Care
CARE
CARE (Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere) is
a major international humanitarian agency delivering
emergency relief and long-term international development
projects. Founded in 1945, CARE is nonsectarian , impartial,
and non-governmental . It is one of the largest and oldest
humanitarian aid organizations focused on fighting global
poverty. [1] In 2014, CARE reported working in 90 countries,
supporting 880 poverty -fighting projects and humanitarian
aid projects, and reaching over 72 million people. [2]
CARE's programmes in the developing world address a broad
range of topics including emergency response , food security,
water and sanitation, economic development , climate change ,
agriculture , education , and health . CARE also advocates at
the local, national, and international levels for policy change
and the rights of poor people. Within each of these areas,
CARE focuses particularly on empowering and meeting the
needs of women and girls and promoting gender equality.[2]
CARE International is a confederation of fourteen CARE
National Members, each of which is registered as an
autonomous non-profit non-governmental organization in
the country. The fourteen CARE National Members are
CARE Australia, CARE Canada, CARE Danmark, CARE
Deutschland-Luxembourg, CARE France, CARE India, CARE
International Japan, CARE Nederland, CARE Norge, CARE
Österreich, Raks Thai Foundation (CARE Thailand), CARE
International UK, CARE USA, and CARE Peru. Programs in
developing countries are usually managed by a Country
Office, but CARE also supports projects and may respond to
emergencies in some countries where they do not maintain a
full Country Office.[2]
History
A CARE Package shipped in 1948.
1945–1949: Origins and the CARE
Package
CARE, then the Cooperative for American Remittances to
Europe, was formally founded [3] on November 27, 1945 and
was originally intended to be a temporary organization. [4]
World War II had ended in August of the same year. After
pressure from the public and Congress, President Harry S.
Truman agreed to let private organizations provide relief
for those starving due to the war. [5] CARE was initially a
consortium of twenty-two American charities (a mixture of
civic , religious, cooperative , farm and labour organizations )
with the purpose of delivering food aid to Europe in the
aftermath of World War II .[6]
CARE's food aid took the form of CARE Packages , which
were at first delivered to specific individuals: Americans
paid $10 to send a CARE Package of food to a loved one in
Europe, often a family member. President Truman bought
the first CARE package. [7] :p.1 CARE guaranteed delivery
within four months to anyone in Europe, even if they had
left their last known address, and returned a signed
delivery receipt to the sender. [8] Because European postal
services were unreliable at the time these signed receipts
were sometimes the first confirmation that the recipient
had survived the war. [6]
The first CARE Packages were in fact surplus “Ten-in-One”
US army rations packs (designed to contain a day's meals
for ten people). [4] In early 1946 CARE purchased 2.8 million
of these warehoused rations packs, originally intended for
the invasion of Japan , and began advertising in America. On
May 11, 1946, six months after the agency's incorporation,
the first CARE Packages were delivered in Le Havre,
France .[6] These packages contained staples such as canned
meats, powdered milk, dried fruits, and fats along with a
few comfort items such as chocolate , coffee , and cigarettes .
(Several on the CARE Board of Directors wished to remove
the cigarettes, but it was deemed impractical to open and
reseal 2.8 million boxes.) [6] 1946 also marked CARE's first
expansion out of the US with the establishment of an office
in Canada . [9]
By early 1947 the supply of "Ten-in-One" ration packs had
been exhausted and CARE began assembling its own
packages. [4] These new packages were designed with the
help of a nutritionist. They did not include cigarettes and
were tailored somewhat by destination: Kosher packages
were developed, and for example packages for England
included tea rather than coffee, and packages for Italy
included pasta . By 1949 CARE offered and shipped more
than twelve different packages. [4]
Although the organization had originally intended to deliver
packages only to specified individuals, within a year CARE
began delivering packages addressed for example "to a
teacher" or simply "to a hungry person in Europe." [6] :p.18
These unspecified donations continued and in early 1948
CARE's Board voted narrowly to officially move towards
unspecified donations and to expand into more general
relief. Some founding member agencies disagreed with this
shift, arguing that more general relief would be a
duplication of the work of other agencies, but donors
reacted favourably, contributions increased, and this
decision would mark the beginning of CARE’s shift towards
a broader mandate.[4]
Between the first deliveries of 1946 and the last European
deliveries of 1956, millions of CARE Packages were
distributed throughout Europe, over 50% of them to
Germany [9] including many delivered as part of the Berlin
airlift in response to the 1948 Soviet blockade of Berlin . [6]
The US Agricultural Act of 1949 made surplus US agricultural
products available to be shipped abroad as aid either directly
by the US government or by NGOs including CARE. [6] In
1954 Public Law 480 , also known as the Food for Peace Act,
further expanded the availability of surplus US food as aid.
