Written by: Agnes Kroese

A large group of people has gathered around the ambulance. It is July 2023 and I am in a remote village in Syria. The ambulance comes here once a month and is the only medical post in the wide area. In the vehicle lies a woman. She wipes the tears from her eyes. Years ago, she and her husband had already given up hope of having children, and now it turns out she is pregnant. I am happy for her and congratulate her warmly. At the same time, I wonder what the life of this child will be like. What does it mean when your cradle stands in Syria?

The Syrians have been in the grip of a gruesome conflict for years. Last year, on February 6th, a devastating earthquake occurred. Early that day, with a pounding heart, I called Najla, our Country Director for Syria. It took some effort to reach her. Not because she was injured – or worse – but because she and her team had immediately sprung into action, busy arranging safe shelters, food, water, and medical care. When I stood among the ruins myself last summer and spoke to the people who are still dependent on Dorcas and other organisations for their basic needs to this day, it touched me deeply: ‘What if I had been born here? Would I even still be alive?’

This month also marks the second ‘anniversary’ of the invasion in Ukraine. A few months ago, I visited my Dorcas colleagues close to the eastern front. The people here were concerned about the fighters at the front and feared for the future. At the same time, I saw determination; giving up was not an option. Once again, the same questions almost choked me. What if I had been born in Ukraine? How would I cope with the fear for the safety of my loved ones who would fight for my freedom?

My cradle stood in the Netherlands, allowing me to grow up in peace and good conditions and giving me the opportunity to develop into the person I am now. Being born here is a valuable gift, for which I did nothing. The opportunities I received because of this fill me with gratitude.

At the same time, I often struggle with the question of why I got those chances and others did not. I don’t have the answer to that question, but I do know that this gift also brings the responsibility to share and, following, to show something of God’s love and goodness through our actions. To people who need it here, but also in countries like Syria and Ukraine.

Agnes Kroes is CEO of Dorcas. Agnes: “I contribute with great dedication to our mission in creating opportunities for people and communities to flourish. One of the ways I do this is through a monthly column in Dutch newspaper Nederlands Dagblad. In this column, I share insights from my professional experience at Dorcas. My aim is to inspire, inform and encourage readers to engage with Dorcas’ initiatives, campaigns, and projects. “

International Humanitarian Law provides vital guidance and boundaries during war and conflict. But what exactly does this body of law entail and does Dorcas need to adhere to it? We explore the importance of international humanitarian law through four questions and answers.

What is International Humanitarian Law?
International Humanitarian Law, also known as the laws of armed conflict, has been established to safeguard human dignity during wars and conflicts, reduce unnecessary suffering and protect the rights of all parties involved, including civilians and combatants. This means, for example, that civilians, wounded soldiers, and even prisoners of war not participating in the armed conflict must be protected. Additionally, the law prohibits the use of children under fifteen as soldiers and specifies that women and children must be shielded from sexual violence. Furthermore, it provides guidelines on weapons not being deployed when civilians are involved in a situation.

Does this law address aid workers?
Yes, it does because according to the laws of war, humanitarian workers must always have unrestricted movement in a crisis area. Denying them access to such areas is prohibited.

What if parties fail to comply with humanitarian law?
Although the rules of international humanitarian law may seem logical, these are often not adhered to in practice. The legal provisions apply to states and, in principle, nations that violate international humanitarian law can be held accountable for their actions by organisations such as the United Nations or the International Court of Justice. However, independent investigators often face difficulties accessing areas where conflict or war is ongoing, making it extremely challenging to obtain the objective information required. Furthermore, although under international humanitarian law, aid workers and convoys must be granted access to war or conflict zones, this does not always happen in practice. And even if various parties exert pressure in such cases, enforcing access remains difficult.

What does humanitarian law mean for an organisation like Dorcas?
Dorcas is an organisation for development and humanitarian assistance that adheres to humanitarian principles and fully supports the provisions of international humanitarian law. Our primary objective is to assist all affected individuals in crisis areas. We remain impartial, neutral and independent, which means that during a conflict, we do not take sides and do not consider a person’s skin colour, political preferences, or which side of the conflict they belong to. Our role as a humanitarian assistance organisation is to identify the person in need and provide assistance under all circumstances.

Recently, the protracted conflict between Israel and the Palestinian territories has escalated. The situation currently remains uncertain. 

