For over 65 years, Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe has been helping people in need. We are the humanitarian aid agency of the Protestant Regional and Free Churches in Germany. Our headquarters are in Berlin. Our principles: The humanitarian mandate has priority. Humanitarian aid is provided irrespective of the skin colour, religious affiliation or nationality of the recipient and with no exclusion whatsoever. Humanitarian aid is not used to promote any specific political or religious standpoint. We ensure that we are not instrumentalised for the foreign policy of governments. We respect culture and customs. We attempt to build disaster response on local capacities. We ensure the participation of programme beneficiaries in the implementation of support measures. Our emergency relief seeks to reduce future disaster vulnerability and fulfil basic needs. We are equally accountable to the beneficiaries of our assistance and to the providers of our relief resources. In our information, public relations and advertising activities, we depict disaster victims as partners with human dignity and not as objects of sympathy.