FRANCAISSecours populaire français - Comments
1) The mission
-The SPF works mainly in France, where it helps the underprivileged and victims of natural disasters. Registered as a people’s education association since 1984, the SPF backs the holidays of poor children. This is why its public utility is recognized in 1985, and it gains the status of a “national cause” in 1991, 1994 and 1997. With allegedly 70,000 organizers, its network is powerful and divided into 98 departmental and professional federations, 699 committees and 4,000 branches that meet as a Congress every two years.
-Since the 1990s, the proportion of international programmes represents between 10 and 20% of the SPF budget (13% in 2000, 14% in 2001, 10% in 2002) and its amount is on the rise thanks to European Union funds. As far as emergencies are concerned, the SPF organizes distributions with local partners and visiting members to check the job. When possible, it prefers to buy local food rather than have it imported from France. Regarding development actions, the SPF also wishes to leave the natives administer their projects. In that prospect, it tries not to send expatriates, but rather to work with local partners, particularly with homonymous, though independent, associations in Belgium, Lebanon, Morocco, Burkina Faso, Chile (El Soccoro Popular) and Germany (Volkssolidarität).
