News – World Neighbours Canada

September 28, 2026September 28, 2026

Ramechap avoids flood disaster

Village women on their way to vermiculture training in the district of Ramechap district.

On August 26,2026 a destructive flash flood occurred near the Nepal / Tibet border as a result of a landslide into a glacial lake. The flood occurred north west of Kathmandu affecting the districts of Rasuwa, Nuwakot and Dhading. The estimated death toll is over 1300 and over 4800 people are listed as missing. The loss of infrastructure such as roads, bridges, hydro installations, homes, schools, businesses and farmland is estimated to be over half a billion dollars, a tenth of Nepal’s annual economic output, second only to the 2015 earthquake disaster in magnitude.

The Ramechap district has not been affected according to our Nepal NGO partner BBP-Pariwar although there is a potential risk from the Tsho-Rolpa glacial lake which is located in a neighbouring district of Dolakha that would affect the Tamakoshi river. Evidently sirens have been installed in riverbank areas to alert people in the past but there are many glacial lakes that pose a risk to downstream communities throughout Nepal.

Climate change and the accelerated melting of the Himalayan glaciers have been well documented with the resulting effects on Nepal. The Prime Minister Balendra Shah is scheduled to address the United Nations General Assembly Sept 24^th to raise the issue of climate change and the impact on Nepal following the devastating flash flood.

World Neighbours Canada does not normally provide disaster relief and has focused on making communities more resilient and adapting to the effects of climate change. Our programs carried out by BBP-Pariwar addressing sustainable agriculture are an example of this.

If you would like to support immediate relief efforts there are many disaster relief organizations that are working to help those in need.

March 22, 2026March 23, 2026

The ripple effect of APDC’s work

by Judy Gray, World Neighbours Canada director, with thanks to Rébéka Tankoano for comments, video recordings and translation from local languages

World Neighbours Canada supports income-generating programmes in eastern Burkina Faso for women who have been forced to move to the town of Fada because of terrorist activities in their rural communities. Our partner organization is APDC, and the coordinator is Rébéka Tankoano. Rébéka recently sent me several short videos showcasing some of the women who have received training and equipment in the past to begin an income generating enterprise. Many women have found that the processing and marketing of peanut products (peanut oil and biscuits) is providing them with income, so they are able to take care of basic family needs. One of the women, Thiombiano Touanpoa, has become instrumental in supporting not only her own family, but is reaching out to neighbours in her community and has trained some of them.

L’huile d’arachide et la pâte d’arachide déjà transformé et prêts pour la vente chez Touanpoa

Here are Rébéka’s comments about Touanpoa: “Thiombiano Touanpoa is a former beneficiary of the peanut processing and marketing programme, trained in 2024. She trained 6 beneficiaries last year and some of this year’s beneficiaries, and she has also trained several women in her neighbourhood, including 10 women and 4 former beneficiaries of the APDC soap activity programme who have been retrained to work with peanuts. This woman is a leader!”

While visiting Touanpoa recently, Rébéka recorded two personal messages: one from Touanpoa and one from her husband.

Touanpoa speaking about her experience. She is speaking in her language, Gourmanchema.

“My name is Touanpoa. APDC trained and equipped me to process and market groundnuts. My business is still doing well and, thanks to the profits, I am able to pay for condiments, soap, my children’s school fees and healthcare for my family. This business really helps me. I thank APDC and its partners for their support. I am very proud of them. Other women have benefited from my training in peanut processing and marketing. Some of them are able to produce and market their products at home, but others, who lack equipment, often ask to use my equipment for production. I am very grateful to APDC and I ask if it can also help the fourteen women I have trained to obtain production equipment so that they too can produce and market their products, which will enable them to provide for their families as I do. This is my sincere request on behalf of the women I have trained. I am very grateful to APDC.”

Touanpoa’s husband, Nassidia, added the following comments: “I am happy because APDC has helped my wife Touanpoa with an income-generating activity, which helps us to take care of our family. She has also trained other women in peanut processing and marketing so that they too can take care of their families, so I thank APDC for this support for my wife and for the fact that she has been able to teach this work to other women. I really thank APDC, thank you very much!”

The impact of an individual such as Tuanpoa cannot be underestimated! The following message from Pougniséli Gbangou, an internally displaced woman trained by Thiombiano Touampoa in peanut processing and marketing, demonstrates the success of World Neighbours Canada’s support for these villagers, and how APDC’s activities are creating a ripple effect that spreads positivity and hope within a very poor and marginalized group of people.

