CRS: Faith Knows No Bounds
Whether responding to a massive emergency or implementing long-term, large-scale development, CRS leads with the idea that Faith Knows No Bounds. No challenge is too great. No community is too remote. No goal is unattainable. Faith Knows No Bounds inspires partnerships, motivates expertise, and mobilizes villages, states, and regions. Faith Knows No Bounds informs everything we do as an agency.
CRS works with a vast network of partners worldwide to carry out our work. We implement nearly all of our programming in partnership with local organizations. Our first partnership is with the Catholic Church and with local churches around the globe. We also work with a range of other organizations and institutions, including governments, researchers, foundations, businesses, impact investors, and implementing partners of all sizes. All of our partnerships sustain, guide and direct our life-saving and life-enhancing work.
The ability to work within the context of cultural and religious differences further engenders trust among those we serve and the partners with whom we work side by side. By investing in people and strengthening institutions, we help local organizations lead their own development, increase the impact of joint programming, and produce sustainable solutions.
CRS programming areas include emergency response and recovery, agriculture, health, education, information technology for development, peacebuilding, microfinance, partnership and capacity strengthening, water security, youth, monitoring evaluation, and accountability and learning. Our primary focus is on serving the world's poorest, most vulnerable people and communities. Private, public and institutional donors' generous support powers our mission, our programming and our people.
Education is at the heart of CRS’ mission. Internationally, we support communities, local partners and governments in their efforts to ensure that all children–including the most vulnerable and marginalized—have the right to a quality education. Recognizing that education can be a force for either inclusion and acceptance or exclusion and conflict, CRS engages a wide variety of people to ensure that schools play a positive role in building a culture of peace.
Domestically, we promote advocacy for the poor and vulnerable, while providing seminars, workshops and communications that raise awareness of moral responsibilitiess in alleviating human suffering, addressing root causes, promoting social justice, and grow a concerned and engaged community of supporters.
CRS emergency response and recovery programming meets the immediate needs of disaster survivors. We do more than provide food and shelter. We evaluate local markets and serve community members as they rebuild their local economies.
CRS health programming responded to the COVID-19 pandemic throughout all programming areas. In the health sector of malaria alone we saw an estimated 11,000 children's lives saved and 1.8 million malaria cases averted among children under 5. In addition to the goal of eradicating malaria, our health programming includes holistic care for vulnerable children, nutrition, health system screening, HIV and tuberculosis, and integrated early childhood development.
We offer community savings program that places full control of financial services in the hands of participants while it grows community trust and resilience. Cash and voucher programs enable participants to direct their own recovery based on individual need. Skills training enables community members to have a direct hand in rebuilding and growing their communitieis following a disaster.