[4] This act allowed CARE to expand its feeding programs
and disaster relief operations considerably, and between
1949 and 2009 CARE used hundreds of millions of dollars'
worth of surplus commodities in disaster relief and programs
such as school lunch provision. [6]
1949–1956: Transition out of Europe
Although the organization's mission had originally been
focused on Europe, in July 1948 CARE opened its first non-
European mission, in Japan .[4] Deliveries to China and Korea
followed, which CARE described as aid to areas "implicated
by WWII". [10] :p.119 In 1949 CARE entered the developing
world for the first time, launching programs in the
Philippines. Projects in India , Pakistan , and Mexico began
soon after. [6] 1949 also marked CARE's first expansion into
non-food aid with the development of "self-help" packages
containing tools for farming, carpentry, and other trades.
[4] In 1953, because of its expansion to projects outside
Europe, CARE changed the meaning of its acronym to
"Cooperative for American Remittances to Everywhere". [4]
As Europe recovered economically, CARE faced the need to
re-evaluate its mission: in 1955 several Board members
argued that with the European recovery CARE's mandate
was finished and the organization should dissolve. Other
Board members however felt that CARE's mission should
continue albeit with a new focus on the developing world. [10]
In July 1955 the Board of Directors voted to continue and
expand CARE projects outside of Europe. Paul French ,
CARE's executive director at the time, resigned over the
debate. New executive director Richard W. Reuter took over
in 1955 and helped lead the organization in a new direction.
[11] Twenty-two of CARE's forty-two missions were closed,
mostly in European countries, and efforts were
concentrated on food distribution and emergency response
in the developing world. [4] In 1956 CARE distributed food to
refugees of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 , and this
would be among the last of CARE's operations in Europe for
many years. [6]
1957–1975: Transition into broader
development work
CARE commemorative U.S. stamp
With a broadened geographic focus came a broadened
approach as CARE began to expand beyond its original food
distribution program. In order to reflect these new broader
aims, in 1959 CARE changed the meaning of its acronym a
second time, becoming the "Cooperative for American Relief
Everywhere". [4] Reflecting this broadened scope, CARE
became involved in 1961 with President John F. Kennedy's
establishment of the Peace Corps . CARE was charged with
selecting and training the first group of volunteers, who
would later be deployed to development projects in Colombia .
The Peace Corps assumed greater control over the training
of Peace Corps Volunteers in subsequent missions, but CARE
continued to provide country directors to the Peace Corps
until CARE-Peace Corps joint projects ended in 1967.[4]
In 1962 CARE merged with and absorbed the medical aid
organization MEDICO, which it had been working closely with
for several years previously. The merger considerably
increased CARE's capacity to deliver health programming
including trained medical personnel and medical supplies. [4]
During this transition the original CARE Package was phased
out. [4] The last food package was delivered in 1967 and the
last tools package in 1968.[12] Over 100 million CARE
Packages had been delivered worldwide since the first
shipment to France. [13] Although 1968 marked the official
"retirement" of the CARE Package the format would
occasionally be used again, for example in CARE's relief to
the republics of the former Soviet Union and to survivors of
the Bosnian War .[14] The concept was also revived in 2011 as
an online campaign encouraging donors to fill a "virtual
CARE Package" with food aid and services such as education
and healthcare. [15]
1967 also marked CARE's first partnership agreement with
a government: for the construction of schools in Honduras .
