Canadian Lutheran World Relief

Canadian Lutheran World Relief (CLWR) is a Canadian humanitarian and development organization established by Lutherans in Canada in March 1946 in response to the displacement and material hardship that followed the Second World War. Its earliest work centered on collecting and sending clothing, bedding, blankets and food to displaced people in Europe, while also helping refugees establish new lives in Canada. This combination of overseas relief and refugee support has remained central to the organization’s identity. CLWR organizes its work around four broad areas: humanitarian response, food security and livelihoods, education and skills training, and refugee resettlement. Its development programs are intended to strengthen local capacity rather than provide only short-term assistance. Activities described for the organization include support for agricultural production, small-scale irrigation, income generation, vocational or skills training, food-for-work initiatives and community infrastructure. In planning community-development work, CLWR has aligned itself with international development priorities associated with the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. It has also identified environmental protection, gender equality, organizational strengthening and HIV/AIDS prevention as cross-cutting commitments. The organization operates internationally through partnerships. Development projects have been conducted in Zambia, Mozambique, India, Bolivia and Peru, while a small-scale irrigation initiative in Ethiopia has operated through the Canadian Foodgrains Bank. CLWR has also shipped relief commodities to countries including Mauritania, Zambia and Tanzania. In Bolivia, Peru and Ethiopia, local partners have been involved in food-for-work activities connected with access to potable water. Partnerships with the Lutheran World Federation and the ACT International network allow CLWR to participate in broader church-based humanitarian and development responses, while public donations and government-linked development funding have supported particular programs. Refugee resettlement is another long-running area of activity. Since 1979, CLWR has sponsored approximately 100 refugees per year for resettlement in Canada under an agreement with the federal government. Its Toronto and Vancouver offices administer this program. The organization’s resettlement role connects its postwar origins with a continuing focus on people displaced by conflict, persecution or humanitarian crises. CLWR also coordinates emergency responses to natural and human-caused disasters through international Lutheran and ecumenical aid networks. Its We Care program mobilizes Canadian individuals, congregations and community groups to assemble quilts and practical kits containing items such as clothing, hygiene supplies, school materials and sewing goods. These goods are distributed internationally according to assessed need. CLWR has stated that donations designated for emergency response are forwarded to relief activities rather than being used to retain an administrative share, although specific financial policies and results depend on the relevant program and reporting period. In addition to direct program delivery and material assistance, CLWR offers overseas volunteer placements lasting from six months to two years. Placements in Latin America, Africa and Asia are arranged with the Lutheran World Federation or local partners, with assignments intended to match volunteer skills to locally identified needs. CLWR is also a founding supporter of the Canadian Foodgrains Bank and one of its partner charities, and it participates in ACT Development, a global alliance of churches and related agencies. The organization’s public-facing identity therefore combines Lutheran social-service traditions, Canadian refugee sponsorship, international relief logistics and locally partnered development work.

Canadian Lutheran World Relief was created in March 1946 by Lutherans in Canada who wanted to respond to the refugee and relief crisis produced by the Second World War. The organization’s first activities involved gathering and shipping basic necessities, including clothing, bedding, blankets and food, to displaced people in Europe. It also helped thousands of refugees find homes in Canada, establishing a dual pattern of work that combined international relief with domestic resettlement. Over time, CLWR expanded from postwar material assistance into a broader humanitarian and development organization. Its programs came to include emergency responses, food-security initiatives, livelihood support, education and skills training, community development, volunteer placements and alternative trade. Rather than limiting its role to the delivery of donated goods, the organization developed projects intended to improve local economic resilience and community infrastructure. Its planning framework has been associated with the United Nations Millennium Development Goals and with cross-cutting priorities such as environmental stewardship, gender equality, institutional strengthening and HIV/AIDS prevention. CLWR’s international work has generally been conducted through partnerships with the Lutheran World Federation, local civil-society organizations and wider church-based aid networks. Development activity has been reported in Zambia, Mozambique, India, Bolivia and Peru. In Ethiopia, a small-scale irrigation project has operated through the Canadian Foodgrains Bank. Food-for-work activities in Bolivia, Peru and Ethiopia have supported the provision of potable water, while relief commodities have been sent to countries including Mauritania, Zambia and Tanzania. These partnerships have allowed CLWR to connect Canadian fundraising and volunteer participation with locally directed projects. Refugee resettlement became a formal and continuing part of the organization’s work in 1979, when CLWR began sponsoring approximately 100 refugees annually for admission to Canada under an agreement with the federal government. Administration of the program has been handled through offices in Toronto and Vancouver. This activity extended the organization’s original postwar concern for displaced people into a structured Canadian sponsorship program. CLWR has also maintained a disaster-response role, working with members of the Lutheran World Federation and Action by Churches Together International when natural disasters or human conflicts create urgent needs. Its We Care program gives Canadian groups a practical way to contribute by making quilts and assembling kits containing clothing, hygiene items, school supplies and sewing materials. The kits and quilts are sent to areas selected according to humanitarian need. Volunteer service has formed another element of CLWR’s model. The organization has offered overseas placements of roughly six months to two years in Latin America, Africa and Asia, usually in cooperation with the Lutheran World Federation or local partner organizations. Placements are intended to use volunteer skills in response to needs identified by host communities. CLWR is a founding supporter of the Canadian Foodgrains Bank, belongs to the ACT Development alliance and has received program support through Canadian public and charitable funding channels. Its archival history is also represented by a Canadian Lutheran World Relief fonds held by Library and Archives Canada.

• 2021

  Canadian Foodgrains Bank program funding

  [1]Canadian Lutheran World Reliefen.wikipedia.org

  The organization received approximately C$1.1 million from the Canadian Foodgrains Bank for international aid programs during 2021.

• 1979

  Formal refugee sponsorship program begins

  [1]Canadian Lutheran World Reliefen.wikipedia.org

  CLWR began sponsoring approximately 100 refugees per year for resettlement in Canada under an agreement with the federal government.

• 1946

  Canadian Lutheran World Relief founded

  [1]Canadian Lutheran World Reliefen.wikipedia.org

  Lutherans in Canada established CLWR in March 1946 to address postwar refugee needs and deliver clothing, bedding, blankets and food to displaced people in Europe.

A faith-based Canadian humanitarian organization that combines emergency relief, long-term community development, refugee resettlement and volunteer engagement through Lutheran and local-partner networks.

• Emergency relief

  Humanitarian response

  CLWR responds to natural disasters and human-caused emergencies through international Lutheran and ecumenical aid networks. Assistance can include the shipment of basic commodities and support for relief operations carried out with partner organizations.

• International development

  Food security and livelihoods

  These programs support household and community resilience through food production, livelihoods, agricultural activity and related economic-development measures. The work has included irrigation and food-for-work initiatives undertaken with the Canadian Foodgrains Bank and local partners.

• Education and workforce development

  Education and skills training

  CLWR identifies education and skills training as one of its principal program areas. The available reference material does not specify a single branded curriculum, but describes the work as part of community development and livelihood support delivered with local and international partners.

• Refugee sponsorship · 1979

  Refugee resettlement

  Since 1979, CLWR has operated as an official sponsorship agreement holder and has sponsored approximately 100 refugees annually for settlement in Canada. The program is administered through offices in Toronto and Vancouver.

• Material aid program

  We Care

  We Care engages individuals and groups in making quilts and assembling practical kits. Kits may contain clothing, hygiene products, school supplies and sewing materials, which CLWR distributes internationally according to assessed need.

1. 1Canadian Lutheran World Reliefen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Canadian Lutheran World Relief official websiteclwr.org