Addressing the man-made causes of suffering in our world.

ABOUT FREEDOM QUEST

Freedom Quest International (FQI) is a non-profit organization, registered n Alberta, which is now expanding across Canada and the US. It was formed to help deliver people from the bondage of man-made oppression and persecution and to address the root causes of human suffering. Far too often, the international community pays large sums of money to deal with the aftermath of disasters, rather than put out the small investment needed to prevent them.
 
FQI's Mandate is to:

· Find solutions to social turmoil, addressing the factors which create human suffering;


· Promote and support grassroots conflict resolution and peace initiatives;


· Promote human rights and respect for all human life, as beings created in God’s image;


· Provide counseling and support to victims of persecution and political abuse;


· Be a voice for the voiceless;


· Assist in bringing an end to various forms of enslavement and genocide


· Provide  assistance to those already caught in the web of human  suffering;

FQI works directly in some of the above programs; networks with other agencies doing similar work; and provides support to local agencies working on the ground in the affected areas.
 
FQI has been involved in helping to establish corporate social responsibility in Canada, and took a lead role in the campaign to end Canadian corporate involvement in Sudan's oil fuelled genocidal wars. FQI has been involved in the search for a resolution of conflict in the region, including in Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya and Somalia, as well as mitigating devastating impact of LRA attacks on innocent populations. FQI has advocated strongly for the sanctity of all human life, the importance of religious and political freedoms, an end to all forms of terrorism and slavery, and the key role of church, family and civil society in maintaining a free and prosperous society.
 
Your partnership with us is greatly appreciated.

MEL MIDDLETON

Mel Middleton is a human rights worker who has been involved in International development for 36 years. He was born and raised in Ethiopia, and lived in East Africa for more than 26 years - 10 of those in the Sudan. For five years he served as an advisor to the Canadian High Commission in Nairobi and the Canadian Embassy in Addis Ababa on humanitarian issues in the Sudan. He has also worked as a special Humanitarian Affairs Consultant to the Organization for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance (OCHA) under the UN in providing relief efforts to victims of LRA attacks in Western Equatoria State, South Sudan.
 
For two years he co-ordinated relief activities into banned areas of Sudan (such as the Nuba Mountains), for a network of several aid agencies partnering with the Nub Relief, Rehabilitation, and Development Society.
 
Prior to this, he worked in Northern Sudan, where he helped to establish the work of the Fellowship for African Relief, a consortium of Canadian mission and humanitarian agencies, which continues to work with displaced and indigent people in government held areas of Sudan.
 
During the civil war in Ethiopia, he was involved in monitoring and distributing food aid assistance in opposition held areas of Ethiopia and Eritrea during the Communist rule of Mengistu Haile Mariam, and carried out advocacy initiatives on behalf of the church in Ethiopia, and the victims of the government’s “resettlement “ and “villagization” programs.
 
He has also worked in humanitarian relief and mission programs in Philippines, Haiti, Dominica, Guatemala and Columbia, and helped to set up a training program for short term community development workers with Emmanuel International.
 
Graduated from York University in with a BA in Underdevelopment Studies; and from Central Baptist Seminary (now Heritage College), with an M.Div.

Born and raised in Ethiopia, where he lived for 16 years, graduating from Bingham Academy, a boarding school run by the SIM in Ethiopia. Later, in Canada, he graduated from high school at Monarch Park Collegiate in Toronto.
 
Mel is currently living in Williams Lake, with his wife, Sharon (Director of Care at Senior's Village home), and son Jesse (finishing grade 12). He also has 4 daughters, Sarah, (now married with 4 daughters) Rachel (living in Three Hills in the Rehoboth program care), Karen (married and working as a junior high school teacher in South Africa, and Deborah (married and living in Kamloops, just completing her nursing degree). He has served as the Executive Director of Freedom Quest International since 1998.