Austcare joins ActionAid as affiliate
Last updated 6 April 2009
Austcare has taken an important step in its transformation to ActionAid Australia by joining anti-poverty network ActionAid International as an affiliate member, effective immediately.
ActionAid International's board voted unanimously to grant Austcare full affiliate status at a board meeting in Dublin on Saturday 4 April.
As part of the affiliation, Austcare changed its name to ActionAid Australia on 1 June 2009.
Visit the ActionAid Australia website for updated information.
Austcare's Vice-President John Dowd and director Bill Armstrong were in Dublin to accept ActionAid's invitation to join as an affiliate on behalf of the Austcare board.
Austcare CEO Archie Law said this was an important day in the history of Austcare and an exciting time for staff and supporters.
"As ActionAid Australia, the impact of our work in both emergency relief and longer term development will be considerably strengthened," said Law.
"At the same time, we will bring our own expertise and experience in key areas such as protection and landmine action to the international ActionAid network."
From Austcare to ActionAid Australia
ActionAid is an international anti-poverty agency working in over 40 countries. In 2007 alone, the ActionAid International network reached more than 13 million of the world's poor and vulnerable people helping them to claim their rights and have a voice in decisions that affect them.
Austcare first partnered with AAI in 2005 in response to the South Asian earthquake, providing emergency supplies, shelter and medical care to survivors in Pakistan.
In 2006, we worked with AAI to help vulnerable women in Sri Lanka recover from the devastation of the Indian Ocean tsunami.
In the last 12 months, our relationship with AAI has enabled us to respond to five major emergencies - Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar, floods in Pakistan, Uganda and Nepal, and Cyclone Sidr in Bangladesh.
In December 2007, we conducted some initial research with a number of our supporters on our change to ActionAid. Their overall reaction was very positive and you can read answers to their most common questions on our Frequently Asked Questions page.
We hope that the large and diverse Austcare family will continue to support the world's most vulnerable people and advocate for their best interests with us. We look forward to another 40 years, and more, of your ongoing and wholehearted support as we enter this new and exciting phase of our organisation's development.
If you have questions about Austcare's affiliation with ActionAid or our transformation to ActionAid Australia, please call our supporter line on 1300 66 66 72 or email supporterservices @austcare.org.au.