Mercy Corps

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Mercy Corps logo
Mercy Corps logo

Mercy Corps is a non-profit organization engaged in humanitarian aid and development activities. Mercy Corps works amid disasters, conflicts, chronic poverty and instability. 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 13.5 million people in more than 35 countries.

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.
  • We believe that all people have the right to live in peaceful communities and participate fully in the decisions that affect their lives.
  • We believe that human imagination and energy can inspire innovative solutions to any problem, no matter how intractable.
  • We believe that it is our duty to be effective stewards of the financial resources entrusted to us.

Contents

[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 has worked 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 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.

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 aftermath of the Summer 2006 conflict in Lebanon, Hurricane Katrina, the Pakistan Earthquake, the Niger food crisis, the Indian Ocean Tsunami and the ongoing crisis in the Gaza Strip.

Mercy Corps was among the first humanitarian groups to use relief and development programs to strengthen civil society. According to its website, "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."

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. The agency's efficiency has consistently placed it as one of Charity Navigator's "Four-Star" charities of choice.

[edit] Countries Served

The agency is currently involved in these geographic areas:

Africa, including Ethiopia, Liberia, Niger, Somalia, Southern 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 Iraq, 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 and Nancy Lindborg currently serves as the organization's President. Landrum Bolling and Paul Dudley Hart serve as Directors at Large.

It merged with the Conflict Management Group founded by Roger Fisher in 2004.

[edit] Awards and Distinctions

On February 1, 2007, U.S. Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) nominated Mercy Corps for the Nobel Peace Prize. Other awards and distinctions include:

  • The Sitara-i-Eisaar (Star of Sacrifice) award, presented by General Pervez Musharraf, the President of Pakistan, in recognition of Mercy Corps' relief efforts following the October 2005 Pakistan Earthquake
  • The Friendship Medal, presented posthumously to Mercy Corps co-founder Ellsworth Culver, by North Korean Ambassador Han Song Ryol - the first time that medal was presented to an American
  • The 2003 Kahlil Gibran Spirit of Humanity Award, presented by the Arab American Institute Foundation for Mercy Corps' long-term efforts to help families living in the Arab world

[edit] External links

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