“My name is Pouguiséli Gbangou, and I am one of the women trained by Touanpoa in peanut processing and marketing. We have learnt the processing techniques very well and this helps us a lot in our families. But we have a problem because we do not have enough financial resources to buy our own equipment, so many of us ask Touanpoa to use her equipment to produce our peanut products. We are grateful to Touampoa for agreeing to offer us free training. She trained us all at no cost because she is truly very humble, very serious and very loving towards us, and all her qualities helped us to learn well with her. We sincerely thank Touanpoa for her great love for us, her comrades.”

February 8, 2026

Doña Verónica González: Improving Family Life

Verónica González Gómez lives in the community of Isletas Abajo, located 1km from the village of Concepción de María, in the municipality of Langue, department of Valle, Honduras. She is described as a hardworking woman committed to her family and her community. At 62 years old, she lives with two of her daughters and, while facing the challenges common to many rural families, she continues to be proactive and takes part in community activities.

Throughout her life, Verónica has learned that small changes can make a big difference, that´s why she values every training opportunity she can join. Cooking has always been one of her favorite activities; however, for many years she did so in unhealthy conditions. Smoke inside the kitchen and poor hygiene were a constant risk to her and family´s health, causing eye irritation, coughing and food contamination.

This situation began to change in 2024, when, at the invitation of technicians from Vecinos Honduras, Verónica took part in training activities linked Healthy Household Strategy, where she learned about using improved cook stoves. Although she had doubts at first, she decided to make the change and installed a stove in her home. Soon, she began to see clear benefits: less use of firewood, a cleaner and more organized kitchen, fewer respiratory problems, a healthier environment and lower costs for cleaning cooking utensils.

Today, Verónica cooks in a cleaner and safer way. Her daughters no longer complain about smoke and the kitchen is no longer a risky place. Instead, it has become a more comfortable, safe and pleasant space, where daily work is done with greater ease and satisfaction.

She also used this improved space to expand her income generating activities. She makes handmade soap from wild olive seed, homemade bread, achiote, nacatamales and other products for family use, and to earn additional income for her household. In her free time, she also does sewing, an activity that shows her patience, dedication and care for quality work.

Verónica Gonzalez’s new washroom and land improvements

Additional, with her own effort and support of her family, Verónica has also improved the condition of her family’s bathroom with a small interest free loan from Vecinos Honduras. This approach helps community members take ownership of improvements to their family homes. In addition, Verónica also fenced the land around her house through a microcredit from the Financing Fund managed by the Cooperativa “Esfuerzo Langueño”, under an agreement with Vecinos Honduras.

Today, Verónica is an active member of the Health Committee and the Red de Mujeres de Concepción de María (Women´s Network of Concepcion de Maria), supporting community organization and showing that women play a key role in creating change. Her story is simple bur inspiring and it shows that with effort, organization and access to opportunities, families can improve their lives at home and within their communities.

December 26, 2025December 9, 2025

Reflecting on the year and our partners

One of the most remarkable things about our partners is their ability to adapt to constantly changing political, economic, environmental, and social conditions. This year has been a perfect example of that.

While we, in the west, have enjoyed an unprecedented time of peace and security, our news cycles are starting to highlight how unstable that peace is. I know I am not the only one who feels concerned about what the future looks like closer to home. I think we can learn from our partners who have weathered considerable instability over the years.

For the past 30 years, our partners in Honduras, Burkina Faso, and Nepal have experienced numerous regime changes through coups, rebellions, and civil wars. Yet, when we ask them how this will affect their work, they remain cautiously optimistic and prepared to adapt if necessary.

Currently in Burkina Faso, the multiple coups in 2022 as well as the on-going fighting between the military junta and jihadists, has meant that the populations of entire communities that our partner APDC used to support have had to flee their homes and are now internally displaced with no government support. Rather than abandoning the communities because the conditions changed, APDC staff have shifted from supporting
crop production and sheep fattening enterprises, to training beneficiaries in setting up peanut processing enterprises as a way of income generation.

This September in Nepal, student protesters stormed government buildings forcing a regime change. The country was shut down for many days; however our new partner in Nepal, BBP Pariwar, continued providing training sessions in animal husbandry, shelter construction, composting, and biofertilizer processing for female farmers. The thinking is that no matter who is in power, these skills are essential to enhance sustainable
agricultural productivity and environmental resilience.

