Annual Report: relief aid tripled in 2015
In 2015, Dorcas helped 373,375 people in emergency situations, which is more than three times as many people as last year. Many of these people were displaced because of the earthquake in Nepal, others were refugees from Syria and Iraq and there were many who fled because of the turmoil in eastern Ukraine. You can read all the details in our recently released annual report. Dorcas is thankful for all the donations and funds that made all of this possible.
Flourishing The other side of the coin is that, compared to all the funds that were available for relief aid, less money has been available for long-term development projects. Dorcas had to delay the start of several planned projects and approximately 25,000 people are still awaiting help. In order to help these people as soon as possible, Dorcas initiated a campaign in the Netherlands called ‘Who will you help to flourish?’. The campaign is meant to increase the income for sustainable development projects so that these people can still be helped.
Change Dorcas focuses on facilitating lasting change in communities. Rather than providing some short-term help, we want to support people so that they can take care of themselves and of each other in the long run. This new way of working is evident in the lives of the 275,000 people that were reached through our sustainable development programmes in 2015.
In 2016, Dorcas keeps developing its approach and after this year, Dorcas will enter a new strategic period. The board of directors states: ‘Dorcas will have to adapt, reinvent and emphasise its approach so that it can meet the needs of an ever-changing society’.
Annual report You can read and download the Dorcas Annual Report of 2015 right here. This month, Dorcas is presenting the report to jury of the Transparency Prize in the Netherlands. Last year, Dorcas was one of the top organisations on the list and in 2014 Dorcas received its AAA-status due to an excellent performance in every category.