People in Need

We strive for a society that is open, informed, engaged and responsible with respect to problems at home and around the world. We want to actively participate in shaping a society where cultural, ethnic, racial and other differences are a source of enrichment rather than conflict. We provide humanitarian aid in critical regions around the world in response to a real need, in the spirit of the Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross. We help people overcome disaster and support them in the time of recovery so that they can get back on their feet. We combat poverty, the roots of which we consider to be insufficient access to education, natural resources, as well as unjust treatment, discrimination, and poor administration. We help people to overcome these limiting circumstances and support them in their ability to improve their lives. We target the roots of these problems and cooperate with the people affected to remove them. We base ourselves on the experiences of our own country in the 20th century to provide help in authoritarian and transforming regimes. Just as the free world supported the struggle for freedom in former communist states, we support people engaging in critique and dialogue with power, demanding that fundamental human rights are observed, and striving for more open societies. We support civil society so that it may be the cornerstone of improved maintenance of public affairs in emerging societies and countries.