In 2024, do you know how many people you helped to find peace and freedom? The answer is 117,000! Thank you so much for your kindness and compassion. Communities throughout Burundi, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Thailand were transformed because of your loving support.
Countless communities suffer the consequences of conflict: poverty, division and the denial of human rights. Millions of people face the threat of violence, being wrongly arrested, or mistreated. Cord’s vision is a world where all people can live in peace and live life to the full.
So how do we make lasting peace a reality? We strengthen relationships and grow trust between different parts of society.
We do this in three ways:
- We help local organisations who are trying to make life better for ordinary people.
- We support those in power to work with these local organisations.
- We create opportunities for these two groups to work together.
1. Helping local organisations
From youth groups in Burundi to forest protection patrols in Vietnam, last year, your donations resulted in 1,980 people taking part in 113 workshops.
They helped those taking part to:
- Protect human rights (36%)
- Start small businesses (7%)
- Stay safe (12%)
- Build peace and reconciliation (28%)
- Strengthen their organisation (15%)
- Combat climate change (1%)
- A further 1,665 people were supported through 625 coaching sessions.
- 867 Human Rights Defenders were trained (67% of them were women)
2. Supporting those in power to work with local organisations
Because of your generosity:
- 86 government officials and community leaders met with participants of our projects to discuss and address community issues.
- 290 community members and their leaders worked with authorities to shape fairer political policies.
We work closely with people in power, helping them better understand their role and how vital it is to listen to and work with the communities they serve. This could mean giving communities a voice in official meetings or making sure women and young people are safe in their work, protecting local resources.
3. Creating opportunities for those in power and local organisations to work together
Your kind donations meant 973 people met across 42 events to build relationships and learn from one another. People who are often unheard and those in power, sat side by side to solve problems as a team; not as opponents. These included learning exchanges, forest community meetings and gatherings where women, young people, or marginalised groups could speak freely.
In 220 engagement events, people we trained shared useful information with the wider community:
- In Burundi, they helped communities to spot and respond to misinformation before elections.
- In Cambodia, they enabled forest patrols to use smartphones safely.
- In Laos, they raised awareness about gender-based violence and how to reduce risks to women.
Read our Impact Report
Our full Impact Report contains more detailed information and stories, just email info@cord.org.uk or call us on 024 7708 7777 for a copy.
