CARE is non-political and non-sectarian. It operates in over 70 countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America, the Middle East and eastern Europe.

With its secretariat at Geneva in Switzerland, CARE International's 11 offices in Europe, Australia, North America and Japan support projects that benefit almost 30 million people every year. Each of the CARE International offices is an independent non-profit organization, contributing to and helping manage over 500 programs around the world.

CARE's staff is truly international. Out of more than 10,000 employees, over 9,000 are nationals of the countries where CARE run programs.

Many governments and institutions including the United Nations, the European Union and governments support CARE’s programs across the globe. In addition many hundreds of thousands of individuals support CARE’s work on a regular basis by answering appeals or sending in regular donations.

• Strengthening capacity for self-help
• Providing economic opportunity
• Delivering relief in emergencies
• Influencing policy decisions at all levels
• Addressing discrimination in all its form

CARE is guided by the aspirations of local communities, and pursues this mission with both excellence and compassion because the people it serves deserve nothing less.

So who are the member organisations of CARE?
CARE Australia is one of Australia's largest overseas relief and development organisations. CARE Australia strives for enduring change and works in direct partnership with local people and organizations. Wide-ranging emergency relief and long-term development projects harness local wisdom and creativity so that aid programs have the capacity for the largest impact.

CARE Canada is a partnership of compassion and professionalism in the service of those in need. Founded in 1946, CARE Canada is an operational agency that supports development projects and relief operations around the world. CARE Canada raises funds from the public, corporation, service clubs, foundations and community groups. These funds are matched in various ratios by the Canadian International Development Agency.

CARE Denmark focuses on long-term development in the fields of sustainable agriculture, natural resource management and rural environment. Programs aim to improve the livelihood security of poor rural households while simultaneously addressing the need for sustainable management of forests and other natural resources.

CARE Deutschland (Germany) was born out of the spirit of compassion and was founded in Germany to pass on the help that Germans received after World War II to those in need today. CARE Deutschland supports projects in over 20 focal countries, supporting self-help projects that are combating hunger, poverty, persecution and discrimination.

CARE France, since 1995, has projects in the field with support from the European Union, the French Government, Caisse Française de Dévelopement, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the World AIDS Foundation.

CARE Japan meets human needs in poverty-stricken communities, and primarily concentrates its activities mainly in several Asian Countries. Its development projects are concentrated in agriculture, AIDS awareness education, micro-business, and primary education support.

CARE Nederland's history goes back to 1993, when a number of major Dutch development organizations founded the Disaster Relief Agency (DRA), to combine funds and efforts in emergency aid for disaster and war victims. In July 2001 DRA joined CARE International as the eleventh CARE member. The name changed again but the focus of CARE Nederland remains the same: helping disaster-stricken people to build a new future.

CARE Norge (Norway) stresses the importance of agriculture and the wise use of natural resource to the livelihoods of households and communities. Local capacity building and institutional development to ensure sustainable results are also important components of CARE Norge's programming strategy.

CARE Österreich (Austria) finances its projects through resources from the Austrian Government, the European Union, UN organizations, Austrian provincial governments, municipalities, foundations, and numerous private donors. It supports projects in emergencies, in the environmental and development sector and in the social protection and development sector.

CARE UK works in 38 countries and territories across the globe with a growing focus on urban poverty in the cities of the developing world. Founded in 1985, it is funded by institutional donors such as the Department for International Development (DFID), the European Union, as well as businesses, trusts and donations from individual supporters. CARE UK focuses on a wide range of development programs that promote self-reliance to avoid long-term dependency.

CARE members accept funding from government as well as from private sources and foundations, and from members of the public. When accepting funding from any source, CARE is careful to ensure that such funding does not compromise CARE’s Core Values and Programming Principles.

Promote empowerment: We stand in solidarity with poor and marginalized people, and support their efforts to take control of their own lives and fulfill their rights, responsibilities and aspirations. We ensure that key participants are organizations representing affected people are partners in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of our programs.

Work with partners: We work with others to maximize the impact of our programs, building alliances and partnership with those who offer complementary approaches, are able to adopt effective programming approaches on a larger scale, and/or who have responsibility to fulfill rights and reduce poverty through policy change and enforcement.

Ensure Accountability and Promote Responsibility: We seek ways to be held accountable to poor and marginalized people whose rights are denied. We identify individuals and institutions with an obligation toward poor and marginalized people, and support and encourage their efforts to fulfill their responsibilities.

Address Discrimination: In our program and offices we address discrimination and the denial of rights based on sex, race, nationality, ethnicity, class, religion, age, physical ability, caste, opinion or sexual orientation.

Promote the non-violent resolution of conflicts: We promote just and non-violent means for preventing and resolving conflicts at all levels, noting that such conflicts contribute to poverty and the denials of rights.

Seek Sustainable Results: As we address underlying causes of poverty and rights denials, we develop and use approaches that ensure out programs result in lasting and fundamental improvements in the lives of the poor and marginalized with whom we work.

Emergency relief: CARE provides food, temporary shelter, clean water and other basic necessities in response to regional conflicts and natural disasters.

Conservation and environment: CARE works in environmentally sensitive areas such as endangered rainforests, African semi-arid grasslands, and some of the highly cultivated areas in the Andes and Himalayas. CARE encourages sustainable agricultural practices and protection of the fragile ecological balance, to address needs of both poor farmers and the environment.

Agriculture: CARE helps farmers adopt measures to grow and sell crops more profitably, without the use of expensive and potentially dangerous equipment or pesticides. Women's programs promote the cultivation of new vegetable varieties and help to increase the yield of traditional ones.

Education and training: CARE provides skills training to enable local individuals and families to make better decisions within their communities. CARE train-the-trainers initiatives involve local farmers in sharing new methods of crop development, and CARE’s adult literacy programs, bookkeeping and administration classes create new opportunities in business and financial management. Often health programs will also involve a training component, such as the prevention of HIV/AIDS or proper sanitation measures to avoid water-borne diseases.

Small business support: CARE provides small loans, business training and technical assistance to more than 50,000 people each year, more than half of whom are women, to help them finance their own enterprises and escape from poverty. When businesses become self-sufficient, CARE helps these entrepreneurs obtain credit and support from established financial institutions.

Gender and diversity: In all projects, CARE strives to involve women as project participants, decision makers and beneficiaries. Of particular focus are women's issues such as reproductive health, family planning, income generation and girls' education. CARE provides schooling for young girls to encourage long-term health, self-sufficiency, strong family and community status, and parenting skills. In addition, CARE seeks to address discrimination by addressing social issues related to caste and ethnicity. As an employer of many thousands of people worldwide, CARE seeks employ a truly diverse workforce

Primary health care: CARE health projects combat child mortality from preventable diseases by constructing wells, immunizing children, teaching mothers how to prevent disease, and providing nourishing food to hungry families. CARE is known for its innovative approaches to ensuring rural families have access to basic health care, such as the training of community health workers and the establishment of mobile clinics.