Our founding members all had years of experience working in disaster zones prior to establishing EDV. That experience has guided EDV's growth and translated into several primary strengths that make EDV a worthy investment of your time and money.
We are committed to long term, sustainable recovery
There are many disaster response organisations in the world, but most of them focus on providing initial relief. That relief saves countless lives every year and is vitally important. However, communities also need on-going recovery aid to keep them from falling into a cycle of poverty caused by losing their homes and/or livelihoods to disaster. These long term needs can sometimes be neglected, leaving a gap once initial aid organisations leave. We aim to fill that gap.
We work directly with disaster survivors and local NGOs
By involving disaster survivors and local NGOs in every part of our project planning and execution we can develop projects meet survivor's real needs and produce results that will continue to change lives long after we leave.
We don't charge volunteers
You shouldn't have to pay for the "privilege" of volunteering. Your gifts of time and energy are enough on their own. If you volunteer in a disaster zone, you will be asked to pay for your own travel and living expenses, but you'll never be asked to pay any form of registration or participation fee. We'll also do all we can to keep your living expenses as low as possible.
We aim to raise awareness about how choices at home affect disasters worldwide
We think that a wider understanding of disasters is essential to affecting long term change both on deployment and at home. In particular, we believe that understanding how climate change affects disasters is essential to protecting millions of people around the world. Check out our disaster awareness section to see the full story.
Our policies, principles and practices are freely available
We strive for transparency so that our volunteers, funders and the world at large will be able to see what we’re all about and help shape our future. We’re always open to new ideas and constructive criticism.
We value volunteers working from home as much as those on the frontline
Our experiences on prior deployments have shown us that volunteers forwarding fundraising emails or updating documents on their home computer keep volunteers abroad working. Both types of volunteer are essential to our operations and will be treated accordingly.
