Woord en Daad has a rich history spanning more than 40 years. Woord en Daad was established in 1973 by a small group of enthusiastic and motivated Dutch Christians, led by entrepeneur Ivo ‘t Lam. They wanted to meet the enormous material and spiritual need of people in developing countries. The entrepreneurial mindset of Mr. ‘t Lam is something that has never left the DNA of Woord en Daad.
Mission
Our original mission was: a Biblical responsibility to fight poverty. This mission to help ethnic groups and communities, regardless of race or colour is based on Galatians 6:10, a bibleverse with great significance for Mr. ‘t Lam: ‘As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith’.
Changes of the organization
Since 1973, Woord en Daad has grown from a small initiative into a professional, international organization. During the first three years, Woord en Daad worked on small, incidental projects. Subsequently, Woord en Daad’s working area grew immensely following the earthquake in Guatemala. Woord en Daad started financial adoption and the focus on emergency relief decreased. Instead, projects and programmes acquired a more prominent role within Woord en Daad.
Due to Woord en Daad’s growth, a central office was established in 1980. Since then Woord en Daad has grown further in terms of both size and professionalization. This is evident from the quality standards that Woord en Daad holds, such as the ISO 9001 certificate. Woord en Daad partners with many organizations throughout the world and has developed high standards of reporting due to the many grants it receives from public bodies and private funds.