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UMCOR's mission is to assist in socio-economic development and eradicating poverty during Armenia's transition to a healthy and wealthy civil society.
UMCOR was formed by The United Methodist Church in 1940 to alleviate human suffering caused by World War II. In subsequent decades, it became UMCOR's mandate to assist people in need in situations resulting from natural or manmade disasters, addressing three fundamental areas:
- emergency response,
- hunger and poverty, and
- refugee concerns.
UMCOR is headquartered in New York City. It has two units. One UMCOR works in the United States and approximately 90 other countries. The second unit, its non-government organization (NGO), works internationally where needed. Nowadays UMCOR initiates programs geared towards development and capacity building, addressing the roots of hunger and poverty, and provides beneficiaries with the opportunity to become self-reliant.
The NGO unit, of which UMCOR Armenia is a part, was established in 1993. It operates as a professional humanitarian agency and is funded largely through grants from U.S. and European government institutions, the United Nations and private donors. At present UMCOR NGO directly implements programs in 11 countries worldwide, including Georgia and Armenia in the Caucasus region. In 2008, its office in Azerbaijan closed and transitioned into a local NGO.
UMCOR established offices in Armenia in August 1994. Initially, it focused on the distribution of pharmaceuticals to health institutions and clinics. Gradually the organization transitioned from relief to more developmental activities including the provision of medium-size agricultural loans; agricultural inputs; micro-credit; HIV/AIDS, TB and STI work; anti-trafficking of humans; cheese donations to feed vulnerable people at Armenian institutions; sustainable milk and honey production at government institutions to provide children and the elderly with better nutrition; and other programs you can read about on this Web site.