Empowering women

At the heart of social transformation

The year 2023 at the Roncalli International Foundation was marked by events that were about reconnecting with those who make our mission possible and making new connections with all those who want to join us in building a world of humanity. Members of the Foundation’s team made field visits to meet with partners and see the results of projects that were financed.

In Canada, we pursued our efforts to make the Foundation better known and continued to walk side by side with religious congregations as they plan for the future of their missions overseas.

Our regular programming

As part of the implementation of its 2020-2024 strategic plan, the Roncalli International Foundation launched three new areas of action: the empowerment of women, income generating activities and resilience to climate change. These important updates to our work were based on consultations with our partners, an analysis of the current global context, and the best practices in the international development sector.

In the span of a year, we have seen projects in the area of the empowerment of women grow from 3 in 2022 to 12 in 2023, revealing the resounding relevance of focusing on projects that provide women with opportunities to become more autonomous, participate fully in society and reach their potential.

We recognize that when we invest in women, we invest in the wellbeing of all of society. Thanks to the diligence of our partners and the commitment of our donors, we can support projects that place women at the heart of change!

The reach of our projects by region

The reach of our projects by areas of action

Our dedicated projects

Each year, the Roncalli International Foundation manages a certain number of dedicated projects that are funded by specific donors. These projects are financed through endowment funds, dedicated funds and dedicated donations, creating impactful partnerships based on the vision and commitment of the donor, the expertise and accompaniment of the Foundation and the resourcefulness and determination of the partners in the field.

Many of these funds have been established by religious congregations in order to ensure the continuation of their missions overseas and place their sisters at the heart of social change for the better. The projects supported by these funds contribute to providing essential health services, making education accessible, empowering youth and more, often creating the conditions for raising the standards of living of communities, especially for women.

In 2023, of the 19 dedicated projects:

• 15 were funded through endowment funds: Projects included the purchase of furniture for 11 schools in Haiti; financial support to seminaries and dioceses for the studies of future priests; two water and sanitation projects; and the purchase of materials and resources for a program to encourage the education of at-risk children in Ecuador.
• 4 were funded through dedicated funds: Two projects provided support to two youth leadership centres in Peru that were founded by a Canadian religious congregation. The Foundation was also able to fund one project through its Haiti Assistance Fund and another project to support the members of a Canadian religious congregation in the Philippines.
• 1 was a large-scale infrastructure project: The Foundation signed an agreement with a Canadian religious congregation to manage major renovations of the operating block of a hospital in the Philippines. The project began at the end of 2023 and will continue over the next year.

Financial summary