About CARE International UK
CARE International UK became an independently registered charity in the UK in 1985 and is part of one of the largest relief and development agencies in the world. CARE International was founded in 1945 in the USA by a group of American philanthropists to send "CARE" packages of food, clothing and vital supplies to millions of needy people in war torn Europe. It has since expanded to become one of the world's leaders in international relief and development. It is non-political and non-sectarian.
Through a network of ten international member countries, CARE works in over 70 developing countries throughout Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe on over 300 self-help projects. In 1998/99 CARE projects reached 35 million people in the following areas:
Emergency Relief and Rehabilitation - in 1998 and 1999 CARE was at the forefront of emergency responses in Bangladesh, Central America after Hurricane Mitch, the Balkans, East Timor and Orissa. In 2000, CARE is heavily involved in relief work following the floods in Mozambique and Madagascar, and in responding to the present droughts in Ethiopia and the west of India.
Health Care and Water - nearly 9 million women and children took part in CARE's health care projects. Over 2 million people gained access to clean water and sanitation services.
Food, Agriculture and Environment - CARE provided food to 9½ million people last year. 23 million trees were planted and 2 million farmers were helped to improve their farming methods. CARE upgraded over 50,000 miles of roads. CARE also trains local people in enterprise skills and helps develop access to local and international markets.
Education - 220,000 people were trained and educated in CARE projects. Access to good education and training opportunities underpin much of CARE's work and we pay particular attention to the education of girl children who often miss out on formal education.
Small business support and training - over 500,000 people, 76% of them women, took part in business skills programmes, savings schemes or received loans to start small businesses.
CARE International is recognised by governments and institutional donors (Britain's Department for International Development, World Bank, USAID, EC & UN) as an international agency that really has an impact in the reduction of poverty. CARE delivers fast effective emergency response, good logistics, high quality sustainable development programmes, as well as providing detailed financial reporting and accountability to donors.
The Name CARE
The charity has always been known by its acronym - CARE - but the meaning behind the letters changed as its mission has expanded. At its founding, in 1945, CARE stood for the Cooperative for American Remittances to Europe. Now CARE and CARE Package are registered marks of the Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere, Inc. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, CARE USA is one of 10 member countries of CARE International, whose Secretariat is located in Brussels, Belgium.
The CARE Package
"Every CARE Package is a personal contribution to the world peace our nation seeks. It expresses America's concern and friendship in a language all peoples understand." -President John F. Kennedy, 1962
The first CARE Packages were U.S. Army surplus "10-in-1" food parcels intended to provide one meal for ten soldiers during the planned invasion of Japan. CARE obtained them at WWII's end and began a service that enabled Americans to send the parcels to friends and families in Europe, where food shortages were severe and millions were in danger of starvation. Ten dollars bought the Package and guaranteed that its addressee would receive it within four months.
Our history
CARE was founded in 1945 when 22 American organizations formed a cooperative to rush lifesaving CARE Packages to survivors of World War II. The first 20,000 food parcels, each the gift of an American who cared, reached the battered port of Le Havre, France, on May 11, 1946. One of those Americans was Harry S. Truman, who sent 100 CARE Packages at a White House ceremony on May 8, 1946. Some 100 million more CARE Packages followed in the next two decades, reaching people in need; first in Europe and later in Asia and other regions of the developing world.
Over the years, CARE has adapted to meet changing human needs. In the 1950s, the it expanded into emerging nations and used U.S. surplus food to feed the hungry. In the 1960s, the charity pioneered primary health care programs. In the 1970s, it responded to massive famines in Africa and helped prevent them with an innovation called agroforestry, which integrated environmentally sound tree and land management practices with farming programs.
Today, CARE have a staff of over 10,000, most of whom are citizens of the countries in which they work. Workers deliver a "CARE Package" that encompasses programs in emergency relief and rehabilitation; education; health and population which includes maternal and child health, reproductive health and water and sanitation; and income which includes small economic activity development, agriculture and community development and the environment.