The success of the work of International Peace Initiatives comes from an understanding of the local context, local people and the international donor world and how these three factors have led to the failure of the development ‘story’ to create sustainable change in the lives of people.

The failure of mainstream development is a result of ‘empowerment without a heart.’ Modern day aid-driven development perpetuates a dependency mindset in people.  Mainstream development has not worked because people are taught how to fish but are given the wrong tools so that when they fail, they are blamed – blame-the-victim syndrome! In addition, the context within which the ‘fishing’ takes place is not addressed or considered.