Mercy Corps
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mercy Corps is a non-profit organization engaged in humanitarian aid and development activities. Mercy Corps works amid disasters, conflicts, chronic poverty and instability to unleash the potential of people who can win against impossible odds. Since 1979, Mercy Corps has provided $1 billion in assistance to people in 82 nations. Supported by headquarters offices in North America, Europe and Asia, the agency's unified global programs employ 3,200 staff worldwide and reach nearly 10 million people in more than 40 countries. Over the last five years, more than 90 percent of the agency's resources have been allocated directly to programs that help people in need.
In its 25 year history, Mercy Corps has learned that communities recovering from war or social upheaval must be the agents of their own transformation for change to endure. It's only when communities set their own agendas, raise their own resources and implement programs themselves, that their first successes result in the renewed hope, confidence and skills to continue development.
The agency's core values state:
- We believe in the intrinsic value and dignity of human life.
- We are awed by human resilience, and believe in the ability of all people to thrive, not just exist.
- Our spiritual and humanitarian values compel us to act.
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[edit] History
The organization was founded in 1979 as Save the Refugees Fund, a task force organized by Dan O'Neill in response to the plight of Cambodian refugees fleeing the famine, war and genocide of the Killing Fields. This fledgling organization helped focus America's attention on the humanitarian crisis and provided lifesaving aid to hundreds of thousands of Cambodians.
By 1981, the organization had expanded its work to other countries and was renamed Mercy Corps International to reflect its broader mission. Mercy Corps quickly shifted from simply providing relief assistance to focusing on long-term solutions to hunger and poverty. Its first development project began in Honduras in 1982.
Since then, Mercy Corps has grown and evolved, gaining national and international recognition for quick-response, high-impact, cost-effective programs around the globe.
Over the years, the organization's work has touched families and communities in more than 82 nations across the world. Mercy Corps has delivered more than $1 billion in relief and development assistance, including food, shelter, health care, agriculture, water and sanitation, education and small business loans.
[edit] Current Focus
Today, Mercy Corps helps more than ten million people each year recover from disasters, build stronger communities and find their own solutions to poverty. The organization has been an international leader in responding to the massive tragedy of the Indian Ocean Tsunami, war in Afghanistan, massive food shortages in North Korea, ethnic conflict in the Balkans and economic transitions in Central Asia and the Caucasus. An expanding array of programs in Africa address food security, village-level empowerment and peaceful change. Mercy Corps' response to the December 2004's Indian Ocean Tsunami has helped over one million survivors.
The agency is currently involved in ongoing emergency and rebuilding operations in response to the mass displacement of families in Sudan's Darfur region and Northern Uganda, the war in Lebanon, Hurricane Katrina, the Pakistan Earthquake, the Niger food crisis, the Indian Ocean Tsunami and the current crisis in the Gaza Strip.
Mercy Corps was among the first humanitarian groups to use relief and development programs to strengthen civil society. Simply handing out food, building a school or immunizing a child is not enough - especially in countries torn by ethnic conflict and economic transition. Just a few weeks of armed conflict can destroy roads, schools, businesses and health systems that took years of traditional development work to build. Working side by side with the poor, Mercy Corps brings diverse groups together to create societies that are more peaceful, open, democratic and economically strong.
Since its founding, Mercy Corps has been committed to good stewardship of the gifts entrusted to it. The organization's ongoing work is made possible through the generosity of thousands of caring individuals, corporations, foundations, faith communities and other donors.
Mercy Corps consistently ranks as one of America's most effective and efficient charitable organizations. Over the last five years, more than 90 percent of the agency's resources have been allocated directly to programs that help people in need. The agency's efficiency consistently garners top marks as one of Charity Navigator's "Four-Star" charities of choice.
[edit] Countries Served
Mercy Corps works in the midst of the world's most difficult conflicts and disasters to unleash the potential of people who can win against impossible odds.
The agency is currently involved in these geographic areas:
Africa, including Eritrea, Ethiopia, Liberia, Niger, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan (Darfur), Uganda, Zimbabwe
The Americas, including Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, United States
The Balkans, including Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Serbia
Caucasus, including Azerbaijan, Georgia
Central Asia, including Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan
East Asia, including China, East Timor, Indonesia, Kiribati, Mongolia, North Korea
Middle East, including Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, West Bank
South Asia, including Afghanistan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka
[edit] Organization
Mercy Corps is an non-governmental organization (NGO) and a private voluntary organization (PVO). Neal Keny-Guyer is the current CEO of Mercy Corps.
It merged with the Conflict Management Group founded by Roger Fisher in 2004.
