Bring and End to
Extreme Poverty

Dear Friend,

Warmest greetings! Many of us this winter are being forced to embrace the cold. There will be no travelling to warmer places because of the pandemic. While I enjoy winter, I miss sitting face-to-face with our teams in West Africa and Central America to discuss programs, how to be more effective, pressing needs, and how to address those needs. 

Thanks to you, this past year we focused on helping communities prevent and respond to COVID-19, largely by improving access to proper sanitation. 

Donors like you helped in the fight against malnutrition, which is a growing concern as food insecurity rises due to the pandemic. 

As we enter 2021, it’s clear that our work to prevent and respond to COVID-19 must continue, along with our food programs to alleviate hunger. But our work cannot stop there. With your help, our efforts need to focus on helping all children—especially girls—to return to school, instead of becoming young mothers.

Over the past few years, CAUSE Canada has worked on maternal, newborn and child health. We’ve been troubled by the enormous number of young women and girls who are marrying and becoming young mothers, rather than staying in school. 

COVID-19 school closures have worsened the situation—setting development back and destroying hope for each girl’s future. The younger a girl is when she gets pregnant, the higher the rates of maternal and infant mortality. We cannot allow this to happen. 

As you read this newsletter, I hope you will think about your own children and consider that these kids are really no different than our own. They all deserve to have a childhood, gain an education, and ultimately have for hope for their own futures. 

Thank you for improving the lives of women and girls in Central America and West Africa through your continued support.

Gratefully,

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Wendy Fehr

Executive Director, CAUSE Canada