We are people helping people.

IDRF is a non-profit Canadian registered charity working with partners around the world and locally to facilitate relief and development programs that target vulnerable populations, helping to alleviate immediate and long term troubles.

We are people helping people.

IDRF is a non-profit Canadian registered charity working with partners around the world and locally to facilitate relief and development programs that target vulnerable populations, helping to alleviate immediate and long term troubles.

MISSION

IDRF (International Development and Relief Foundation) is a Canadian registered charitable organization dedicated to empowering the disadvantaged people of the world. IDRF provides effective humanitarian aid and sustainable development programs, without discrimination, based on the Islamic principles of human dignity, self-reliance, and social justice.

VISION

IDRF seeks to provide the most vulnerable communities with the means to create lives of dignity, equality and sustainability, towards a more just world. 

IDRF believes that the best way to approach community development is to partner with local experts, international NGOs, and grassroots organizations, and to leverage our community’s resources to ensure maximum impact. Our projects are initiated by our local partners who understand the challenges and opportunities of the particular context in which they live and work.

Since 1984, IDRF has implemented relief and development projects across territories in South and Southeast Asia, Africa, the Americas, Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

Our Story

Spring 1984 marked the beginning of what would become IDRF today. We started as the International Refugee and Relief Program (IRRP), established under the leadership of Dr. Fuad Sahin, Ebrahim Syed and Muin Muinuddin. IRRP helped successfully sponsor hundreds of refugees to Canada.

Soon it became apparent that even though there was a need to respond to urgent crises, there was also a pressing need to combat the underlying causes of poverty and vulnerability. A focus on “development” became a major goal of the organization and so IRRP morphed into the International Development and Refugee Foundation. IDRF would now  also concentrate on helping people at the grassroots to address more long term needs aimed at improving quality of life.

Due to government policy changes, IDRF stopped sponsoring refugees and so, in 2000 the word Refugee was replaced with Relief. And that’s the IDRF we know and love today: the International Development and Relief Foundation.

Food Aid Bangladesh

Our Commitment

Behind the words refugee, IDP, poverty, behind every statistic is a person. A person with hopes, dreams, memories. A person who has suffered, who has lost their home, lost their families, lost themselves and still find the strength each day to keep going. Behind every statistic is resilience, determination and a spirit trying to heal. Behind every tear is a smile waiting to blossom.

And behind every fundraising appeal, behind every dollar, behind every impact number, is someone who wants to help. Someone willing to give of themselves to lift a brother up. To help a sister out. To build a bridge of hope from a past of loss and suffering to a future of hope and healing.

We are people helping people. It’s that simple.

 

Transparency

We are committed to building trust with the communities that we work in, including our donors and beneficiaries. We promise to be transparent in our spending, in our work, and in our outcomes. We are committed to sharing our reports, financials, and goals with all interested parties and stakeholders.

Accountability

Just as we hold ourselves accountable to our Creator, we hold ourselves accountable to you: the community of donors and supporters who make our work possible, and to our beneficiaries.

Fairness

We are committed to providing equitable distribution of relief goods and access to development resources and programming. We promise to do so in a way that respects the cultural, religious, and spiritual integrity of  all beneficiaries and promotes social justice and equality.

Our Values

Human Dignity

The foundation of all humanitarian work is human dignity. Each and every person inherently deserves respect and has value. Our work at IDRF emphasizes this dignity and appreciates every person we work with and serve. IDRF’s humanitarian work does not stop at providing aid – it goes further by working to provide each person with a dignified life.

Self Reliance

Self-reliance in a humanitarian context means helping people maintain their ability to meet their essential needs independently. IDRF’s ultimate goal is to provide sustainable development solutions for future generations to achieve a better quality of life.

Social Justice

At the very heart of human rights and social justice is the belief that people need to have autonomy over their lives. Everyone deserves to be treated with respect, dignity, and fairness. Social injustice is a root cause for many systemic issues that perpetuate cycles of suffering, poverty, and a lack of opportunity. Sustainable solutions must keep social justice in mind so that development can lead to opportunities for everyone.

Sustainability

Sustainable Development meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It is the use of resources in a way that allows them to exist for others to also use into the future. At IDRF, our projects all have the same goal – creating sustainable environments for growth and oppportunity that lasts for generations.

Help us create a kinder tomorrow. Join the IDRF family today.

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