St. Mark's Lutheran Church - Friends of Creation Challenge

St. Mark's Lutheran Church in Winnipeg is growing hope- one acre at a time

The Lake Chad catchment area is the largest inland water basin in Africa, but today the ecosystem is fragile and degrading quickly as it faces a web of related challenges. Our Goal: Raise $5000 to restore 100 acres by October 31, 2026.

Lake Chad has shrunk by 90% since 1963 and continues shrinking due to both local human activity, like deforestation and unsustainable water use, and global climate effects, like shorter rainy seasons. Warming temperatures are hurting agricultural production. Meanwhile, overgrazing and pollution have contributed to the disappearance of valuable species.

With less rain and hotter temperatures, hunger and disease are both on the rise, while livelihoods disappear. Reduced income for farmers means pulling children from school, which disproportionately affects girls. At a household level, families are experiencing hunger, a loss of income, real safety concerns, and kids who aren’t going to school.

CLWR has designed a restoration project through consultation with hundreds of families in Cameroon and Chad. It will be carried out alongside thousands of local farmers as they restore land, reforest, advocate adoption of sustainable farming and water management practices, and include voices that have been left out. After two and a half years of this project, it is expected that over 128,000 people will benefit directly from an improved ecosystem—with better nutrition, water access, crop yields, and sustainable futures—and an additional 640,000 people will be able to live and work in ecosystems that will have been restored.

Thanks to matching funds from the Government of Canada, just $50 rescues an acre of farmland around Lake Chad—providing seeds, water, and training for families to thrive again.

Will you add a gift of hope today?