Meanwhile, Honduras was heading into a general election at the end of November with growing tensions and political polarization. Powerful gangs, international political interference, assassinations, and drug money are complicating an already fragile country. Our partner, Vecinos Honduras, is more determined than ever to ensure that the communities they support are able to feed their families, whatever the future may hold. In
order to achieve that goal, it means strengthening community organizations, farmers banding together to save seeds, mothers collaborating to grow healthy food for their children, and communities working together for their future. Vecinos Honduras supports all of these initiatives in a variety of ways.

There is hope and resilience as our partners implement all these varied and important activities. The fact that they continue to operate over the past few decades speaks to their ability to overcome adversity. I hope you will continue to support them in their endeavours in the new year.

Please send us your donation today by cheque, e-transfer or online. We also accept stock transfers.

Thank you and hoping you have a wonderful 2026.

Sincerely,

Gabe Newman,
Director (Volunteer)

December 12, 2025November 28, 2025

Check out our latest newsletter

If you aren’t on our mailing list you would have missed our semi annual newsletter. We only send out two newsletters a year because we know people don’t want to be flooded with updates and requests so we try to be as unobtrusive as possible while also keeping you, our donors, up to date on our partner’s activities. If you would like a hard copy let us know and we will add you to our mailing list. Enjoy!

WNC-fall-2025-final Download

November 28, 2025November 28, 2025

Newly trained peanut processing entrepreneurs share their knowledge with their neighbours

– by Judy Gray, with information from Rébéka Tankoano

Koagli et Possibo en train de frire les biscuits d’arachide.

We recently received an update from Rébéka Tankoano (coordinator with our partner organization APDC) about the newest beneficiaries who have been able to set up a personal enterprise in the town of Fada. You will likely remember from earlier posts about Burkina Faso that almost all the villages World Neighbours Canada was previously supporting are now deserted as the villagers have been forced to move to Fada to avoid armed conflict. Life is very tough for these displaced persons, especially the women, as they have no means to earn money to care for their children, and many husbands have left to seek work elsewhere.

Thus the opportunity to learn a new skill that will permit a woman to set up an enterprise is a huge step forward. 12 women began entrepreneurial training in March, thanks to a donation from the QSI International School of Benin – the school my husband and I visited last November. Four of the women are caring for and fattening 2 piglets each so their profits have not yet been realized, but eight of the women have set up peanut processing businesses and have already earned revenue.

Rébéka shared comments from a number of the women, as she visited them all recently to provide advice and support.

Habibou Manli states: “I really enjoy my work, it’s very profitable, I can often earn more than 2,500 CFA francs (about $6) per production session. Thanks to this activity, I have become independent. I pay for my condiments and water, and I am able to contribute to a savings group for change. I have also trained another woman who now works for herself, which helps her family a lot. She is very happy. I am currently training another woman who will also be self-sufficient soon. Many women want to learn, but they cannot afford the inputs and equipment. Many thanks to APDC and its partners who have helped us to acquire the skills and equipment we need to work and provide for ourselves. I am very happy.”

What I found most encouraging about the women’s comments was the fact that some of these newly trained women are now able and willing to share their knowledge with others living near them. For me, as a retired teacher, this is truly the completion of the teaching-learning circle – when a learner is able to teach another !

Koagli Thiombiano shares : “I am very happy to have had the opportunity to benefit from your assistance. Thanks to this peanut processing and marketing activity, I have become self-sufficient. With the regular income I earn from my sales, I support my family by buying condiments, firewood and water, providing healthcare and paying for my children’s school fees. I also save money in a Savings for Change group in our neighbourhood… I am also very happy to have been able to train other women who are now able to work for themselves, which helps their households enormously. After training these women, I followed up with them and mentored them, and now they are working for themselves. Working with these women brings me a lot of joy every day. We have become friends and help each other in our activities. It is very exciting for me when we are together. I often give them money to pay for inputs, and after the sale, they repay me. I also give them some materials to produce with, as they do not yet have the means to pay for all the necessary equipment, so my materials help them to produce as well. I also help them to find new customers. It is really interesting. We work together perfectly, and I hope that they will become more independent so that they can also help other people. I am very grateful to the donors because this activity is very beneficial for us women !”

