2011 annual review challenges poverty with people power

To stand out from the crowd, charities need to show they are really making an impact - and that's what Progressio does in its 2011 annual review.

Challenging poverty with people power, Progressio's annual review for the year from April 2010 to March 2011, stacks up the numbers:11 countries where we work

• 129 development workers recruited and funded to work with local partner organisations
• 526 local organisations whose capacity, skills and effectiveness we improved
• 46,630 people in poor communities who directly benefited from our work
• 10,235,518 people in the countries where we work who have also benefited from policy change that we pushed for.

And it backs it up with stories, such as the farmers in Wedza, Zimbabwe, who are growing more and healthier food, and have increased their income threefold, thanks to improved farming practices; or the people living with HIV in Timor-Leste, who have gained the confidence to stand up for themselves in a country where stigma, discrimination and misinformation are still the norm.

The annual review also reports on organisational changes during a difficult year financially, and sets out how Progressio will work to increase its sustainability, effectiveness and impact in 2011/12.

Challenging poverty with people power shows that our real impact can be measured in people's ability to make improvements to their own lives, as Christine Allen, Progressio's Executive Director, explains:

"When we talk about people powered development, what we are really talking about is real transformation. Not just in the results or the outcome of our work but also in the ways in which we approach it.

"We believe in people, and support what they want to do. Not just because it will make for more effective and sustainable outcomes but because they have to be, in the words of Pope Paul VI, 'artisans of their own destiny'."

Download a PDF of Challenging poverty with people power: Progressio annual review 2011 (3.27MB PDF)

Download a PDF of the full Trustees' Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2011 (2.59MB PDF)