Norwegian Church Aid
Norwegian Church Aid (NCA; Norwegian: Kirkens Nødhjelp) is a Norwegian humanitarian and ecumenical organisation with headquarters in Oslo.It was traditionally affiliated with the state Church of Norway, but is now independent. Norwegian Church Aid works together with people and organisations across the world to eradicate poverty and injustice.
Aid to developing nations has, since the first European aid was delivered, been the most central aspect of Norwegian Church Aid’s work. Since the beginning, the concept of Christian compassion has been the motivating force of the organisation.
History
[edit]1940-1960:
[edit]In October 1945, the National Association of Congregational Aid (Menighetspleienes Landsforbund) was founded by priest Conrad Bonnevie-Svendsen and dean Henrik Hauge. The Association was founded to coordinate the joint social aid program of the Norwegian Church after the Second World War. This initiative marked the humble beginnings of the Norwegian Church Aid.
In the aftermath of World War II, many organisations wanted to help in the struggle to rebuild Europe. In Norway, the organisation Europahjelpen, initially founded by the Red Cross and Norwegian People's Aid functioned as an umbrella for organisations comitted to contribute in the refugee aid in Europe. The members of the National Association of Congregational Aid argued that the aid initiated by Europahjelpen was not reaching everyone in need, and that food relief was being sent first and foremost to former allies in France, the Netherlands, Belgium and Greece.
The Association saw that the need for an an aid program was perhaps even greater in a Germany decimated by war. In October 1947the Association decided to initiate a campaign in Germany to aid people impoverished from the war. Over time, it was also decided that Norwegian churches would continue to deliver aid to refugees in Central Europe and the Middle East.The campaign was carried out in cooperation with the Lutheran World Federation and the World Council of Churches, and was named Norwegian Church Aid.
At a meeting in 1953, the Association formed Norwegian Church Aid as an independent organisation with its own statuettes. The humanitarian aid work of NCA was expanded to include refugees in Hong Kong, those affected by war in Congo, and survivors from natural disasters in both Algeria and India.
Work
[edit]NCA provides emergency assistance in disasters and works for long-term development in local communities. In order to address the root causes of poverty, NCA advocates for just decisions by public authorities, business and religious leaders.
Norwegian Church Aid is an ecumenical organisation for global justice. Its projects are carried out with no intention of influencing people's religious affiliation.
To ensure efficiency and create results, Norwegian Church Aid is a member of the ACT Alliance, one of the world's largest humanitarian alliances. The alliance consists of church-based organisations throughout the world and cooperates with organisations across religious faiths.
Norwegian Church Aid works in three ways:
- Emergency preparedness and response: saving lives and protecting people in emergency situations
- Long-term development aid: supporting local communities to achieve development over time
- Advocacy: promoting democracy and human rights by influencing decision-making processes
The organisation works in over 30 countries in Africa, Asia and Central and Latin America.[1]
In 2018 the Norwegian Church Aid and five other key NGOs organise the customary torchlight parade in Oslo in honour of that year's Nobel Peace Prize laureates, Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad, who were awarded the prize for their work to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war.[2]
Changemaker
[edit]Norwegian Church Aid’s youth movement, Changemaker, organises campaigns, courses, camps and local projects for its many thousands of members aged 13 - 30. Changemaker's main priority is to encourage young people to take an interest in global issues and speak out against injustice. Changemaker's offices are housed within NCA's headquarters in Oslo.[3]
References
[edit]- ^ http://www.kirkensnodhjelp.no/en/About-NCA/About-NCA/ Archived 2013-12-10 at the Wayback Machine About the NCA
- ^ "Fakkeltog for Nobels fredspris 2018". Norwegian Peace Council. Retrieved 2018-11-26.
- ^ About Changemaker, accessed 9 February 2023