Partnership agreements with governments led programmes
to become country-wide rather than targeted only to a few
communities. CARE's programmes during this era focused
largely on the construction of schools and nutrition centres,
and the continued distribution of food. Nutrition centres in
particular would become one of CARE's major areas of
concentration, linking with school feeding programs and
nutrition education aimed at new mothers. [4]
In 1975 CARE implemented a multi-year planning system,
again allowing programmes to become both broader and
deeper in scope. Projects became increasingly multi-faceted,
providing for example not only health education but also
access to clean water and an agricultural program to
improve nutrition. The multi-year planning system also
increased the scope for country-wide projects and
partnerships with local governments. A 1977 project for
example provided for the construction of over 200 pre-
schools and kindergartens throughout Chile over several
years, jointly funded by CARE and the Chilean Ministry of
Education. [4]
CARE (Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere) is
a major international humanitarian agency delivering
emergency relief and long-term international development
projects. Founded in 1945, CARE is nonsectarian , impartial,
and non-governmental . It is one of the largest and oldest
humanitarian aid organizations focused on fighting global
poverty. [1] In 2014, CARE reported working in 90 countries,
supporting 880 poverty -fighting projects and humanitarian
aid projects, and reaching over 72 million people. [2]
CARE's programmes in the developing world address a broad
range of topics including emergency response , food security,
water and sanitation, economic development , climate change ,
agriculture , education , and health . CARE also advocates at
the local, national, and international levels for policy change
and the rights of poor people. Within each of these areas,
CARE focuses particularly on empowering and meeting the
needs of women and girls and promoting gender equality.[2]
CARE International is a confederation of fourteen CARE
National Members, each of which is registered as an
autonomous non-profit non-governmental organization in
the country. The fourteen CARE National Members are
CARE Australia, CARE Canada, CARE Danmark, CARE
Deutschland-Luxembourg, CARE France, CARE India, CARE
International Japan, CARE Nederland, CARE Norge, CARE
Österreich, Raks Thai Foundation (CARE Thailand), CARE
International UK, CARE USA, and CARE Peru. Programs in
developing countries are usually managed by a Country
Office, but CARE also supports projects and may respond to
emergencies in some countries where they do not maintain a
full Country Office.[2]
History
A CARE Package shipped in 1948.
1945–1949: Origins and the CARE
Package
CARE, then the Cooperative for American Remittances to
Europe, was formally founded [3] on November 27, 1945 and
was originally intended to be a temporary organization. [4]
World War II had ended in August of the same year. After
pressure from the public and Congress, President Harry S.
Truman agreed to let private organizations provide relief
for those starving due to the war. [5] CARE was initially a
consortium of twenty-two American charities (a mixture of
civic , religious, cooperative , farm and labour organizations )
with the purpose of delivering food aid to Europe in the
aftermath of World War II .[6]
CARE's food aid took the form of CARE Packages , which
were at first delivered to specific individuals: Americans
paid $10 to send a CARE Package of food to a loved one in
Europe, often a family member. President Truman bought
the first CARE package. [7] :p.1 CARE guaranteed delivery
within four months to anyone in Europe, even if they had
left their last known address, and returned a signed
delivery receipt to the sender. [8] Because European postal
services were unreliable at the time these signed receipts
were sometimes the first confirmation that the recipient
had survived the war. [6]
The first CARE Packages were in fact surplus “Ten-in-One”
US army rations packs (designed to contain a day's meals
for ten people). [4] In early 1946 CARE purchased 2.8 million
of these warehoused rations packs, originally intended for
the invasion of Japan , and began advertising in America. On
May 11, 1946, six months after the agency's incorporation,
the first CARE Packages were delivered in Le Havre,
France .[6] These packages contained staples such as canned
meats, powdered milk, dried fruits, and fats along with a
few comfort items such as chocolate , coffee , and cigarettes .
(Several on the CARE Board of Directors wished to remove
the cigarettes, but it was deemed impractical to open and
reseal 2.8 million boxes.) [6] 1946 also marked CARE's first
expansion out of the US with the establishment of an office
in Canada . [9]
By early 1947 the supply of "Ten-in-One" ration packs had
been exhausted and CARE began assembling its own
packages. [4] These new packages were designed with the
help of a nutritionist. They did not include cigarettes and
were tailored somewhat by destination: Kosher packages
were developed, and for example packages for England
included tea rather than coffee, and packages for Italy
included pasta . By 1949 CARE offered and shipped more
than twelve different packages. [4]
Although the organization had originally intended to deliver
packages only to specified individuals, within a year CARE
began delivering packages addressed for example "to a
teacher" or simply "to a hungry person in Europe." [6] :p.18
These unspecified donations continued and in early 1948
CARE's Board voted narrowly to officially move towards
unspecified donations and to expand into more general
relief. Some founding member agencies disagreed with this
shift, arguing that more general relief would be a
duplication of the work of other agencies, but donors
reacted favourably, contributions increased, and this
decision would mark the beginning of CARE’s shift towards
a broader mandate.[4]
Between the first deliveries of 1946 and the last European
deliveries of 1956, millions of CARE Packages were
distributed throughout Europe, over 50% of them to
Germany [9] including many delivered as part of the Berlin
airlift in response to the 1948 Soviet blockade of Berlin . [6]
The US Agricultural Act of 1949 made surplus US agricultural
products available to be shipped abroad as aid either directly
by the US government or by NGOs including CARE. [6] In
1954 Public Law 480 , also known as the Food for Peace Act,
further expanded the availability of surplus US food as aid.