We do not work in the affected areas. However, the conflict is exerting an influence on the stability in the Middle East. Since the escalation, tensions have also increased in Lebanon, Syria and Egypt, countries where Dorcas is active. The UN is very concerned that the conflict will spread to Lebanon.

For the time being, our programmes in Lebanon, Syria and Egypt can continue. The current situation does not directly affect our work in these countries. However, we will continue to closely monitor the developments, and if risks for the safety of our colleagues or project participants arise, we will take appropriate action. In Lebanon, we are also collaborating with partners on contingency plans in order to start an immediate response in case of escalation.

Dorcas and Woord en Daad will continue their cooperation on job creation for Ethiopian youth in 2023. Since 2016, Dorcas and Woord en Daad have collaborated in Ethiopia on job creation for young people. Within the Employable Youth Ethiopia (EYE) programme, they realised more than 20,000 jobs between 2016-2021 within a multi-party consortium through intensive cooperation with vocational schools, entrepreneurial training providers and private parties. Several networks were also launched to improve dialogue between stakeholders.

After the EYE programme ended, both parties decided not to terminate the infrastructure built up and to complete innovations. For instance, the Centre of Excellence model, in which vocational schools train young people for companies based on pre-made job and wage guarantees, will be further developed with in 2023. Entrepreneurship training providers are also developing new collaborations to better support young people get (digital) business support and access to start-up capital.

This week, Agnes Kroese, CEO of Dorcas and Rina Molenaar, CEO of Woord en Daad signed a new partnership agreement that reflects the intention to work together in the coming years to make structural changes in the youth and employment system and to create jobs on a large scale. ‘We know each other and have built a special shared history in Ethiopia,’ Agnes Kroese said, ‘It would be illogical not to do our utmost to continue to seek collaboration, be complementary to each other and continue to tap into the potential of each other and others. That serves the interest of the young people we are both committed to.’

Rina Molenaar agrees: ‘This partnership agreement is a starting point for a joint exploration of how to achieve large-scale change. In this, we must be able to put our own role into perspective, become ambitious to be modest and proactively engage in cooperation.’

The continuing EYE programme brings together key Ethiopian stakeholders such as the Ministry of Skills and Labour, the Chamber of Commerce, workers’ and employers’ organisations and micro-credit umbrellas to discuss and improve current schemes and policies. Meanwhile, the programme is innovatively creating hundreds of new jobs for young people. In this, Dorcas and Woord en Daad are supported by Dutch companies and thrift shops.

By the end of 2022, a total of 108.4 million people is forcibly displaced worldwide. An increase of 19.1 million people in just one year.

UNHCR recently published its annual global trend report. In this report they look back at 2022 and the indicated trends of forced displacement. Some facts mentioned in this report:

Dorcas is active in fourteen countries in Eastern Europe, Eastern Africa and the Middle East. In twelve of these fourteen countries we see forced displacement, both from natural disaster and man-made disaster. Lebanon continues to provide assistance to Syrian refugees, even though the economic and political situation in the country worsens. They are hosting the largest number of refugees per capita, with an estimation of 1.5 million Syrian refugees plus a small number of refugees of other nationalities. South Sudan’s refugee crisis remains the largest in Africa, with over 2.3 million South Sudanese refugees hosted in neighbouring countries and another 2.3 million internally displaced. The conflict in Ukraine remains ongoing and is currently one of the largest human displacement crises in the world.

Numbers in Dorcas countries:

UNHCR found that by the end of 2022, the number of people displaced by conflict, persecution, violence and human rights abuses stood at a record 108.4 million, up 19.1 million on a year earlier, which was the biggest ever increase.

A total of 108.4 million forcibly displaced worldwide by the end of 2022:

Source: UNHCR Global Trends, forced displacement in 2022

Read UNHCR Global Trends report

2022 marked the first year of our new strategic period. Even though it was the start of a new strategic period and despite the change in leadership during the year, we can conclude that 2022 was characterised by moving forward on the chosen path. The crises in various project countries did not take Dorcas by surprise, even though these have demanded a lot from us. We faithfully moved forward thanks to the support of thousands of volunteers and tens of thousands of donors, but above all, because we knew and know that God is with us no matter the circumstances we find ourselves in. Dorcas has acted in these situations in line with its character. We put our shoulders to the wheel together with our partners, remain true to our mission and are inspired by our faith in Jesus Christ. We have learned to cope, adapt and adjust, but not to give up. God, who strengthened our hands in the past, was with us in 2022 and will remain with us in the future. Therefore: Faithfully moving forward! 

