Mercy corps marks 10 years of humanitarian service in Nigeria

Mercy Corps on Saturday marked its 10th anniversary for impacting over 3.7 million lives with their humanitarian services to vulnerable persons and communities in Nigeria.

The Country Director of the corps, Mr. Ndubisi Anyanwu, said it was a milestone and challenges it had experienced in during the period under review in Nigeria.

The country director added that the experiences they had in the country would be what they will build upon in the coming years.

Anyanwu also lauded his predecessors for setting the stage for him to fellow in touching the lives of the vulnerable ones in conflicts-torn communities.

“Reaching a milestone here in Nigeria is worth celebrating, we use this celebration to mark our journey so far, also an opportunity to purse, think and reflect on how we started.

“Ten years surviving difficult challenges, and the joy of improving the lives of the less privileged is worthy of celebration.

” Our job was made easy with the incredible work of out past country directors and colleagues who put humanity at the top of their agenda in their intervention approaches,” he said.

The anniversary was marked at the corps headquarters in Abuja.

Mercy corps is a global team of humanitarians working together on the front lines of crises, disasters, poverty, and climate change to create a world where everyone can prosper.

Also, beyond delivering aid to meet urgent needs, they develop long-term solutions to make lasting change possible.

The corps could achieve these humanitarian acts through contributions from both individual and institutional donors.

Speaking also at the event, the Director of programmes of the corps, Ms Margaret Mcloughlin, said that pathway and possibility were the corps’ 10th year strategy.

She said the strategy met with their ambition to not only meet the basic needs of communities affected by conflicts and climate change, but to achieve lasting transformational change at scale.

Mcloughlin said: “The strategy clearly articulates that we are here to serve communities affected by conflicts and climate change . It also gives us the broad stroke of how we will serve them.

“By using a resilience lens, we can help communities cope with the immediate effects of crisises, adapt to conflicts and climate change threats.

“We thrive by transforming their own lives and influencing the structures around them for more equitable world.”

She added that the corps had witnessed devastating impacts of conflicts and climate change, adding, ”the nature of conflicts is shifting throughout the northern Nigerian.

“With nearly three million displaced individuals. Food security is rapidly rising , with an estimated 50 per cent increase compared to last year that 19. 5 million Nigerians are facing moderate to severe food insecurity.

“The worst flooding in a decade also devastated the country, an early sign of what is to come with changing climate patterns . All of this can be overwhelming, where do you start?

“At mercy corps, we go to work every day because we truly believe a better world is possible and we want to be a part of that change,” Mcloughlin, Mcloughlin said.

Also reports that the highlight was the the presentation of awards to exceptional humanitarian staff of the corps.

Also, the past country directors and directors of programmes since the corps’ inception in Nigeria virtually gave their good will messages by congratulating it for a job well done.