STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVES

1. CAUSE Canada is a Christian-motivated International Relief and Development Organization which strives to enable socio-economically disadvantaged communities to achieve insofar as possible, community self-reliance
2. During times of crisis, CAUSE Canada endeavours to provide emergency assistance to people in need, wherever these needs may manifest themselves
3. CAUSE Canada is committed to encouraging dialogue on development issues between all peoples. Development education is seen as being of prime importance in increasing general awareness of the enormous discrepancies between the rich and the poor nations of our world

DEVELOPMENT PHILOSOPHY

1. Target Groups: CAUSE Canada targets the poorest of the poor and marginalized people as being the primary beneficiaries of its development programs. We have made long term commitments in rural areas of the developing world as a means of redressing the urban migration problem.
2. Theater of Operations: CAUSE Canada focuses its overseas funding assistance within West Africa and Central America where the following countries have been strategically selected: Guatemala, Honduras, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Mali and the Ivory Coast.
3. Sustainability Through Local Participation: CAUSE Canada is committed to supporting sustainable development projects in geographical regions where there is an under-representation of international aid organizations. Three main premises at work in CC programs are firstly, that people participate best in programs for which they have been consulted; Secondly, people identify more strongly with programs they have helped develop; and finally, people participate at higher levels in projects they have assisted in setting up. Thus local consultation and decision making at the village level is a key success factor in all CC programs.
4. To Develop is to Become: CAUSE Canada sees development as being a process, not an end; to develop is to become, not only to have. Development does not necessarily mean industrialization. One of CC’s preferred definitions of development relates to the unfolding of people’s collective imagination in defining not only who they are, but where they want to go. To this end CC is committed to the challenge of assisting our Southern partners in the establishment and strengthening of their own Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) communities.
5. Focus: Development priorities for CAUSE include the following:
   • Primary Health Care (PHC)
   • Water and Sanitation
   • Reforestation
   • Women’s projects
   • Micro-enterprise projects
6. Relief in Crisis: CAUSE Canada’s relief operations concentrate on crises which occur in geographic regions where CC can clearly demonstrate a proven expertise. CC has provided emergency assistance for West African refugees and displaced persons since 1991. This work has been undertaken in partnership with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the World Food Program (WFP), UNICEF and the Canadian International Development Agency(CIDA).

7.  Why We Do What We Do: CAUSE Canada’s personnel are believers in Christ working on behalf of the poor. We have a strong sense of purpose because we feel called of God to share His love with the less fortunate. Some may suggest that the purchasing of construction materials, the writing of reports, and the carrying out of public health surveys does not constitute true spirituality. We, however, believe that it does. We pray that our identification with Jesus, our concern for justice and the practical demonstration of God’s love in meeting people’s physical needs, will draw people to Christ. It is the belief of CC that each individual is precious in the eyes of God and that to be lacking access to food, water, and basic health care is to be deprived of the promise of a full and abundant life.