Moments after a powerful storm devastates a small fishing community, the first things you hear after the storm aren’t sirens. You hear people. Parents shouting to find their children. Neighbors going door to door to make sure everyone made it through.
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In the middle of the wreckage, a group of volunteers are handing out blankets and clean water from the back of a church truck. For those families weathering the storm, that moment of relief is the difference between another sleepless night full of heartache and the first moment of rebuilding what was lost.
Stories like these happen every day all over the world. A student visiting a field hospital to get life-saving treatment. Farmers learning sustainable practices to continue growing food during a drought. An entire community discovering clean water for the first time. Behind each of these students are humanitarian groups and nonprofits working tirelessly behind the scenes — empowered by donors who want to make a tangible difference.
If you’re a donor who wants to make that kind of difference, then finding the right organisation is critical. With so many amazing charities doing wonderful things worldwide, it can be difficult to know how far your donations will reach.
Let’s explore how you can make sure your donations go as far as possible.
Why Choosing a Trusted International Charity Matters
When people start searching for charities to donate to, it’s usually driven by a genuine desire to help others. From donating to humanitarian aid efforts or long-term development projects to giving to charities that support causes close to your heart, donors want to know that their hard-earned money is going to make a difference. But with thousands of charities operating all over the world, it can sometimes be hard to know which organisations are responsible and effective in their use of donations.
Accountability and transparency are two of the most important factors to look for when donating to international charities. Reputable charities will be transparent about how their funds are used. They’ll regularly post financial statements, updates on their work, and results from independent audits.
By being transparent, you can see how your donation goes towards helping programs and services on the ground. Whether that means giving food and emergency relief supplies in the aftermath of a natural disaster or funding healthcare programs and initiatives.
Another important thing to look for in charities is tangible results. The best international charities will use donations to create real impact by helping to create sustainable solutions to local problems. That could look like developing sustainable food sources so communities can grow their own food or providing resources that allow communities to help themselves. Improving access to education, water, and sanitation are a few other examples. By focusing on long-term solutions, charities can help change lives for the better for years to come.
CARE Australia
Established over seven decades ago, CARE Australia works with communities impacted by poverty, conflict and disasters to deliver emergency aid and longer-term solutions around the world. Through rapid response measures and long-term resilience building, CARE Australia works with communities overseas to provide sustainable support during times of crisis and beyond.
Across multiple countries and contexts, this can include responding to natural disasters and humanitarian crises, providing food, fresh water, hygiene supplies and emergency accommodation whenever disasters strike. In addition to immediate relief efforts, CARE Australia also contributes to longer-term recovery work and rehabilitation. For communities affected by conflict and natural disasters, rebuilding and recovery can take years. That’s why CARE works to provide tools and resources to help families recover and create opportunities for better futures.
CARE Australia also works to address the specific challenges faced by women and girls during times of crisis. Women are disproportionately affected by the destruction caused by conflict, natural disasters and poverty, and often experience setbacks in education, as well as face greater risks of violence, abuse and deprivation. Supporting women and girls has been and continues to be a key focus for CARE, and the organisation works within communities to address issues such as access to economic opportunities and education, helping women help themselves and their families.
CARE Australia’s work in the Pacific is only made more challenging by continuous cuts to aid funding. From rural communities in Papua New Guinea to the refugees of Syria, women and girls worldwide are being failed by the global decrease in government funding for overseas development.
In recent years, many experts have warned that “ aid cuts fuel crisis for teen girls in Asia Pacific,” as reductions in government development funding risk limiting access to education, health care and support services. Teenage girls and women are among those worst affected by the loss of government funding, and non-profit organisations like CARE are working to fill the gap.
Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières)
Doctors Without Borders is a medical humanitarian organisation that operates internationally under the name Médecins Sans Frontières, often abbreviated as MSF. Founded in 1971 on the ideal that everyone should have access to medical care and healthcare is a basic human right, Doctors Without Borders currently operates in over 70 countries, running numerous programs to deliver aid to those who need it most.
The organisation responds rapidly to emergency situations caused by conflicts and disasters. Doctors and medical professionals are sent into the field to work with those who need emergency assistance. Sometimes this means setting up hospitals, medical clinics, and emergency response units within a region affected by crisis in order to provide healthcare and support. MSF treats everything from malnutrition and infectious disease to war wounds and provides prenatal care and childbirth services in some regions. Other programs are longer term, treating chronic diseases and providing primary care services to those who need it.
Medical professionals working for Doctors Without Borders operate independently of government funding, relying instead on private sources of donations. This allows the organisation to operate without political bias and administer aid based on need alone. They also provide annual financial reports and updates of their active programs for donors who wish to keep track of where their money is going.
Doctors Without Borders works to spread awareness of humanitarian issues. When situations across the world reach life-threatening levels, Doctors Without Borders is among the organisations to speak out. For example, the organisation recently joined more than 100 aid groups warning of the risk of starvation in Gaza, highlighting the urgent humanitarian concerns facing civilians in the region. Doctors Without Borders delivers emergency healthcare to those in need and uses their platform to highlight areas of the world where medicine, food, and healthcare are in danger of becoming inaccessible.
