DWS Focus Areas
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Carrying food grains, pulses and salt distributed by ACT/DWS Nepal to flood victims in the Makwanpur district in October 2004. © LWF/DWS Nepal. |
With both international and local operational capabilities, the work of DWS is supported and enabled by specialized activities in the following five focus areas. These provide the focus and flexibility that are necessary in order to respond to ongoing demands and changing circumstances.
Emergencies, Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons
With almost sixty years' experience providing immediate relief in emergencies and meeting the ongoing needs of refugees and displaced populations, DWS is the leading ACT (Action by Churches Together) operational agency for emergencies, and the second largest partner of UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees). To maintain this strong leadership and to build effective bridges to sustainable development, DWS focuses on risk management, disaster preparedness and emergency response.
Sustainable Development and the Environment
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Fond Verettes, north
of Forêt des Pins, Haiti after
mud slides wiped out people's homes
and killed over 400 people overnight
on 29-30 May 2004. People intend to
rebuild their homes in the same
river bed. |
The DWS goal of building
sustainable communities embraces the
commitment to sustainable development. The LWF
Guiding Principles for Sustainable
Development (Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader) 
, adopted in 2000, articulate
a holistic approach in addressing the
dimensions of human rights, gender,
environment and communication in the process
of achieving sustainable development. These
emphases give direction to the practical
work of DWS in areas such as HIV/AIDS, water
and soil conservation, integrated rural
development, food security and genetically
modified organisms.
Advocacy and Communications
To challenge and respond to the causes and consequences of human suffering, DWS works ecumenically with a rights-based approach which aims to empower local communities. With the goal of amplifying the voices and mobilizing the energies of local partners for greater participation in advocacy networks, local and international networks focus on identifying, studying and responding to key advocacy issues.
Human Resources Development
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Training staff in participatory approaches. |
With around 2,700 experienced local staff and consultants around the world, and 40 international staff and consultants in key country programs, DWS emphasizes continuous learning to ensure that staff are knowledgeable, well trained and able to work professionally and flexibly in extremely challenging circumstances. Capacity building is multiplied when international and local partners share perspectives, experiences and skills.
Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation
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People-empowerment excercises during a workshop on skills facilitation in IRDEP-Battambang, a project of DWS Cambodia. © LWF/DWS Cambodia |
The Strategic
Plan 2007-2012 [Hi-res version (2MB)] (Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)
, approved by the
Standing
Committee for World Service, provides the
direction for the work of DWS, and the
responsibility for program implementation
lies with DWS Geneva. An integrated
planning, monitoring and evaluation system,
based on a defined project cycle, is applied
to all DWS country programs and projects.
The system includes country strategy
outlines, cooperation agreements,
programmatic action plans, field monitoring
functions, evaluations and impact
assessments.
