International Development
As the official international relief and development agency of the US Catholic community, CRS aids the poor and the disadvantaged by first providing direct assistance where needed and then encouraging them to help with their own development. CRS capitalizes on micro-finance to provide the self-employed poor, especially women, with access to reliable financial services. CRS, which has undertaken USAID-funded projects under the matching-grant program, concentrates its efforts on transforming profitable micro-finance programs into specialized micro-finance institutions. Its micro-finance programs have reached over 307,000 clients (of whom 84% are women) in 33 countries in Africa, Middle East, Asia, Europe, Latin American and the Caribbean.
Christian Aid is an agency of churches in the UK and Ireland, which works with ecumenical church partners and sister agencies, as well as with alliances of other faiths and secular groups, which share their passionate determination to end poverty. Christian Aid supports local organizations, which are best placed to understand local needs, and provides on-the-ground help through 16 overseas offices.
Evangelistic Commerce provides a vehicle for business owners and executives to engage internationally, and has created a network of like-minded people who encourage and inspire them to act. Evangelistic Commerce currently interacts with professors and students from over 200 universities across North America in efforts to identify and nurture these new leaders.
FARMS International is a Christian ministry that serves the church by equipping families in poverty with the means for self-support. By working through the local church, FARMS provides loans, technical support for income generating projects, and spiritual training for families. It does this by establishing country programs managed and directed by national FARMS boards, providing funds to the national boards to distribute as loans, teaching for families in management skills, and recycling repaid loans to help additional families.
Five Talents’ mission is to fight poverty, create jobs and transform lives by empowering the poor in developing countries using innovative savings and microcredit programs, business training and spiritual development. “Master,” he said, “You have entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.” His master replied. “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful in a few things; I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.” (Matthew 25:14-30)