Rebeka also included comments from one of the benficiaries who was trained by Koagli. Here is Yonli Dirba’s expression of gratitude for the training she received :

“We were overjoyed when Koagli offered us training, and to this day we are still very happy with her help. It has helped us a lot; we are able to support our families and meet our specific needs. We are so happy with her help and very grateful to her. We will never forget her kindness, because this activity is very beneficial for us. We thank God and the team that supports and guides us. We eat and earn a profit by selling our products. Thank you so much to everyone. May God bless each and every one of you, the donors, and may we always be united in love and solidarity to make our activities even more successful.”

Koagli et quelques femmes déplacées internes qu’elle a formé l’aide à produire ses biscuits d’arachide

In a region where almost all international development organizations have ceased to continue with development activities, it is encouraging to hear of these small projects that influence so positively the lives of these displaced persons !

October 4, 2025September 28, 2025

Project work continues in Nepal despite political unrest

Training on vermicompost production and livestock management

Our Nepal NGO partner, BBP-Pariwar, has updated us about the current political unrest in Nepal. Gen Z- led protests began after a social media ban but grew into a broader movement against corruption ,nepotism and high youth unemployment. The demonstrations spread across major cities, resulting in casualties which cost the lives of 24 youths and injured hundreds.

Damage was done to vehicles, government buildings and other public and private property. Businesses and transportation services were disrupted for several days.

The Prime Minister, Home Minister and most of the ministers and local government representatives resigned A curfew was imposed nationwide in major cities restricting movement and public gatherings that has affected daily life, transport, and access to essential services.

Although the situation is gradually stabilizing, it remains sensitive and could indirectly affect our current project in the Ramechap district.

However, to date BBP-Pariwar has recently conducted livestock management education including proper husbandry and shelter construction, worm composting and biofertilizer preparation training sessions with four community groups of women farmers.

Earlier this year training for financial record keeping, kitchen garden support, waste water collection using plastic ponds and starting home nurseries to grow fodder for livestock was undertaken. Despite the political unrest delivery of goats to some of the participants is scheduled in the coming days.

Ultimately the project will enhance sustainable agricultural productivity, environmental resilience, and overall well-being of women farmers and their communities

September 6, 2025

Trying to earn a living in town – life for displaced women in Fada, Burkina Faso

by Judy Gray with information from Rébéka Tankoano

Displaced villagers attending a sensitization session on how to recognize and prevent malnutrition

Rural families in eastern Burkina Faso have been forced to relocate to the town of Fada to escape violence between insurgents and the army. World Neighbours Canada’s local partner organization, APDC, continues to support these families with new approaches. Rébéka Tankoano, project coordinator with APDC, recently sent us a report to provide an update about current activities. Here are a few excerpts from her report:

“In addition to setting up new revenue-generating enterprises, the APDC team continued to strengthen the capacities of beneficiaries through regular monitoring and follow-up. This monitoring enabled them to understand how the enterprises were progressing and to encourage beneficiaries (both old and new) to further strengthen their activities. During these visits, the team provided practical advice to beneficiaries based on the difficulties encountered by some women, especially those selling soap. The APDC team suggested that these women learn other activities that are more profitable than soap selling. During our follow-up visits between January and June 2025, some of these beneficiaries impressed us with their transition to peanut processing and marketing. We should point out that their learning was facilitated by a few former beneficiaries, such as Touampoa Thiombiano. It is clear that the average profit from a one day of peanut products’ sales is greater than 1,500 francs (about $4 Canadian, decent daily earnings) for each beneficiary.”

Rébéka also shared comments from some of the entrepreneurs:

Dabini Lamoudi (previously making and selling soap but now has a peanut processing enterprise): “I am happy with this activity. It is more profitable than soap-making, and I am supporting my family. Touampoa trained me, and I have already trained three other women who have also started their own businesses and are supporting their families.”

Thiombiano Koagli (peanut processing enterprise): “My dream has finally come true. I’m so happy with this business. It’s profitable, I have loyal customers, and I’m training other women who are already in this business. Thank you so much to APDC and its partners.”

Onadia Anne-Marie (peanut processing enterprise): “At first, I had some problems with the peanut paste, so that slowed me down a bit, but now I have got the hang of it, and I am doing well. “

Yonli Namouno (preparing and selling local foods): “Because beans and cereals are so expensive, I don’t cook every day, but I also make dolo (a traditional beer) and sell it regularly. Overall, things are going well. I’m able to pay for condiments, water, etc.”