[4] This act allowed CARE to expand its feeding programs
and disaster relief operations considerably, and between
1949 and 2009 CARE used hundreds of millions of dollars'
worth of surplus commodities in disaster relief and programs
such as school lunch provision. [6]
1949–1956: Transition out of Europe
Although the organization's mission had originally been
focused on Europe, in July 1948 CARE opened its first non-
European mission, in Japan .[4] Deliveries to China and Korea
followed, which CARE described as aid to areas "implicated
by WWII". [10] :p.119 In 1949 CARE entered the developing
world for the first time, launching programs in the
Philippines. Projects in India , Pakistan , and Mexico began
soon after. [6] 1949 also marked CARE's first expansion into
non-food aid with the development of "self-help" packages
containing tools for farming, carpentry, and other trades.
[4] In 1953, because of its expansion to projects outside
Europe, CARE changed the meaning of its acronym to
"Cooperative for American Remittances to Everywhere". [4]
As Europe recovered economically, CARE faced the need to
re-evaluate its mission: in 1955 several Board members
argued that with the European recovery CARE's mandate
was finished and the organization should dissolve. Other
Board members however felt that CARE's mission should
continue albeit with a new focus on the developing world. [10]
In July 1955 the Board of Directors voted to continue and
expand CARE projects outside of Europe. Paul French ,
CARE's executive director at the time, resigned over the
debate. New executive director Richard W. Reuter took over
in 1955 and helped lead the organization in a new direction.
[11] Twenty-two of CARE's forty-two missions were closed,
mostly in European countries, and efforts were
concentrated on food distribution and emergency response
in the developing world. [4] In 1956 CARE distributed food to
refugees of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 , and this
would be among the last of CARE's operations in Europe for
many years. [6]
1957–1975: Transition into broader
development work
CARE commemorative U.S. stamp
With a broadened geographic focus came a broadened
approach as CARE began to expand beyond its original food
distribution program. In order to reflect these new broader
aims, in 1959 CARE changed the meaning of its acronym a
second time, becoming the "Cooperative for American Relief
Everywhere". [4] Reflecting this broadened scope, CARE
became involved in 1961 with President John F. Kennedy's
establishment of the Peace Corps . CARE was charged with
selecting and training the first group of volunteers, who
would later be deployed to development projects in Colombia .
The Peace Corps assumed greater control over the training
of Peace Corps Volunteers in subsequent missions, but CARE
continued to provide country directors to the Peace Corps
until CARE-Peace Corps joint projects ended in 1967.[4]
In 1962 CARE merged with and absorbed the medical aid
organization MEDICO, which it had been working closely with
for several years previously. The merger considerably
increased CARE's capacity to deliver health programming
including trained medical personnel and medical supplies. [4]
During this transition the original CARE Package was phased
out. [4] The last food package was delivered in 1967 and the
last tools package in 1968.[12] Over 100 million CARE
Packages had been delivered worldwide since the first
shipment to France. [13] Although 1968 marked the official
"retirement" of the CARE Package the format would
occasionally be used again, for example in CARE's relief to
the republics of the former Soviet Union and to survivors of
the Bosnian War .[14] The concept was also revived in 2011 as
an online campaign encouraging donors to fill a "virtual
CARE Package" with food aid and services such as education
and healthcare. [15]
1967 also marked CARE's first partnership agreement with
a government: for the construction of schools in Honduras .
Partnership agreements with governments led programmes
to become country-wide rather than targeted only to a few
communities. CARE's programmes during this era focused
largely on the construction of schools and nutrition centres,
and the continued distribution of food. Nutrition centres in
particular would become one of CARE's major areas of
concentration, linking with school feeding programs and
nutrition education aimed at new mothers. [4]
In 1975 CARE implemented a multi-year planning system,
again allowing programmes to become both broader and
deeper in scope. Projects became increasingly multi-faceted,
providing for example not only health education but also
access to clean water and an agricultural program to
improve nutrition. The multi-year planning system also
increased the scope for country-wide projects and
partnerships with local governments. A 1977 project for
example provided for the construction of over 200 pre-
schools and kindergartens throughout Chile over several
years, jointly funded by CARE and the Chilean Ministry of
Education. [4]
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