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MEDA began with a group of Mennonite businesspeople who believed they were called to be faithful in generously sharing their abilities and resources. Over 70 years later, it continues today because of congregations like yours – faithfully sharing their blessings with their brothers and sisters around the globe.
We appreciate the opportunity to stay connected with your congregation. Below are digital resources for you to engage with MEDA’s work, explore the intersection of faith and business, and stay up to date on the impact of your support.
In this newsletter, we shine a spotlight on our project IREM in which MEDA and its partners worked to protect agricultural value chains, strengthen the resilience of MSMEs, speed their economic recovery, and increase diversification of production and economic growth.
With the COVID-19 pandemic, rural populations in Senegal struggle to get ahead. MEDA has provided support to the agribusiness sector, by helping 19,000 farmers, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), local farmers organizations and young leaders in Ziguinchor, Sedhiou, Kolda and Tambacounda maintain jobs and incomes.
Meet Ramatoulaye Diallo, a young leader of the IREM project in the Goudiry department in Senegal. Ramatoulaye aspired to become a farmer after graduating from university. But she faced many challenges. Too often, Senegalese farmers lack access to necessary resources, like seeds and technology. In addition, COVID-19 closed markets and reduced demand for agricultural products.
Yet, Ramatoulaye saw an opportunity to fill a need for local producers in her community. So, she connected with MEDA’s Initiative for the Economic Resilience of Micro, Medium and Small Enterprises (IREM) project in Senegal. She learned about agriculture and investment, and now, Ramatoulaye’s farm is producing high-quality peanut crops using organic fertilizer. By working with MEDA, Ramatoulaye provides decent work opportunities for herself and her community.
In the last year, MEDA has directly supported 167,000 businesses and individuals in the Global South. One of which is Ramatoulaye. With your support we can ensure entrepreneurs has access to the resources they need to thrive in business, provide for their families and invest in their communities!
MEDA is grateful to share that our IREM project has reached a significant milestone, sustaining and increasing agricultural productivity for over 19,000 women and youth led agricultural producers in remote areas of Senegal.
We’d like to ask you to pray with us as we give thanks for MEDA’s IREM project in Senegal that increased the agricultural productivity of 15,689 women and youth clients from 2020 to 2023.
Consider making a gift that will positively impact many others who are a part of MEDA’s projects like IREM. Visit our website to contribute to our Fall Appeal and witness the impact of your support!
MEDA’s Stewardship Corner connects faith to stewardship in each newsletter, providing you with the means to live out your faith through actions you take in your personal journey. This issue will touch on Practicing Gratitude:
Amid the hustle and bustle of our daily routines, it’s easy to overlook the numerous blessings that grace our lives. However, taking a moment each day to consciously express gratitude can be profoundly transformative. This simple practice not only helps us recognize God’s abundant provision but also stirs within us a desire to extend our blessings to others who may be less fortunate.
Gratitude, in its essence, is an acknowledgment of the goodness that surrounds us—the warmth of the sun, the love of family and friends, the sustenance on our tables. It is in these everyday blessings that we find a deeper connection with our faith and an appreciation for the richness of life.
As we nurture this attitude of gratitude, we naturally become more inclined to share our abundance with others. Just as MEDA’s foundation lies in the principle of generous sharing, your congregation can make a profound impact by extending its blessings to brothers and sisters around the world.
So, take a moment each day to reflect on the blessings in your life, and let the practice of gratitude inspire you to live out your faith through acts of generosity and sharing.
MEDA is celebrating 70 years this fall. That’s seven decades of harnessing the power of business to create sustainable and lasting solutions to poverty for entrepreneurs around the globe! So many people have contributed to MEDA’s journey to our 70th year and we want to celebrate with you!
Join us in Toronto, Ontario this November from the 2nd to the 5th as we commemorate the past and look to the future.
The Marketplace magazine explores the intersection of faith and business. It also shows the impact of MEDA’s efforts to create business solutions to poverty in the Global South.
To request a speaker to share about MEDA’s work in your service, please email communications@meda.org.
Passionate about building engagement and awareness of MEDA through your own congregation? Join our community of MEDA Connecters! To learn more, fill out our form below.
MEDA’s origins are rooted in the aftermath of the second World War when thousands of Russian Mennonites fled as refugees to the country of Paraguay.
There, they established strong communities that were grounded in Christian values of peace, justice and entrepreneurship. Many were eager to set up their own businesses, but they lacked financial capital and key resources.
MEDA was born out of the need to provide small businesses with capital, business training, microloans and investment. That’s what we continue to do today.
For over 70 years, MEDA has been creating business solutions to poverty.
Visit our video page for an extensive library on our work around the world.
Join our community and become a catalyst for global change with our fundraising and event resources.
Mennonite Economic Development Associates is an international economic development organization that creates business solutions to poverty.
MEDA International is a Canadian non-share capital not-for-profit corporation incorporated under the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act.
Mennonite Economic Development Associates is a 501(c)(3) status non-profit organization in the United States: EIN 23-7398678.
Mennonite Economic Development Associates of Canada is a registered charity in Canada: No. 107 691 057 RR0001.
© 2023 Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA). All Rights Reserved.
