What is Mercy USA?
As nearly 1 billion people in the world live on less than $1 a day, Mercy-USA for Aid and Development (Mercy-USA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving health and nutrition, as well as pushing for educational and economic development internationally. With a motto of, “Helping people help themselves,” Mercy-USA has been providing aid and helping individuals and their communities become more self-sufficient since 1988, thereby alleviating human suffering worldwide.
Headquartered in Plymouth, Michigan, with overseas offices in countries including Albania, Indonesia, and Lebanon, Mercy-USA is registered with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). As a result, Mercy-USA receives grants from the United States government for international development. For example, in 2010, Mercy-USA received a grant worth over 1.26 million dollars to help provide freshwater and improve health, sanitation, and nutrition to 118,000 individuals in need in Somalia. This money has gone to support many feedings centers, water wells, and sanitary latrines. Most recently, USAID has provided more than $290,000 to Mercy-USA to combat waterborne diseases by improving hygiene practices in Garissa County, Kenya.
Supported by USAID, agencies of the United Nations, and other partner organizations dedicated to international humanitarian affairs, Mercy-USA works in countries like Bangladesh, Kenya, Bosnia, and many others. Mercy-USA has improved the nutrition of many by providing daily lunches to school children in Gaza and by distributing monthly food baskets to internally displaced and vulnerable families in northern Syria.
In addition to distributing food and supplies to aid in sanitation and hunger relief, Mercy-USA trains individuals to become self-sufficient so that development becomes sustainable, a necessity in effectively battling world poverty and disaster. Mercy-USA has been training farmers in countries like Indonesia and providing computer training to youth in Bosnia. Mercy-USA is an important player in international humanitarian endeavors, having improved the lives of hundreds of thousands of people, from helping to improve nutrition and sanitation to providing agricultural and vocational training.
– Rahul Shah
