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Established in 2006, our mission is to enable the compassionate movement of those displaced by natural or man-made disasters to safety, and providing them and their host communities with opportunities to build their lives and thrive for the long term.
Empowerment comes not only from providing critical relief items, but also through sustainable opportunities that lead to more resilient communities. This encourages the growth of enterprising spirits, and a sense that a bright future is still possible. AIRD cares because collective community growth is only possible if everyone is given an equal opportunity to participate.
Without the incredible efforts of our staff across all ten operations, we would not be able to create the kind of impact we do for People of Concern (PoC). Our people are our greatest strength.
At the end of 2019, the AIRD family consisted of 1,606 wonderful individuals (60 expatriates and 1,546 nationals) who worked to deliver protection and durable solutions to PoC. Both national and expatriate staff provided extensive technical expertise in managing the implementation of the organisation’s objectives. These individuals have helped to form highly motivated and hardworking teams, ready to deliver through good and tough conditions.
Over 1,800 STAFF National and Expatriate, Professional and Committed
“AIRD’s guiding strapline is ‘Empowering Communities, Growing Together’. We have chosen to do this primarily through delivery of humanitarian construction, logistics and infrastructure services in all our areas of operation, and we are proud of our people for making a real difference in these communities. In 2019, we were entrusted by our donors to transport thousands of people to safety and to put in place infrastructure like schools, roads and hospitals to provide much needed services. This is what we are known for in all our areas of operation. But the increasingly dire needs of displaced people mean that we must challenge ourselves to do more. When we see reports stating that over 79.5 million people worldwide were forced from their homes in 2019 (including 45.7 million internally displaced persons and 26 million refugees), we know our work is far from done. When we talk about empowering communities, we really mean what we say.
To us, empowerment means that after we have transported people to safety and supported in delivering basic essentials to them, we must then ask ‘now what’?
The ‘now what’ question is what drives us to develop strategies that really meet the medium and long term development needs of displaced people. Asking ourselves ‘now what’ means that we put ourselves in the shoes of people who may have lost their homes or access to their land, income and basic services, but not their hopes for a future. A future in which they are able to have more control over their lives and provide a good education, home and healthcare for themselves and their families- whether they are able to return home or not. Some of our projects, such as in the Dem. Rep. of Congo and Liberia, provide livelihoods training and support for displaced people. This is how we see AIRD building on what we’ve already done.”