Our Vision and Principles

Vision

We seek a world of hope, tolerance and social justice, where poverty has been overcome and people live in dignity and security.

Mission

CARE International's mission is to serve individuals and families in the poorest communities in the world. Drawing on our diversity, resources and experience across the world, we promote innovative solutions and are advocates for global responsibility. We bring about lasting change by:

  • Strengthening people’s ability to help themselves
  • Providing economic opportunity
  • Delivering relief in emergencies
  • Influencing policy decisions at all levels
  • Addressing discrimination in all its forms  

Guided by the hopes and views of local communities, we pursue our mission with both excellence and compassion because the people whom we serve deserve nothing less.


CARE International's Programme Principles

Principle 1: Promote empowerment
We stand in solidarity with poor and marginalized people, and support their efforts to take control of their own lives and realise their rights, responsibilities and aspirations. We ensure that those people who are affected are involved in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of our work.

Principle 2: Work in partnership with others
We work with others to maximise the impact of our work, building alliances and partnerships with those who take similar or complementary approaches, are able to work on a larger scale, and/or who have responsibility to fulfil rights and alleviate poverty through policy change and enforcement.

Principle 3: Ensure accountability and promote responsibility
We seek to be held accountable to poor and marginalized people whose rights are denied. We identify those with an obligation toward poor and marginalized people, and support and encourage their efforts to fulfil their responsibilities.

Principle 4: Address discrimination
In our programmes and offices we oppose discrimination and the denial of rights based on sex, race, nationality, ethnicity, class, religion, age, physical ability, caste, opinion or sexual orientation.

Principle 5: Promote the non-violent resolution of conflicts
We promote just and non-violent means for preventing and resolving conflicts, noting that such conflicts contribute to poverty and the denial of rights.

Principle 6: Seek sustainable results
Working to identify and address underlying causes of poverty and rights denial, we develop and use approaches that ensure our work results in lasting and fundamental improvements in the lives of the poor and marginalized with whom we work.

Core Values

Respect We affirm the dignity, potential and contribution of participants, donors, partners and staff.

Integrity We act consistently with CARE's mission, being honest and transparent in what we do and say, and accept responsibility for our collective and individual actions.

Commitment We work together effectively to serve the larger community.

Excellence We constantly challenge ourselves to the highest levels of learning and performance to achieve greater impact.

We hold ourselves accountable for being consistent with these principles, and ask others to help us do so, not only in our programming, but in all that we do.