Accomplishments of 2012: Together, we made change possible
December 13, 2012
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Jordan: As the year closes, we’re delivering clean drinking water to 400,000 Syrian refugees and their Jordanian host families. New wells in the Za’atari refugee camp and expanded systems in border communities will serve the urgent needs of the swelling displaced population. Photo: Cassandra Nelson/Mercy Corps -
Niger: More than 23,000 people — many of them severely malnourished children — got the food they needed to survive the Sahel’s devastating drought until the next harvest. Photo: Cassandra Nelson/Mercy Corps -
Afghanistan: 2,000 women graduated from our job training classes. For many, this was the first opportunity to receive an education and earn their own living. Photo: Toni Greaves for Mercy Corps -
Japan: Our loans helped 193 entrepreneurs get back to business and provide jobs after their enterprises — like this jam company — were damaged or destroyed by the 2011 tsunami. Photo: Sylvia Ross/Mercy Corps -
Nepal: Seeds and farmer trainings are helping 13,500 hungry families grow stronger staple grains and more profitable crops like chilies, cucumbers and onions. Photo: Miguel Samper for Mercy Corps -
Democratic Republic of Congo: Goma is the main city in eastern Congo — and the epicenter of the country’s chronic and violent unrest. We’re engineering a new citywide infrastructure to reliably deliver clean drinking water to 400,000 residents. Photo: Mercy Corps staff -
Colombia: After-school activities in some of the Andean nation’s most dangerous areas are keeping about 1,000 children safe from the clutches of armed groups seeking to recruit new members. Photo: Miguel Samper for Mercy Corps -
Yemen: Food distributions are helping the most vulnerable Yemenis — 50,000 single mothers, pregnant and nursing women, and children under five — survive since political uprisings interrupted imports and basic services. Photo: Cassandra Nelson/Mercy Corps -
Pakistan: Health clinics we sponsored cured 2,684 people of tuberculosis, which is still frequently transmitted in Pakistan. Photo: Miguel Samper for Mercy Corps -
Kenya: We helped 80 young people open small businesses to improve their communities — from a cyber café and mobile-money transfer service to this tea nursery and a mushroom farm. Photo: Salma Bahramy/Mercy Corps -
Lebanon: We started Comfort for Kids activities and counseling to help more than 500 children — both Syrian refugees and youngsters from host families — build friendships and recover from the fear and stress of the ongoing crisis. Photo: Mercy Corps staff -
Uganda: We supplied dozens of Ugandans with essential food in exchange for building 81 miles of new roads that connect their farms with markets, giving them easier access to much-needed income. Photo: Kaarli Sundsmo for Mercy Corps -
Mali: Our teams helped 2,300 families survive the worst food shortage in decades. Food vouchers reached those most at-risk: families who’d fled their homes because of escalating political violence. Photo: Mercy Corps staff -
Somalia: We helped more than 1.9 million people survive the Horn of Africa’s drought and famine by providing food, safe drinking water, clean sanitation facilities and protection for vulnerable women and girls in displacement camps. Photo: Cassandra Nelson/Mercy Corps -
Iraq: We taught 5,500 women to read — and learn their rights in a newly democratic country. Photo: Nigel Downes for Mercy Corps -
Central African Republic: 1,260 kids who escaped attacks by the notorious Lord’s Resistance Army found a safe haven at our play therapy programs and learned coping skills to build healthy, productive lives. Photo: Sean Sheridan for Mercy Corps -
Gaza: Our Arab Developer Network Initiative helped 750 young software engineers launch their web development ideas and connect with the global market beyond Gaza’s blockade. Photo: Eyad Baba for Mercy Corps -
Haiti: Our Soccer for Life program gave 2,167 kids in Haiti’s toughest neighborhood hope for a better future. Trained coaches taught them leadership, discipline and how to make healthy life choices to stop the spread of HIV. Photo: Fabiola Coupet/Mercy Corps -
Guatemala: Our teams staved off malnutrition in 23,585 mothers and infants by providing staple foods, teaching healthy meal-preparation techniques and supporting exclusive breastfeeding. Photo: Jamie Grant for Mercy Corps -
Ethiopia: Our mobile health teams brought emergency food and medical care to more than 27,000 malnourished children in remote villages, helping them survive the ongoing hunger crisis in the Horn of Africa. Photo: Andie Long/Mercy Corps -
South Sudan: School supplies and newly constructed classrooms are helping 13,969 children continue their education in the world’s newest nation. Photo: Cassandra Nelson/Mercy Corps
In 2012, we helped millions of people living in the world’s toughest places end this year safer, healthier, more secure — and more hopeful — than when it began.
That includes hundreds of thousands affected by conflict in Syria, Yemen and Gaza; businesses in Haiti and coastal Japan still struggling to recover from past disasters; and families in the Horn of Africa reeling from the effects of historic drought.
The accomplishments shared here are a testament to the more than 70,000 donors, big and small, who’ve made this work possible. On behalf of the millions of people our work has touched this year, thank you.
