ABOUT INCARE
Introduction
History
Personnel
How to Give
The History of Incare
Since its inception in 1985, Incare has sought to serve the members of the Assemblies of God in the area of emergency relief, both through the collection of aid - food, clothing, medicines - and through the raising of funds to purchase goods closer to the scene of the emergency.

To date those churches have given in excess of £1.7 million, as well as several hundreds of tonnes of physical aid, which has been distributed by Missionaries, Pastors and local churches in the vicinity.

Victims of earthquakes, floods, hurricanes and cyclones, not to mention wars and despotic authorities, have all been responded to, and we can claim to have assisted people in over 40 countries worldwide, all due to the generosity of the people of God within our Fellowship.

Initially in the form of physical goods, aid was sent via container or, in special circumstances, by air, then by lorry to Eastern Europe, each method being costly and time-consuming. However, times and circumstances have changed as have our methods of assisting those in need.

It is no longer cost-effective to collect and send physical aid and because of this, Incare has taken the decision not to be involved with transportation of goods any more. Of course there will always be some exceptions, but nowadays we endeavour to raise finance to buy at source, especially now that many of these countries are starting to get back on their feet and need our hard currency. Consequently all our recent appeals have been for money and our members have all responded with an amazing generosity.

Incare serves just a small group of people, some 35,000, and is directly accountable to those same people. This is something that Incare takes very seriously and always tries to obtain evidence of where and how the money raised has been used.

In the case of Eastern Europe, we would try to be present at distribution and take the relevant photos or videos. For countries further afield, where we cannot justify the cost of travel, we rely on those on the ground to provide us with the proof we need. This can sometimes prove difficult as, more often than not, cameras are not available and here we ask for written evidence such as receipts etc.

This, of course, all takes time and the post from remote areas is not very reliable; however, just lately, we have been blessed by something which has revolutionised both our response to emergencies and our ability to be more accountable. The Internet and the e-mail service has enabled us to be informed immediately of an emergency and to pass on that information to a good percentage of our churches just as quickly. This has speeded up the process of raising funds and passing them on in a very short space of time.

We have also been able to receive pictures of the results of the giving which have been an encouragement to our fellowships. This new technology, often looked upon as evil because of its misuse, has proved a true God-send to Incare and has brought us great benefits, allowing us to serve our members more efficiently and effectively and given us the ability to get the help to where it's needed when it's needed.