Donate to Support Economic Development - Global Impact

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Donate to Support Economic Development

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Economic Development Fund

Global poverty continues to rise in 30 countries – leaving millions in poverty. Support multiple charities in one pledge working on economic development.
Through the economic development fund, you will join others in a mission to reduce and end poverty. Eradicating poverty would raise incomes, reduce health risks, increase food security and pave the way for better educational and vocational opportunities.

Your donations will contribute toward sustainable opportunities for those living in poverty, including access to continued education, life-skills training and business opportunities that lead to strengthened self-reliance.

Be a Global Champion

$50

provides 75 students with the funds and materials to sew 20 surgical masks as part of a vocational training program.

$170

covers the cost of one month of on-the-job training for one adult.

$324

frees a family from poverty for a year through community-based programs in agriculture, health, nutrition and literacy.

Success Stories

Women's Vocational Training in Armenia
“Success in work,” said Lusine, “is about trying the impossible to make the possible happen.” Lusine, age 30, has completed a vocational training course in sewing and clothing design with IOCC partner the Shirak Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church. The Church’s educational center in Gyumri, Armenia – one of the country’s poorest areas – offers vocational training, especially for women, with courses for in-demand occupations like culinary arts, woodworking, cosmetology, and clothing construction and design. Your gifts help IOCC to support this center, which trains 250–300 unemployed women a year. Lusine and Gohar, age 53, recently completed the center’s course on clothing design and construction—using sewing supplies that IOCC has helped to deliver. Armed with their newly acquired skills and a fresh sense of confidence, she and Gohar have both applied for full-time jobs in the garment industry. One day, they hope to open a business together. “It is...
Two Participants of the Cooking and Food Preservation Course Credit
Ein El Hilweh is the largest Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon. It was established in 1948 by the International Committee of the Red Cross. Since then it has witnessed violent clashes, aerial bombing and years of bloody conflict. Beginning in 2012, the camp’s population swelled from 70,000 to more than 120,000 due to the influx of refugees from Syria. Some of these newcomers were Palestinians who had already been refugees in Syria, now forced to flee a new conflict. In 2016, Lebanese authorities built a wall with watchtowers around the camp. The camp is known for its security problems, due to the disputes between political factions and small arms weaponry circulating in the camp. The clusters of small, grey, concrete houses leaning on one another do little to alleviate the overcrowding in this under-serviced urban camp. Despite these hardships, the residents of this camp have made it their home away...
U Htein Win prepares for another fishing trip
A $45 loan nearly doubled a family’s income. Here’s how. U Htein Win is a widower; his wife passed away four years ago. Four of the couple’s eight children still live at home; the rest are married and living independently. After his wife’s passing, U Htein became the family’s sole breadwinner. U Htein has his own boat and relies on fishing as a source of income and as a way to add protein to his family’s daily meals. He was making about 3,000 Kyat ($2) each day. He has long wanted to expand into shrimp fishing, but in order to do that he would need special traps. If he were to try to take out a loan to buy the traps, it would be at a 10-15% interest rate that he simply couldn’t afford. His life changed, though, when CWS introduced the concept of a savings group to his village...