Canadian Jesuit projects devastated by Trump aid cuts

Canadian Jesuits International (CJI) has launched an appeal for donations for the critical work of its two Jesuit partners who have been affected by the US government's unprecedented freeze on foreign aid spending on January 24, 2025.

At least nine life-saving and life-sustaining projects run by Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) affecting more than 100,000 forcibly displaced people in nine countries have been disrupted as a result of the decision. Fe y Alegria, which supports school feeding programs and provides psychosocial support in five countries, has also been affected.

"Chad, Colombia, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Honduras, India, Iraq, Paraguay, South Africa, South Sudan, Thailand, and Uganda are the countries where we have been forced to suspend essential activities. The impact has been devastating," said a joint appeal letter by JRS and Fe y Alegria. "How can we explain to a distressed mother in South Sudan that we can no longer provide psychological support in the midst of a war? How can we halt school meal programs in Paraguayan schools? How can we justify suspending a training program for young refugees in Uganda just months before their graduation? How can we accept the closure of our schools in El Salvador and Chad, sending children back home?"

Both JRS and Fe y Alegría have applied for a waiver, following the State Department's announcement that, during a 90-day review period, it would temporarily allow spending on "life-saving humanitarian assistance," such as medicine, medical services, food, shelter and subsistence.

It remains unclear whether the State Department will grant them the waiver, or what will happen after the 90-day review. Prior to the suspension of foreign aid, the State Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM) provided an annual grant of $18 million to JRS projects; Fe y Alegria received an annual grant of $1.2 million from the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

CJI and members of the Xavier Network, of which CJI is a member, are contributing to this effort.

"As Canadians, we've been saying a lot lately about what it takes to be good neighbours and allies. At CJI we believe that our brothers and sisters around the world are also our neighbours. Will you support our neighbours who have been faced with shuttered schools and closed clinics with the suspension of these vital programs?"

Learn more: www.canadianjesuitsinternational.ca/a-call-for-humanity-support-essential-jesuit-programs/

Read the CJI appeal letter: www.canadianjesuitsinternational.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/CAN_Global-Appeal-JRS-FyA.pdf