Our work began after visiting many ghetto blocks in Romania. We met young children and their families who were living in horrendous situations. Never before had we seen the deprivation that these people had to endure every single day.
Homes made of mud, roofs made from broken pieces of corrugated sheeting, windows – well they didn't exist! There was nothing like a radiator – there was no heating. As for keeping clean, forget it – no sanitation was available.
To watch young children do their homework in a 3sqm room, with the only light coming from a tiny candle was heartbreaking. In fact, the whole family lived in this room, all 12 of them; sleeping on one mattress and across the bare rat-ridden floors.
Things had to change and so we set to work on making that change.
Having local partnerships around the globe ensures that we work together to build communities, helping feed the hungry, provide clothing for the poor, warm shelter for the forgotten and providing access to educational programmes that enable people to integrate into society that often rejects them.
Over the many years now we have introduced new programmes, new concepts, new ideas and new visions to help the many children in all our projects around the globe.
You can view all our work and see where you may like to help.
People against Poverty stand for:
Employment creation
Resource delivery
Our charity works with international and UK projects that we can personally engage with to help change lives by releasing communities from poverty.
Our aims are:
To feed the hungry, provide shelter, clothe and educate the poor, take care of the sick and bring communities together to help break the cycle of poverty;
To form communities in the UK to engage with People against Poverty;
To be a gateway directly enabling our communities here in the UK, to engage with our international communities bringing them both life changing experiences.
Business Social Responsibility is defined by the European Commission as "the responsibility of enterprises for their impacts on society."
This policy sets out the framework for the development and implementation of social responsibility activities across People against Poverty.
Scope: This policy applies to People against Poverty, its employees, volunteers & contractors. (Going forward these will be called 'employees') This policy is effective from September 2015.
Policy statement: our charity abides by the following code of ethics which represent our commitment to good social responsibility and reflects our values.
We expect all employees to abide by our ethical values in the workplace and encourage it within their personal lives.
All employees should show due respect for each other and should do nothing to damage reputation of our business or to each other at all times.
We will be intolerant of discrimination, harassment or victimisation. We recognise diversity in recruitment and all our dealings with employees.
To provide fair pay and where appropriate training and opportunities for personal development.
We commit to creating a favourable employee relationship environment where the involvement of all employees is encouraged.
We will provide a clean, healthy and safe work environment, taking every reasonable precaution to avoid injury to colleagues and members of the public.
We prohibit the use of exploitative labour practices including the use of child labour.
We encourage UK businesses to adopt an ethical stance in their dealings.
We endeavour where possible to provide extra support to 'employees' who experience personal difficulties.
We believe that freedom of expression is a fundamental human right.
We do not promote excessive hours.
We ban corruption in all forms, including bribery and extortion.
Social impact:
All employees and volunteers of our organisation will treat customers and suppliers fairly, openly and honestly.
We aspire and commit to achieving the highest standard of service.
When we fall short of our aspirations to high standards of service we commit to respond speedily, honestly and effectively to issues that may arise.
We actively encourage employees to participate in projects and initiatives to strengthen the social and economic wellbeing of the communities where we work.
We ensure that our conduct and activities, as far as possible, will be in a manner sensitive to the cultural and social traditions of the communities which we work in and impact.
We will pursue and encourage the use of suppliers who operate with values and standards equivalent to our own.
We will deliver maximum impact through effective management of our financial resources.
We aim for complete transparency in our accounting and ensure that annual returns are completed and filed in time.
We commit to maintain the highest possible standards of integrity in business relationships with our suppliers.
We will be fair and reasonable with all our creditors and debtors.
We will ensure that all our practices are free from bribery and corruption.
We will work at all times to minimise any adverse environmental impact of our business operations.
We source responsibly.
We use natural resources effectively and to a minimum.
We comply with all local laws.
We strive to reduce the generation of waste and recycle where possible (reuse, reduce, recycle). Use electronic communication as opposed to paper.
We will comply with all waste management regulations.
We encourage car sharing where possible.
Where applicable and possible, our activities are assessed for their impact on bio-diversity and the land.
Falling Short
We anticipate within normal probability that our standards may unintentionally fall short of our declaration. When this happens we commit to act review and rectify our processes to regain the highest level of integrity of our declaration.