Farmer Daniel Ibreius and Progressio development worker Gabriel Petit-Homme in Haiti (photo © Fran Afonso/Progressio)
What is people powered development?
‘People powered development’ describes what Progressio does: we help people gain power over their lives and overcome the barriers that keep them poor. And it describes the way we do it: we bring people together (our development workers and the people they work with in local organisations and poor communities) to help poor and marginalised communities stand for themselves.
What makes Progressio special?
We think it’s the way we work – nobody else does it quite like us! We ask groups that authentically represent poor and marginalised people what help they need in order to tackle poverty. Then we provide exactly the right person for that job: a skilled expert who works with them long term on lasting, practical solutions, and on changing the policies and structures that keep people poor.
Why does faith matter?
It gives us our inspiration. Progressio was founded by lay Catholics and our values are inspired by Catholic social teaching. But our faith foundations also lead us to be fiercely independent and inclusive. We see every person as sacred, and we believe in human potential. That’s why we are committed to working with people of all faiths and none, to help transform lives.
Where does my money go?
We aim to spend as much of our funds as possible on helping improve people’s lives in the countries where we work. Last year, we spent 91% of our funds on placing and funding development workers, and advocating for change to the policies and structures that keep people poor. Donations and membership subscriptions go towards this work – so if you donate to Progressio, you can be sure your money is being used to help people overcome poverty and improve their lives!
