Annual Report 2007
This annual report highlights our approach to social change and the tangible results we produce in partnership with the people we serve. In our professional world of international development, our donors, partners, and colleagues speak the language of outcomes, impact, and sustainability. These are vital and necessary measures of the work we do. We take accountability very seriously, and for that reason we chose to center this report on case studies demonstrating the lasting gains our programs help bring about.
People often ask us, "How do you know it works?"
What they want to know, naturally, is whether Mercy Corps is making a positive difference in the lives of others.
We help people put their ideas into action — ideas about how to build better lives in the face of the toughest challenges imaginable. Over the 29 years Mercy Corps has engaged in this work, we have continually refined our approach. We start with the core principles we know to be effective. Then we explore new insights, test them on a small scale, and put into wide practice those that prove most successful.
This annual report highlights our approach to social change and the tangible results we produce in partnership with the people we serve. In our professional world of international development, our donors, partners, and colleagues speak the language of outcomes, impact, and sustainability. These are vital and necessary measures of the work we do. We take accountability very seriously, and for that reason we chose to center this report on case studies demonstrating the lasting gains our programs help bring about.
But behind the data the real story is, of course, about people.
People who answer adversity with imagination and muscle. Parents who are determined to send their children to school. Communities that find a way to put aside old grievances, come together, and build something new. Individuals who have remarkable stories to tell. You will hear some of them in this report.
This year we chose to focus our up-close profiles on women. Listen to Teresa, Takhmina, Hu Yan, and Sharmila. Like the thousands of aspiring women we meet in our work, they amaze us with their resilience and perseverance. They are the reason we begin each day keen to tackle the demanding issues of our times. They are why we're proud to be able to say, "Yes, it works."
We invite you to read on to learn how.