AMURT is a “hands-on” organisation. Projects are not developed from behind a desk. The prime requirements for our projects are: needs of people who are suffering, help already provided by other aid organisations, AMURT’s available manpower, and the anticipated financial support from donors. Project planning is done in several stages, as funding is rarely in place from the onset. As AMURT’s work always has a local focus and AMURT (International)’s administrative infrastructures can be used by all members, the local associations can operate with minimal administration.

AMURT arrives in the first few days after a disaster has struck, and it does not leave once an emergency is over. It continues to implement activities for the medium and long term to ensure recovery. Our project activities fall into these three areas:

• Relief assistance to victims of natural and man-made disasters
  distribution of relief supplies such as nutritional items, hygiene kits, medicines, and medical equipment

• Rehabilitation/reconstruction
  reconstruction of houses, schools, feeding centres, orphanages and community centres and rehabilitation of fishing centres

• Development
  agriculture, education, water and sanitation, micro-credits, capacity-building and psycho-social support to traumatized victims.

AMURT International sees to it that the LRRD concept (Linking Relief Rehabilitation and Development) is integrated in all of its programmes. LRRD programme’s can be defined as follows: “rehabilitation programmes which gradually take over the relief/emergency aid to stabilise the economic and social situation and to facilitate the transition towards a medium and long term development strategy” (European Commission Communication on the LRRD, 1996).

An example of our approach to linking Relief, Rehabilitation and Development was established in South Sudan. AMURT started its operations in South Sudan during the war in 1998. In Northern Bahr el Ghazal, a region close to the frontline between North and South, AMURT supported the people with food, water and medicines for many years.

Since 1998, the AMURT team in the field has grown and realised that in order to stabilise the economic and social situation of its beneficiaries its interventions had to shift from relief to development. In cooperation with major UN agencies, the Japanese Development Cooperation (JICA), USAID and the European Commission, AMURT now helps to support the education system, food security, micro business and water and sanitation activities.

Disaster  Relief

Every year, 250 million people are affected by natural disasters, and nearly 30 million by violent conflicts. Typically, violent conflicts and natural disasters have a much higher toll in poorer countries. People in less developed countries are more vulnerable to risks as their states may not provide safety nets, or they are living on barely enough to get by. When disasters take place these people can not cope, and it is our job to help.

AMURT’s staff, members and volunteers all have one thing in common: their humanistic principles. These values still encourage people today to contribute to relieving the unspeakable suffering of thousands of people with their donations.

AMURT has subscribed to the following code of conduct of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (link to Code of Conduct for relief efforts)

• The humanitarian imperative comes first;
• Aid is given regardless of the race, creed or nationality of the recipients and without adverse distinction of any kind. Aid is provided on the basis of need alone;
• Aid must not be abused to further a particular political or religious standpoint;
• We  shall endeavour not to act as instruments for government foreign policy;
• We shall respect the culture and customs of beneficiary communities;
• We shall promote the formation of disaster response teams on a local level;
• Ways shall be found to involve local people in the management of relief aid;
• Relief must strive to reduce further vulnerability to disasters and to ensure that basic needs are met on an ongoing basis;
• We hold ourselves accountable to both those we seek to assist and those from whom we accept resources;
• In our information, publicity and advertising activities, we shall respect the dignity of disaster victims.

Sustainable development cooperation

AMURT endeavours to incorporate sustainability in all of its development programmes. We ensure that the three components of sustainable development, namely environmental protection, social equity and cohesion and economic prosperity, are properly integrated and implemented in all of our programmes.

Sustainable development cooperation means: supporting the efforts of the populations of developing countries to improve their standard of living. It promotes craftsmanship, commerce and better agriculture while maintaining the ecological balance. It creates the conditions that enable people to live a decent life and meet their own fundamental needs of nourishment, medical care, shelter and education through their own efforts.

Women

Gender-awareness is integrated into AMURT’s programmes and AMURT addresses women’s strategic gender needs. Strategic gender needs are the needs women identify because of their subordinate position to men in society. This includes measuring the access of women, as a group compared with men, to resources and benefits. Meeting strategic gender needs helps women to achieve greater equality in society and therefore changes women’s traditionally subordinate position.

To promote gender-awareness, AMURT concentrates in particular on girls’ and women’s education, micro-credit programmes and health services. This will enable more women to become literate, remain healthy, and better support their children.

Children

All children should be given equal opportunities for human development. The opportunity to use our full potential to fulfil our physical, intellectual and spiritual needs is a fundamental human right. The United Nations agreements in the “Children’s Rights Charter” are an initial step in the right direction, but we still have a long way to go.

AMURT has pledged to work for the fulfilment of these rights and runs special programmes for children. We promote children’s rights in our projects by providing children with their basic necessities, such as shelter, food and education.