Our collective efforts reached and impacted more than 1 million persons in 14 countries in Eastern Africa, Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Over 40 shops Dorcas shops and 10,500 volunteers, over 83,000 individual supporters, 428 companies and 2,000 churches worked together with 384 Dorcas staff and many valued partner organisations. 

How did we manage? Read our annual report

For the first time, we indicated our reached impact through long-term outcomes. Each Dorcas project is linked to the long-term outcomes of the Dorcas results framework and their corresponding indicators, and we link each project with the impact statements in our Theory of Change. By doing this, we illustrate how our Way of Working contributes to change for individuals, communities and societies. These long-term outcomes were chosen based on their level of contribution to the six impact statements of flourishing people and communities and the degree of compatibility with Dorcas’ fields of expertise.

Within the 2022 annual report, the following impact results are highlighted:

More than 3.4 billion euros will be cut from the Dutch budget for development cooperation and humanitarian assistance in the coming years if the government’s “spring budget” (Voorjaarsnota) is approved. As more asylum seekers than expected are coming to the Netherlands, the government intends to use these funds from the development cooperation budget to provide housing for these asylum seekers within Dutch borders. This money would otherwise be spent on sustainable development and humanitarian assistance throughout the world. Over 100 Dutch development organisations, including Dorcas, are therefore calling for these cuts to be reversed and for the setting of a maximum amount for the asylum costs paid from the development cooperation budget.

Partos, the umbrella association for more than 100 Dutch development organisations, considers it very ill-advised that the Dutch government will cut back on tackling the root causes of conflict, climate change, poverty and humanitarian assistance. It therefore calls on the Dutch House of Representatives to reverse the budget cuts.

Liana Hoornweg, director of Partos: ‘Of course, the Netherlands must provide adequate asylum for refugees. However, the painful fact is that standard asylum has been subject to budget cuts for many years. As expensive emergency shelter is now being deployed, the very poorest in the world are the victims of a failing Dutch asylum policy. We call on the Dutch House of Representatives to tackle this problem structurally: introduce a maximum amount for the asylum costs that can be paid from the budget for development cooperation. That will allow the development budget to be used for its intended purpose: promoting sustainable development by tackling the root causes of conflict, climate change, hunger and poverty.’

Spokespersons from the coalition parties CDA, D66 and ChristenUnie confirmed the undesirability of increasing contributions from the budget for development cooperation to fund expenditure on housing for asylum seekers. Party congresses of D66 and CU adopted motions in 2022 to set a maximum amount from the budget for development cooperation that can be used on costs for asylum. Hoornweg: ‘Now is the time for action. We are counting on the coalition parties to stick to their own statements in the coming weeks. The debate on humanitarian assistance on 11 May is a good next opportunity to do just that.’

Water affects us all. Clean water is a fundamental human need and an essential resource for life. Ensuring access to safe and clean water is not only important for public health and well-being, but it also impacts economic development and environmental sustainability. Therefore, it is critical to prioritise the provision of clean water to communities worldwide.  

In Mozambique, the limited access to safe drinking water causes major problems. Dorcas Mozambique has improved the access of safe and clean water in the area with the project waterTime. With the token tap, members of the community can get clean water for a small fee. People who can’t afford this, get the water for free. The proceeds go to the maintenance of the water system and are used to train members of the community on how to maintain the system. In this way, Dorcas also creates jobs in the area.

Today is International Women’s Day: a day that is celebrated around the world! On this day, we specifically acknowledge and honour the achievements and strength of women from all backgrounds. This year, the UN highlights the importance of access to technology and innovation in order to attain gender equality. In an age of constant progress and innovation, technology plays a vital role in the empowerment of women and girls when it is focussed on meeting their needs. The clean cooking energy project of Dorcas aims to empower women and strengthen their position for economic participation. Waliaranga from Tanzania shares how clean cooking improved her health, increases adaptation to climate change and empowered her in her day-to-day life.

