Development and Peace (The Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace) is the official international development organization of the Catholic Church in Canada and the Canadian member of Caritas Internationalis. Development and Peace is a membership led organization supported by parish collections, individual donations and government grants, principally from the Canadian International Development Agency.
Development and Peace seeks ways to help people of all faiths in the Third World break the cycle of poverty through community-based, sustainable development initiatives. Over the years, the focus of Development and Peace shifted from a "project-based" organization to a "program-based" organization.
Support partners in the Global South who promote alternatives to unfair social, political and economic structures. It educates the Canadian population about the causes of poverty and mobilizes Canadians towards actions for change. In the struggle for human dignity, the organization forms alliances with northern and southern groups working for social change. It also supports women in their search for social and economic justice.
For over 40 years, Development and Peace has supported 15,200 local initiatives in fields such as agriculture, education, community action as well as the consolidation of peace and advocacy for human rights in 70 countries.
We collaborate with global and domestic partners to help carry out our mission. The support these partners provide helps in building an international solidarity movement. Caritas Internationalis, International Cooperation for Development and Solidarity (CIDSE), Canadian Council for International Cooperation (CCIC), KAIROS.
How We Work
Our programs in the Global South are driven by the need to create greater social justice in the world by addressing the root causes of poverty and injustice.
We believe that for development to be sustainable, local people must be the major stakeholders in the development projects that affect them. For this reason, we favour an approach whereby we partner with local grassroots organizations and social movements that have shown energy, creativity and a proven ability to address the needs of their community. We provide them with financial and technical support so that they can carry out their important work.
We currently work in 30 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East on the following themes:
Emergencies: Development and Peace's emergency program exists for one purpose: to provide aid to needy individuals and communities. Development and Peace is the Canadian member of Caritas Internationalis, one of the world's largest humanitarian aid networks.
