Anna Hyvarinen

Fida International

Fida International, founded in 1927, is the Missions and Development Co-Operation Organisation of the Pentecostal Churches of Finland. Fida aims at building hope and better future for the most vulnerable and marginalised people living in poverty. Fida and the Churches have around 170 committed workers, with additional family members, living abroad. The organisation operates in almost 50 countries together with local partners and over 300 local workers. Since 1974 Fida has carried out development co-operation with support from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland. Fida has a frame agreement with ECHO, the European Commission's Humanitarian Aid Department. Fida runs 40+ Development Co-operation, Support a Child and Humanitarian Aid Programmes with partners in nearly 20 countries. The goal is to empower local communities and people to change their society and living conditions in a just and sustainable way for long-term results. Fida's invaluable partners are mainly churches, other non-governmental organisations and local authorities. Special care is taken to ensure that the marginalised groups get the necessary attention and that there is no gender-bias between the male and female. Much of Fida and its partners' work concerns whole family well-being. The organisation owns Fida Secondhand Shops, a pioneer of recycling and circular economy in Finland. The Shops promote recycling and their profit is used to help the less privileged people of the world through Fida's work. The word fida comes from Latin, meaning faithful and trustworthy.