European Disaster Volunteers (EDV) is a volunteer driven, England and Wales registered charity that works with communities worldwide which have been affected by or are vulnerable to disaster. Our goals are to help survivors achieve sustainable recovery and build more resilient communities both before and after disaster.
Our origins are European but our approach is global — we welcome all volunteers and donors whatever their nationality. Our inclusive model allows you to commit whatever it is you have to give — be it a few days out of the month at home, a few Euros, or your work on deployment — directly to those who need it most.
EDV was founded in September 2008 by a group of experienced disaster responders led by Andy Chaggar. Andy is a survivor of the 2004 Asian tsunami who holds a Master’s degree in social policy and development with a focus on disasters. Read more »
Between June 2010 and December 2011, EDV welcomed 190 volunteers from 18 counties. The age of those volunteers ranged from 18 to 69. We welcomed volunteers from as far afield as Indonesia and as close to home as Port au Prince. Read more »
Our mission statement is our cornerstone and acts as our guide. Our operating principles elaborate on the mission statement by addressing more specific issues about how EDV will operate on the ground. Unlike the mission statement, the operating principles may need to be periodically reviewed. Read more »
Disasters aren't just natural events — they are natural events interacting with vulnerability. Consider the effects of the earthquakes that struck Chile and Haiti in 2010. The 8.8 earthquake which struck Chile was 500 times stronger than the quake which devastated Haiti. Read more »