a lack of infrastructure can prevent people from conducting the daily transactions on which all growth and progress depend. Around the world, Mercy Corps discovers why commerce is stuck.
In some places, manufacturers need loans to purchase equipment and young people desire job skills. In others, key transportation routes to market must be rebuilt or farmers require better storage to keep their inventory fresh until sold.
Our economic development projects provide financing, equipment, training or technical support. These projects help people find jobs, build their businesses, supply their communities with the goods they need —and improve their lives.
All stories about Economic opportunity
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Somalia: Shoring Up Riverbanks - and Confidence October 25, 2007
Bandarjadid, Somalia — Driving off-road toward this riverside village, there are hints of its past glory: the rusted remains of a tractor, a long-abandoned granary.
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United States: Two Years Later, Still Working for Recovery August 23, 2007
On behalf of our New Orleans-based team, I want to update you on what's happening here two years after the hurricane's landfall - and on what we're doing to help bring people back home.
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Indonesia: Making Way for Tomorrow August 22, 2007
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United States: Building By Dismantling August 16, 2007
Rick Denhart, Mercy Corps' New Orleans-based Director of Gulf Coast Hurricane Recovery, has been in construction - and deconstruction - all his life. He started his vocation as a child apprenticing with his father - a builder - who taught him how to take things apart and redo them.
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South Sudan: Rebuilding, Brick by Brick July 18, 2007
Renk, Southern Sudan — While walking along the emaciated Nile River at the height of last year's dry season, unemployed banker Diew Ajak encountered a curiously constructed brick.
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Sri Lanka: Recovery Amid Conflict July 18, 2007
Sri Lanka's Ampara District hasn't had time to recover from the December 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami: even as rebulding began, violent conflict engulfed the area, plunging already-shaken families into further turmoil and uncertainty.
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Guatemala: Defusing Crisis July 18, 2007
Olivia's calm smile says a lot about her life today. However, just a few months ago, the situation was a lot different.
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North Korea: Seeing for the first time June 13, 2007
For many years, I was privileged to hear firsthand stories of the people of North Korea from my husband, Mercy Corps co-founder Ells Culver.
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Indonesia: Cash-for-Work: Beginning the Recovery May 25, 2007
In the aftermath of natural disasters and violent conflict, towns often lay ruined and local economies are in shambles. Although grieving their losses, families are also eager to move beyond tragedy and begin rebuilding their homes and lives.
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Indonesia: Rebuilding Peace by Piece May 24, 2007
Hunut village, Maluku, Indonesia - Tjak Tohata was getting used to staying in a barn. For almost eight years, the 62-year-old man, his wife and their five children lived in a small shelter that was formerly to house cows.