A personal message from Andrea Vogt, Operation Mercy International Director.
To our dear friends and members of Operation Mercy, and to our workers in our countries,
We are celebrating our 30th birthday. Happy birthday Operation Mercy!
It is amazing to think that our story has already been going on for such a long time and I'm even more amazed that I have been allowed to be part of the story for the last 25 years. I've enjoyed working with Operational Mercy each day of these 25 years.
It all started for me in September 1996 as a volunteer for two years in Uzbekistan. I have grown through this work, and it has changed my life. I've learned so much about myself, about the people that we’ve worked with, about International Community Development, and about living among different nations. It has made my life so much richer.
Over the past 30 years Operation Mercy has grown in strength and vibrancy and we are as alive and as adventurous today as we were in the beginning, while also growing stronger, more resilient, and more robust. The key to this is that we are standing firm on our core values.
Our core values are:
Prayer - Asking God's help in all that we do and connecting with people of all faiths in the communities we work in.
Professionalism - Working hard on doing the very best that we can bring to these communities. Working to the highest international standards.
Perseverance – We don’t give up easily. We stay in places that are hard. We want to be with and persevere with people that are suffering.
Peace-making – This is needed more than ever in our world today. We want to be a bridge between people, individuals, families, communities, and countries that don't understand each other and are at odds with each other. We want to be peace makers in this troubled world.
Partnership - You are our partners, and we couldn't do this without you. If you are a community partner somewhere in North Africa, the Middle East or Central Asia, thank you. If you are a partner in Sweden, or somewhere in Europe or around the world, thank you for your support, we really value you.
Happy Birthday Operation Mercy!