Waliaranga: ’Preparing food for my family is one of those chores on top of my priority list. I had never imagined the effects of using firewood as the only source of fuel. Our way of preparing food is not only a miserable experience, but also a damaging habit to the immediate environment and it causes land degradation. On top of that, it’s also very harmful for our health and leads to itching red eyes and constant coughing. These are just some of the prices we are paying for using firewood. We didn’t have a choice then – but now we do.’

The effects of clean cooking

Waliaranga became part of the clean cooking energy project of Dorcas. Clean cooking is the production and distribution of fuel pellets and briquettes and the inclusive market development of ultra-clean cooking stoves, which positively impacts the lives of many Tanzanians. In this project we establish a socially responsible, innovative entity geared toward social change. Clean cooking leads to increased household resilience, family health and adaptation to climate change because of reduced deforestation, gas emission, workload for women, costs for fuel and new income generating opportunities. The cycle of energy poverty will be broken by making clean cooking affordable and accessible.

Waliaranga shares: ‘Since we’ve cut down all our trees, we now had to buy firewood at 2,000 Tanzanian shilling a bunch. The clean cooking stove, the Mimi Moto stove, uses recycled wood pellets which are affordable and economically practical – I can cook more food with just one kilogram of recycled wood pellets than with a bunch of smoky firewood. And a kilogram of pellets is only 700 Tanzanian shilling.’

How Clean Cooking improves gender equality

Dorcas is committed to promoting gender equality. This has been deeply embedded in our way of working for many years. One of the ways we want to contribute to increased gender equality, is by creating equal opportunities for economic participation. The reduced workload for women, is essential in their empowerment and access to other sources of income and education. When women and girls are required to spend a lot of time gathering firewood and tending the fire while cooking, this reduces their opportunities to spend that time doing other work (and increase their income) or go to school.

Waliaranga: ’I had never imagined that I would one day just turn on the stove and make a meal in the comfort of my living room. No smoke involved and the cooking goes a lot faster. I don’t have to sit there to keep the fire burning. This gives me time to attend to other chores on my priority list. The clean cooking stove helped to turn things around in my life.’

Today is the 16th World Day of Social Justice. This year’s theme is: Overcoming Barriers and Unleashing Opportunities for Social Justice. Strengthening socials justice is a vital part of the United Nations agenda, while simultaneously the world seems more fractured than ever due to the many crises that we have faced over the last decade. Social justice deserves more attention in the coming years to achieve more equal, thriving and inclusive societies.

Dorcas is committed to combat major inequality and promote social inclusion in the countries we work. As an organisation, we address exclusion by empowering groups that have been structurally marginalised, such as older people, people with disabilities and minority groups. These groups are our key priority, as we recognise that when socials justice for marginalised people and groups is attained, it improves the overall well-being of societies.

Dorcas invests in sustainable change on three levels: individual, community, society. On individual level, we create opportunities for people to develop themselves further, and if necessary, we provide for their basic needs. On community level, we invest in resilient, self-organising communities that work together to solve their problems. At society level, we contribute to a just society in which everyone can participate. Change on these three levels is also important in striving for social justice.

Dorcas Theory of Change showing how we envisions change to happen from a situation of
poverty and exclusion to flourishing people and communities.

How we facilitate social justice in countries such as Albania, Lebanon and Ethiopia:

On an individual level, we directly empower people by:

These services empower individuals to be thriving members of society and overcome barriers that lead to exclusion.

On community level, we empower communities by:

Strengthening community leaders and capacitating them to engage in promoting human rights is essential in overcoming exclusion and promoting social justice.

On society level, we influence policies and create impact by:

To continue to improve social justice, Dorcas works towards sustainable development and has clear points of action for the coming years. We will work closely with government institutions to support them in the development of programmes that promote social equity and advocate for more funds on social cohesion. We keep raising awareness on human rights and the importance of the inclusion of marginalised groups to improve social justice. Also, we prioritise activities that strengthen capacity building of local leaders and mobilise communities. We plan to achieve this through establishing formal and informal networks of service providers and stakeholders.

Strengthening social justice in an increasingly divided world struck by multiple crises requires an approach on these three levels. It is not only the world’s economies that are increasingly linked and interdependent; structures within a society are also interconnected.

On individual, community and society level, the capacity building of marginalised people groups needs to increase. Only when everyone has a voice and is included, will we see a thriving world.