Overview
Tearfund was founded in the UK in 1968 to help the people affected by war in the short-lived republic of Biafra, southern Nigeria. It is recognised worldwide as a leading relief and development agency. Tearfund has operated in the island of Ireland for more than 40 years with a strong network of supporters and churches.
In 2008, Tearfund Ireland was launched as an independent charity. As a sister organisation we work closely with Tearfund in the UK, sharing their vision and values and benefiting from their considerable experience and expertise. We will continue to be both spiritually passionate and professionally excellent making a real difference in the lives of the most vulnerable people.
What makes Tearfund different?
- As a Christian agency we believe that transformation should be wholistic
- We believe that one of the most effective ways to reach people is by empowering & equipping the local church
- We will seek to reach the most vulnerable and marginalised people – those that other agencies can’t or don’t reach
- We have the capacity to respond rapidly to emergencies
- We have 40 years of experience and expertise in relief and development
- We deliver measureable results and are committed to continuous learning and improvement
- We use our finances effectively and have consistently maintained low administration costs
Professional standards
We believe in maintaining the highest standard of professionalism throughout our work. We’ve signed up to a range of internationally recognised standards – because they enshrine our principles of respecting the people we support.
Tearfund is signatory of the Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and NGOs in Disaster Relief. This means that our “aid is given regardless of the race, creed, or nationality of the recipients and without adverse distinction of any kind. Aid priorities are calculated on the basis of need alone”.
We are committed to the high technical quality of our projects as laid out in the Sphere Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response and the Humanitarian Accountability Partnership.
We are also participants in Dóchas, an umbrella body of Irish development charities, and part of the Viva Network, a global movement of Christians with 81 network initiatives in 48 countries, helping 1.2 million children.
We are committed to upholding Dóchas Code of Conduct on Images & Messages in all our communications