Our Fight against Poverty
We are convinced that development ultimately originates in people themselves, and embraces all areas of life as a complete whole (including e.g. economic activity, people’s treatment of their fellow humans and the environment, politics, religion, cultural activities, etc.). Consequently we design our assistance such as to strengthen self-help, and to help enable people to shape their own lives, both as individuals and communities, as they themselves wish.

Basic social rights and change of structures
The principle of solidarity with the poor makes the fight against poverty and powerlessness the prime objective of our work. Therefore, wherever people are oppressed by unjust social and political structures, development is also synonymous with liberation from such structures, the defence of human rights, the right to a life of human dignity, and protection against persecution and violence. But it also means the protection and development of basic social rights, namely rights to basic education, to work and to a secure livelihood, to a place to live, to a homeland, access to basic health care, access to markets, grazing rights, water rights and forest rights.

Development Cooperation
People develop and liberate themselves, and are supported in these processes trough solidarity and development cooperation. Thus development cooperation to us also means exerting appropriate influence jointly with our partners wherever the question whether injustice will be perpetuated or can be brought to an end hangs in the balance, so that injustice and violence may be replaced by justice and reconciliation.

Fight against Mass Poverty
In our world today, we seem to be constantly moving from one bloody conflict to the next. Destructive violence again and again takes the place of peaceful negotiation and peaceful management of the natural resources of this world; life and the natural resource base on which it depends are being destroyed. International cooperation for development and basic human rights is therefore first and foremost work for global justice, a fight against mass poverty and for the just and sustainable management of our scarce resources, labour for a peaceful future for all human beings.

Sustainably
The purpose of any development project is to sustainably improve the lives of people. This is only possible within the framework of long-term development processes, in which people recognise clearly their situation, learn to understand how they can change it through their own efforts and with the assistance of others, and in which they acquire the will and the capability to do what is possible and take the necessary steps with courage and responsibility. This is how self-confident communities and movements of the poor emerge as agents of development.