The ministries of disaster response and recovery, and immigrant and refugee response, overlap in many ways, and not just in the Week of Compassion office. Across the life of our ecumenical partners, staff and leaders strive to find the most effective ways to respond in a challenging and constantly-changing landscape. Guided by the insights and actions of locally-led efforts, leaders across disciplines focus on honoring the dignity and worth of each person, and pursue the best practices for seeking justice, nurturing compassion, and empowering sustainable communities. 
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​This sentiment is shared over and over among colleagues, around conference tables, over meals, and during field visits. Out of recent conversations, partnerships have formed to bring collective resources to bear in considering: How do we help faith leaders spiritually ground their work, caring for themselves and their congregations to build resiliency and endurance as they respond to crisis? This spring, Week of Compassion’s staff and community have been part of two significant and corresponding events focused on meeting this need. 

Sindh province in Pakistan is widely known for its vibrant craftsmanship and rich cultural heritage. The region paints a serene picture of its desert landscapes and a myriad ofcolors seeping through the fabric of local clothes. Yet, behind this cultural richness, many of its communities continue to struggle against years of inadequate infrastructure and harsh climatic conditions. Communities live at the mercy of recurring droughts, limited sanitation, and a growing hunger crisis. Livelihoods remain fragile, poverty widespread, and education and health care are both scarce and costly luxuries.

In a place where choosing between livelihood and health is a constant dilemma, Community World Service Asia, a long-standing ecumenical partner with Week of Compassion, stepped in to offer something unprecedented: accessible medical assistance without the burden of sacrifice, a mobile health unit.

It has sometimes been said that compassion is a muscle – the more you exercise it, the stronger it becomes. The same is true of creative expression, building community, and any physical or spiritual commitment: with time, practice, and encouragement, we can become more connected to our own inner working, our communal resilience, and our collective power. Synergy is a real thing, in science and in us; the whole is always greater than just the sum of the parts.

Twenty years ago, Agricultural Missions (AMI) designed and implemented a program in Liberia and Sierra Leone to assist rural communities in their recovery and rehabilitation following concurrent civil wars. These struggles destroyed rural villages and towns, collapsed the social and physical infrastructure, and displaced much of the rural population as villagers fled for the relative safety of cities and large towns.

Week of Compassion has been a faithful funding partner of AMI’s West Africa Initiative (WAI) over the last decade. WAI programs focus on improving food security, advancing the status of women and girls, and promoting the participation and leadership of youth within their communities.