Oxfam International
Oxfam International is an organisation committed to working with communities around the world to end the injustice of poverty. With affiliates in over 90 countries, Oxfam's work reaches those in need all over the world. Oxfam creates long-term change by focusing on current humanitarian needs while helping communities prepare and become self-sufficient for anything future.
During times of displacement due to natural disasters like flooding or droughts, or conflict-driven displacement, Oxfam helps provide communities with immediate needs such as access to clean water, sanitation, food, and emergency shelters. Once the immediate crisis is met, Oxfam creates long-term programs to help provide sustainable farming techniques to farmers and promote women's economic empowerment. They also help provide quality education to children and work to build community infrastructure in preparation for future displacement.
Oxfam doesn't stop at providing aid, they work to educate the public and advocate for the world's most vulnerable. They publish countless studies and research on inequality, humanitarian issues, and more. They work with governments, intergovernmental organisations, and civil societies to help create fairer systems that allow for more accessible opportunities to those in need.
Oxfam advocates for transparency within the organisation and publishes yearly financial reports. All donations go towards both humanitarian aid as well as long-term development programs. By creating a budget for the general public to see, people can feel comfortable knowing where their donations go. Whether that be providing families with access to safe water and sanitation or creating programs for women to build sustainable incomes.
Save the Children
Save the Children is a humanitarian organisation with programmes running in over 100 countries worldwide. Created in 1919, it is one of the oldest and largest organisations globally that work exclusively to benefit children. Save the Children programs work to advance children's rights, providing children with the basic health care and education they need to reach their full potential. Their programmes focus on these areas because children are among the most vulnerable in times of crisis, which can include armed conflict, poverty, natural disaster, and food crises.
Save the Children places large emphasis on education and health care by implementing programmes to help children in need access these life-improving basic needs. The charity has programmes that help build schools and provide educational materials in places where education is limited.
There are also programs that focus on providing healthcare by supporting mothers before and during childbirth, preventing diseases in early childhood, and helping children access life-saving treatments. The organisation also implements many nutrition programs to help prevent child malnutrition.
During times of crisis, Save the Children leads emergency response programs. They have response teams that react to crises including wars, displacement, natural disasters, and food scarcity. They help provide food rations, medical care, safe shelter, and child-friendly spaces. There are special response programs for children that help reunite families and provide psychological support for trauma. They may also set up temporary schools and educational programs.
Working with other humanitarian organisations, Save the Children helps spread awareness to new crises happening around the world and can advocate for other organisations and governments to respond. Recently Save the Children has been one of the many organisations calling for action to help prevent global famine. As many as 45 million children are currently at risk of acute food insecurity. Other organisations such as Oxfam International have been working to spread awareness to prevent global famine as well.
International Rescue Committee
IRC stands for the International Rescue Committee which is an international humanitarian aid, relief, and development NGO. The organisation works with people around the world whose lives have been affected by conflict, crisis, or displacement. Founded in 1933, IRC operates in over 40 countries worldwide and in resettlement communities across the United States. Their mission is to help refugees and vulnerable people survive humanitarian emergencies and rebuild their lives.
People who have been forced to flee their homes because of war, persecution, or natural disaster often require significant assistance in order to get back on their feet. The IRC helps support refugees and displaced communities around the globe.
This can mean providing lifesaving support like healthcare, clean water and sanitation, safe shelter, and food assistance to people in refugee camps and urban areas. The IRC runs programs throughout these communities that provide protection to the vulnerable like women and children who may be at risk of exploitation or violence. They offer access to safe spaces, education, and counselling services.
Along with helping people meet their basic needs during an emergency, the IRC works to provide care that will help people recover from tragedy and become independent once more. Many of their programs focus on helping refugees and displaced families become self-sufficient again.
They also offer educational opportunities for children who may have missed years of schooling, job training and placement, as well as financial literacy classes and help growing small businesses within these communities. The IRC believes that helping people take care of their families will allow communities to thrive once more. Additionally, they advocate for better policies that help refugees and displaced peoples.
Turning Generosity Into Global Impact
It can sometimes feel as if there are humanitarian disasters happening everywhere you look. While it’s important not to lose sight of the bigger picture, there is something you can do to help. Charitable giving enables you to support organisations that are making a real difference on the ground. Monetary donations can provide food aid, medical assistance, clean water, and protection to vulnerable people in need.
Donations are often used to fund emergency appeals, which is why many people choose to give once and not think about it again. However, some charities will encourage you to become a monthly giver instead. Not only does this allow them to better forecast for the future, but it also helps them to sustain existing projects and rapidly respond when the next crisis hits. Signing up for a workplace giving programme might also help your donation go further if your employer offers matching gift opportunities.
That said, one-off donations made during a crisis are always welcome. They simply allow your chosen charity to spend more time helping communities with ongoing programmes focused on tackling the causes of poverty, displacement and hunger.
As with any cause that you donate to, do your research and give to an organisation that can demonstrate how they will use your donation wisely.