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Principles of our work
 
All the people in this world share a common bond and they are dependent on and responsible for each other.

Solidarity
Our field of activities is concentrated on prioritised regions, thus allowing an intensive and profound cooperation with our local partners and the population.

Personality
Fundamental for our work is respect for the way of life and the moral concepts of different cultures. Our help is not orientated on our beliefs, but on the needs of the affected people.

Subsidiarity
We do not perceive people in need of care as paupers. Strengthening of personal contribution and individual initiative is a major part of our actions.

Sustainability
Following sustainability, long-term projects have priority over isolated short-term projects.

Cost-optimization
In spending our financial capital, we are bound to the principles of parsimony, effectivity, and transparency.

Do you have questions, ideas, or requests?
Get into contact with the team of Caritas international cooperation.

Cooperating countries

The countries in which we are active have not been chosen randomly. We work in those countries where we have found reliant and committed partners, who are familiar with the country, the people, and their needs.

Our fields of activity

- We support organisations and groups who are aiming to help people in some
  of the most disadvantaged countries in the world.
- We offer our partners knowledge for project planning and project execution.
- We look for refinancing facilities, if the resources in the specific country do not
  suffice.
- We make people aware on problems in the cooperating countries and try to
  render help.

Our work is as diverse as the needs of the people. Instead of being limited to a single topic, we are focused on the needs of our cooperating countries.

Micro-projects

Besides various major projects, Caritas Vorarlberg also finances micro-projects in many of the cooperating countries.
These include one-time investments (up to 5.000 Euros) which arise during the realisation of major projects and are necessary in order to keep them running in the best way possible.

For example, during an agricultural project reparation of the tools becomes inevitable. The purchase of spare parts not only allows the continuation of the project, but also makes work and life in general easier for the population. Or what is the use of a hospital ward when there are no trained nurses? Thanks to micro-projects, the required staff gets professional training to ensure full efficiency of the entire ward.

The main goals of micro-projects are

- Improvement of quality of life
- Strengthening of local partners
- Encouragement of individual initiative

Emergency aid

Emergency aid includes the delivery of food, when people suffer from hunger, and the construction of refugee camps, when people have lost their homes in a war. Furthermore, emergency aid also includes providing continuous help in the reconstruction process, even after the headlines are gone. It is international networking which enables Caritas to carry out our emergency relief very efficiently and with remarkably few personnel.

This network is made of countless private initiatives in parishes, nine Caritas organisations in Austria, and 154 Caritas organisations worldwide.