Reaching the unreached

Research by the University of Amsterdam (Prof. Ton Dietz, Dr. Anika Altaf) in which we participated, revealed that most development initiatives reach the poor but often fail to reach the poorest of the poor- despite this being the explicit aim of many programmes. This realisation has served as a wake-up call for Woord en Daad, prompting us to focus more intentionally on reaching the poorest of the poor. This diverse group is often characterised by a combination of material, relational, and cognitive poverty, making them highly vulnerable and frequently excluded, often unintentionally, from development initiatives.

These often excluded groups include geographically isolated people, those excluded from services due to gender-related and culturally embedded norms, including people with disabilities and exploited children. We have learned the importance of intentionality in combating exclusion and ensuring that all individuals within the communities we work have access to our initiatives. This requires setting specific goals and assessing which exclusion risks are relevant in each context. To this end, we conduct exclusion risks assessments to identify groups at risk of exclusion and develop targeted strategies to include them more effectively, while also monitoring the success of such strategies. Conducting exclusion risks assessments together with our partners increases awareness of this problem and strengthens the collective commitment to addressing it. Our current efforts to prevent exclusion are particularly focused on gender-related issues, people with disabilities and exploited children, working in close collaboration with national and international expert organisations, local churches and community organisations to reach these underserved populations.

Recommended reading: Annual progress report on our focal policy themes

For years, Woord en Daad has focused on Reaching the Unreached, identifying and engaging communities that remain excluded from opportunities, services, and decision-making. This focus remains essential. Yet exclusion is rarely solved by access alone. Lasting change requires more than reaching people. It requires listening to them, learning with them, and creating space for their voices to shape the solutions that affect their lives.

With the policy paper Engaging Grassroots Voices, Woord en Daad deepens its commitment to meaningful participation in and between North and South. We recognise people and communities, in the Netherlands and worldwide, as active agents of change with knowledge, dignity, and leadership of their own. Their lived experiences provide critical insight into poverty, injustice, and exclusion, and into what sustainable solutions truly look like.

Engaging grassroots voices means investing in long-term relationships, strengthening grassroots organisations, facilitating dialogue within and between communities, and ensuring that those most affected are involved throughout the full project cycle. It also means connecting local realities to policy and decision-making spaces, so development grows from within societies rather than being imposed upon them.