Irish Quaker Faith in Action (IQFA) is a charity of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Ireland that gives practical support in Ireland and across the world with a particular focus on social action, justice, and peace-building. Our work is an active and concrete expression of our Quaker faith, providing support primarily to small projects that may not receive funding from larger charities.
Over the past year, we have supported projects across the globe, including a number in Gaza. Before this most recent conflict—that several international human rights bodies have deemed a genocide—Irish Friends have stood shoulder to shoulder with the people of Gaza. For more than 20 years, through our partners in the Palestine Trauma Centre, Nour Al Marifa Association, the Ethar Centre for Community
Development, the Gaza Christian Mission, as well as well-placed individuals known to Friends, IQFA has helped the people of Gaza survive in conditions described as the world’s largest open-air prison.
Throughout this current phase, Irish Quakers have not been found wanting. We have helped the Palestine Trauma Centre deliver trauma counselling to men, women, children, and families when they needed it most. We have helped displaced people receive food parcels, cash supplements, clothing, and shelter in addition to dedicated learning places for children, when studying was possible. In 2024, when potable water was very scarce in the Nuseirat refugee camp, IQFA helped the Nour Al Marifa Association purchase desalination equipment so that they could supply the surrounding communities with water on a cottage-sized industrial level. The horrors of war have not spared our partners. Each community has suffered dearly: offices and homes have been destroyed, and hundreds of loved ones have been lost. As the calm of the ceasefire takes hold, communities have the chance to take stock of the number of orphans left behind. Friends have contributed to the needs of 50 orphans who have lost siblings and parents within an infrastructure in dire need of our continued support
IQFA has also supported a number of women’s
micro-enterprises via Right Sharing of World
Resources – an independent Quaker NGO sharing the abundance of God’s love by working for equity through partnerships around the
world.
Blood Sister Women’s Group in Kakamega County, Kenya, is just one of these. The group
was formed to promote the economic empowerment of women and vulnerable
members of the community. They have a group project raising poultry and pigs, and each woman also has her own business e.g. small-scale agriculture, a hair salon, tailoring, or selling groceries, snacks and drinks.
Other projects supported by IQFA recently include:
- African Water Fund
- Nyamira Women’s Group, Kenya
- Matumaini Rehabilitation Centre, Kenya
- Deir Mar Musa El-Habashi Community, Syria
- Northern Ireland Together Community Interest Company
Giving a little can help a lot!
Irish Quaker Faith in Action is funded entirely by donations.
Republic of Ireland Registered Charity no. 20019822
Northern Ireland Registered Charity no. 3092
Donate and find out more at www.iqfa.net
Thank you to everyone who donates (once-off or monthly) using the PayPal link on our website.
It’s easy and convenient!
Donations can also be made by Bank Transfer to the IQFA current account at Bank of Ireland, Rathfarnham SC, Dublin 14.
IBAN: IE66 BOFI 9002 0164 1985 89
IQFA would like to receive more applications from projects that have a direct connection with Irish Quakers, including initiatives based in Ireland. For an application form, please email iqfacon@gmail.com