History

The group was set up as the ‘Third World Group’ around 1976 by Ian McGregor and Terry Lane. It was inspired in part by a CTS booklet, ‘One Parish – One World’ – published in 1974 about the experience of a Midlands parish on making a practical response to the Pope’s appeal in Populorum Progressio to all Christians to ‘open the paths which lead to mutual assistance among peoples, to a deepening of human knowledge, to a more brotherly way of living with a truly universal human society’. For many years, relatively small amounts were given to needy causes to further the group’s objectives. In 1999, it was agreed that it would be of more benefit to both the benefactors and donors, if projects were selected which were funded over a 12 to 18 month period. Such a time range allowed not only for larger projects, but also enabled more information to be provided to parishioners which showed exactly what their money was being used for and the practical outcome of each project. While the time taken to fund most recent projects has fallen, the Group has increased its emphasis on obtaining feedback, which as well as enabling better assessment of project outcomes, also aids future project selection.