There are over 20 million refugees and internally displaced people in the world today. Their circumstances vary dramatically from those who don't have sufficient food, shelter, access to health care and education for their children to those who live in fear for their lives.

Unfortunately, refugees and internally displaced people often find themselves unable to return home
for many years, if at all. These people can often be forgotten by the world and left to get on with their lives as best they can. For over 20 years International Refugee Trust has a successful history of supporting projects for refugees and internally displaced people around the world, many of whom have been forgotten by the international community.

IRT was established in 1989 by an Irish Missionary Priest under the name "International Refugee Year Trust" and Mother Teresa of Calcutta was one of its first a patrons. The organisation was meant to exist only for a year, yet more than 20 years later we are still going strong.

IRT has strong links with local partners in the many countries where we work. Through these partners we find out what exaactly the local demands for development are. All our projects are run by local people. IRT staff members visit the projects as often as they can to ensure that our funding is being used effectively and to discuss the issues that need to be addressed next.

This way, our projects can take advantage of the local knowledge of our regional partners as well as IRT's fundraising efforts.