Our 2017 Annual Report has just been published, and we are pleased to be able to share it with you. The report outlines our work for the year, in which we continued to focus on the core values that define the missionary approach to development, and on our commitment to mutual collaboration with our global partners.
We received €1,428,701 in funding in 2017; 100% of which went to our overseas partners. There were 33,690 direct beneficiaries of our work with a further 323,424 people indirectly benefitting from the programmes we supported.
It was a year that saw the migrant crisis worsen and millions of people displaced from their homes because of war, hunger and poverty. We worked closely with the Jesuit Refugee Service to respond to the needs of these communities, in Africa and the Middle East. We also continued to work in other marginalised communities across the world, focusing particularly on our two main objectives of Education and the creation of Safe, Resilient and Sustainable Communities.
In the year that our Strategic Plan 2017 – 2020 was published, we ensured that all of our objectives met the requirements of Goal 1: International Development Programme. To improve the quality of life of those who are marginalised, disadvantaged and living in poverty in Africa, Cambodia, China and the Near East.
However, facts and figures only tell part of the story and the report also features stories of resilience, courage and success from individuals who took part in our programmes and took another step on the journey to transform their lives and emerge from the cycle of poverty.