Veronique Dabini sharing the results of her peanut processing enterprise with APDC field worker, Noula Miyieba.

Rébéka is very candid with the information in her reports, and she includes comments that explain the difficulties that some women are facing. These include the rising cost of cereals or other inputs, illness in the family, difficulty accessing firewood that is required for cooking, and the difficulty in finding transportation to get to a market from the outskirts of Fada.

Despite these issues, and the uncertainty these families face daily, APDC continues to provide support and advice, and organize educational sessions on hygiene and how to prepare nutritious meals. The APDC employees are trusted and well-respected by the growing number of internally displaced refugees; and these women are very appreciative of the opportunities they have been offered.

June 23, 2025May 23, 2025

Seizing opportunities in Honduras

Ronald Emanuel Guevara Maldonado is a 16 year old young man from the community of Las Olivas, Concepción de María village, Langue municipality, Valle, Honduras. He is the son of a single mother, Itzela Maldonado and comes from a family of farmers. He faced difficulties continuing secondary education due to economic limitations and thought he would only work in agriculture to meet his family’s needs. However, with a lot of discipline and self-confidence, he achieved both goals and graduated as a Bachelor in Science and Humanities in 2023 in Isletas Abajo community.

Ronald Emanuel Guevara Maldonado on completion of his training.

Motivated by a desire to learn a job, he accepted an invitation from the Vice-president of the Women’s Network, Aricelda Rodríguez, who told him about an opportunity to participate in a training program sponsored by Vecinos Honduras and facilitated by the Instituto Nacional de Formación Profesional (INFOP). With the support and encouragement of his mother, he met the requirements to start the Basic Welding technical training program

Of the 28 young people who began the training in January 2024, some did not complete the program for various reasons, including migration to the USA; however, his interest in learning led him to complete the train in Basic Welding and additionally in computing and electricity because he was aware that there are few opportunities for training like the one offered by Vecinos Honduras with support from World Neighbours Canada, as a way to improve his living conditions.

In January 2025, with his mother’s support, he acquired basic tools to put into practice what he learned by setting up a workshop in his mother’s home, where he now fabricates all kinds of metal structures.

Ronald Emanuel is an example of personal growth and inspiration to other young people, telling them, “Motivate yourselves to study. And if you don’t have the opportunity, learn a trade so you can move forward in our country, without straying from our family.”

May 23, 2025May 23, 2025

Upgrades to the Ramon Villeda School

The Ramón Villeda Morales School, located in the highest area of the Isletas community, in municipality of Langue, Valle; receives 25 boys, 19 girls, and 3 teachers every day. Some walk up to 45 minutes daily to reach the educational center

The school has been neglected by the State for a long time, as several government administrations have passed without providing support. Every day, the children faced unfavorable sanitary conditions due to a collapsed communal latrine without water, damaged bathroom doors, poor hygiene, and the lack of adequate water and sanitation facilities, putting the health of children and teachers at risk of infections, illnesses, injuries and contributing to school dropout and absenteeism

In response to this situation, together with the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA), the teachers began to seek help from the local government, but their requests were not attended to. Carlos Mejía, the School Director, mentioned that after many years of waiting for support to improve the bathrooms and water collection system, he received the news that Vecinos Honduras was willing to collaborate on building bathrooms and a water storage tank to improve the conditions of the school. Thus, efforts to carry out the project began. He spoke with community organizations and gained the community’s support to work on this project; within days, work started, successfully constructing sanitation facilities, the base of a Rotoplast tank for rainwater collection and installing sinks. The community contributed with hand labor and local materials for the construction

The installation of a bathroom door and other improvements planned by the parents’ initiative were not completed because these upgrades coincided with the end of the school year, and many parents were engaged in temporary work at a melon exporting company or migrated temporarily to other regions of the country for seasonal coffee harvesting jobs. However, they committed to completing these improvements in the first weeks of May 2025

The change is positive, improving the health and safety conditions of children and teachers. The children, parents and teachers appreciate the support provided by Vecinos Honduras and WNCS to their educational center, convinced that united efforts create greater possibilities for achieving better conditions

Children deserve the very best!

Check out this short video made by a community volunteer working with Vecinos Honduras. It shows the changes and the effects small improvements can make in the lives of students.