Why we're needed

The problem we're tackling.

We believe all people are created equal, and we should treat each other that way. Yet, right now, we’re living in a world of ‘us’ and ‘them’. Divisions are deepening, conflicts are escalating, and climate inaction is placing lives in peril.

It means every day, more of us around the world are forced from our homes by violent conflict and disaster.

“I was really sad to leave — it was really, really hard. It was like I took one heart with me because my children were with me, but one heart I left at home.”

Joury and her children live in a tent in a refugee camp in Jordan. With limited food and hygiene facilities, they are at much greater risk of infection and don’t have access to medical care — care that could mean the difference between life and death if they got sick.

What we're working towards

Our goals.

We must act now. Until we stand together, share resources, and heal the divisions that drive people from their homes, more and more of us will be uprooted and abandoned. 

Together, we’re working towards three goals to create a world where everyone has a safe place to belong.

1. Safety in exile

Ensuring people live in safety, with dignity, while displaced.

The programs we support aim to ensure displaced people:

  • Access critical physical and emotional support.
  • Have control over their lives, leading activities that ensure their safety, dignity and rights.
  • Advocate for change and help fix systems that cause violence, exclusion or abuse.

In Ethiopia, our partner is helping the most marginalised urban refugees to live with safety and dignity, including providing care for women and girls who have survived gender-based violence, for people living with chronic illness or disability, and for those who need specialised medical care. Richard Wainwright / Act for Peace

In Gaza, our partner is providing people like Ragab (22) with vocational training so he can earn a sustainable income and better support himself amid the significant humanitarian pressures of Gaza's ongoing blockade. Richard Wainwright / Act for Peace

2. A place to belong

Helping uprooted people find a permanent place to belong.

The programs and advocacy initiatives we support aim to ensure:

  • Uprooted people lead initiatives that help build a safe, permanent future.
  • Countries fairly share responsibility for supporting survivors of displacement.

3. Reduced displacement

Working to reduce the number of people forced to flee their homes.

The programs and advocacy initiatives we support aim to ensure:

  • Communities lead initiatives to reduce the impact of disasters and other displacement drivers.
  • Governments and the public take strong action to reduce conflict and climate-driven displacement.

In Zimbabwe, our partner is supporting drought-affected farmers to develop and share knowledge in conservation farming so they can adapt and continue to earn an income despite a changing climate. Richard Wainwright / Act for Peace

Last year, with your support, we funded...

“I feel very happy because my family is always happy when we have food in the home.”

Despite the drought and lockdown, Nyevero and her husband Johnny have been able to grow their own food and become self-sufficient thanks to the training run by our local partner in Zimbabwe.

How we're making it happen

Our change strategy.

At the heart of our work is a powerful conviction: to create a just and peaceful society, we have to work together. It’s not only the right thing to do, it’s the only thing that will work.

We work in solidarity with long-term local partners, and collaborate with local, regional and global networks, alliances, academics, governments and the UN to achieve greater impact. 

We have three strategies for working towards our goals:

1. Backing displaced people

Working in solidarity with local partners by:

  • Building partnerships that mobilise the knowledge, determination, and skills of displaced people to create change.
  • Resourcing locally-led initiatives that reduce displacement and create safety, dignity and belonging for uprooted people.

Whilst living as a refugee in a camp in Tamil Nadu, Dr. Nadarajah joined the medical unit of our local partner, and has been working for them ever since. He works in the camps in India, visiting them regularly to provide medical screening days, home visits and support for pregnant mothers. Richard Wainwright / Act for Peace

Creating opportunities for people to reduce division within their sphere of influence can help to create a more compassionate society, with a common focus on ending displacement. Ben Littlejohn / Act for Peace.

2. Building unity

Reducing division and creating a more compassionate society by:

  • Tackling the underlying drivers of inequality and displacement by reducing polarisation and building empathy in society.
  • Creating opportunities for people to positively influence those around them, so they act and vote in support of displaced people.

3. Transforming the system

Advocating for a radically different response to the displacement crisis by:

  • Learning from displaced people, forming broad networks and standing together for collective influence.
  • Influencing regional, national and global authorities to share responsibility, resources and power equitably; and act on climate and conflicts.

We encourage our supporters and the public to take actions that influence decision makers to strengthen the protection of people affected by displacement. Ben Littlejohn / Act for Peace

Our work is grounded in evidence, and the knowledge and skills of our partners. We are committed to continuous learning and innovation in everything we do.

“We care so much for the dignity of the people and work to empower refugees to support themselves.”

Fares is the Executive Director of our local partner in Jordan, working to provide urgently needed food and hygiene packs, as well as psychosocial support, to families who have fled the conflict in Syria.

Take action

Join thousands of individuals, churches, local leaders, and long-term partners, committed to working together to create a more just and peaceful world.

Your gift will help create a world where uprooted people have a safe place to belong.

Engage the people around you in this vital work by taking the Ration Challenge, Trekking for Refugees or fundraising your own way.

Be part of transforming the unjust systems needed to end the displacement crisis.

Act for Peace gratefully acknowledges the support of the Australian Government through the Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP).