Missionaries working at the forefront of international development

Our members work in 40 countries globally, empowering vulnerable people to achieve a better life through climate resilient livelihoods, access to quality education and healthcare, and by upholding human rights.

Our Impact

In the past year our members transformed 1.13 million lives

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Education

118,807

learners accessed quality education in 33 countries

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Health

983,000

people in 24 countries accessed improved healthcare, clean water and better sanitation

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Livelihoods

71,314

households in 26 countries improved their livelihood opportunities

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Human Rights

1.1 million

million people in 26 countries supported in claiming their rights

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Emergency Assistance

47,000

people in 19 countries received emergency and humanitarian assistance

Where We Work

Our members work in
40 countries around the globe

In the Brazilian State of Paraíba, the Sal da Terra Association, in partnership with the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary, teaches basic reading and writing skills to individuals in a region with one of the highest illiteracy rates in the country. Brazil Zambia
 In Zambia, the Sisters of Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary operate a school that provides quality, inclusive education to children with a range of disabilities. Opened in 1998, the school has become a national centre of excellence and is the only school in the country for deaf blind children. In Gaza, where most people live in extreme poverty, older residents can access free health care through the Caritas Jerusalem Health Project. Operated in partnership with the Franciscan Missionaries of the Divine Motherhood, the project helps elders manage the effects of age-related conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and osteoporosis. Gaza In a high-poverty area outside Lima, the Columban Fathers promote community livelihoods and food security through projects like the Happy Worm collaborative, which buys compost from local growers and packages it for retail purchase by other urban household food producers. Peru The Brickfield School Project, run by the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary Loreto Sisters, provides quality education in their own language to over 2,500 migrant children who travel to the West Bengal region with their families for work each year during the brick making season. India During the COVID-19 crisis, the Jesuit Refugee Service, in partnership with the Irish Jesuits International, distributed re-usable face masks to 1,000 school children and set up 12 hand-washing facilities in communal spaces at a site for refugees in Maban, where there is a high risk of disease due to overcrowding and poor sanitation. South Sudan Kenya The Ruben Health Centre in Nairobi, operated by Edmund Rice Development in partnership with the Christian Brothers East Africa District, is a focal point for community health care in an area where few other clinics exist. Services include essential mother and child wellness care. Uganda In Kampala, small business owners learn how to grow their ideas into self-sustaining enterprises with the help of economic cooperative programmes run by the KADCOS Nsambya Cooperative. With the support of Viatores Christi and Caritas Kampala, the cooperative helps empower the development and growth of entrepreneurs and the local economy. South Africa In Johannesburg, Three2Six (a Marist project) provides education support to refugee and migrant children to help them mainstream into regular public schools. Even during the COVID-19 lockdown the project team ensured the children kept up to date with their learning and provided at-home support such as food and hygiene parcels. Nepal The Community Nutrition Programme in Jiri, Nepal - an area with persistently high rates of childhood malnutrition – runs a kitchen training garden where groups of mothers learn how to cultivate crops to boost their families' nutrition, including ingredients to make a nutrient and protein dense 'Super Flour' for children. The Nutrition Promotion and Consultancy Service (NPCS) runs the project with support from the Church Missionary Society of Ireland (CMSI). Tanzania In Tanzania, community health workers with the Faraja Centre in Singida conduct HIV awareness classes with women in the local community. The project, operated by the Medical Missionaries of Mary delivers health care, medicine, and social support to people living with HIV and AIDS. Thailand The Marist Asia Foundation’s HIV and AIDS project in Ranong helps migrants from neighbouring Myanmar with support for basic health needs, assisting them as they seek a better future for themselves and their children. The project also works on HIV and AIDS awareness and prevention. Paraguay In Paraguay, a project of the Servants of the Holy Spirit worked with indigenous leaders of the Ava Guaraní’s Jejyty Miri community to get out information about the COVID-19 virus and how to stop its spread, including hand washing technique, the use of face masks. Posters were up in local languages and children in the community wrote COVID-19 safety messages on balloons to share with friends and family. Paraguay In Paraguay, a project of the Servants of the Holy Spirit worked with indigenous leaders of the Ava Guaraní’s Jejyty Miri community to get out information about the COVID-19 virus and how to stop its spread, including hand washing technique, the use of face masks. Posters were up in local languages and children in the community wrote COVID-19 safety messages on balloons to share with friends and family.

Focus On

2025 Annual Report

In 2025, Misean Cara supported 344 projects in 40 countries, implemented by 51 of our members, helping to transform the lives of 1.13m people across the Global South.

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Misean Cara
2022-2026
Strategy

Our 2022-2026 strategy builds on the long and distinguished history of Irish missionaries and their work with excluded and vulnerable communities overseas. It is a framework to help prioritise and focus our efforts to enable missionaries to maximise their impact, as we collectively work towards a vision of a better world for the furthest behind.

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The Missionary Approach to Development

What makes the missionary approach to international development unique? It is based on long-term, deep-rooted connections with communities that help missionaries identify, reach and prioritise the furthest behind first.

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Our Supporters

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Misean Cara is grateful for the ongoing support of Irish Aid and our other donors whose generosity enables us to fund the life-transforming projects of our members.

 

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Focus On

Children with Disabilities Programme

A three-year initiative by Misean Cara to strengthen care and advance the rights of children with disabilities across Kenya, Uganda, Zambia and South Africa.

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Focus On

SafeBirth4All - Preventing Obstetric Fistula

Obstetric fistula is one of the most neglected public-health and human-rights realities for women and girls in the global south. The SafeBirth4All campaign aims to raise awareness about its devastating impact on women, and will work to eradicate it through prevention and treatment by 2040.

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Latest News, Blogs & Videos

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Misean Cara on Spirit Radio – 100 years of World Mission Sunday and the enduring tradition of Irish missionary development

In the run up to World Mission Sunday on 18th October, Misean Cara Donor Engagement Manager Jennifer Donovan was interviewed...
04 MISSION SUNDAY 2026

100th anniversary of World Mission Sunday – view live broadcast on RTÉ from Cathedral of the Assumption in Thurles, Co. Tipperary

2026 marks the 100th anniversary of World Mission Sunday. Each year, October is set aside in the Catholic Church as...
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Fe y Alegria

Fe y Alegria. An education project of Edmund Rice Development in Peru. https://vimeo.com/1237655247?fl=pl&fe=sh
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