The Federation of Evangelical Religious Entities of Spain (FEREDE) presented the data of the report of Protestant social action in 2022.

“In terms of economic and human resources invested, as well as the number of people assisted, evangelical social action as a whole would be among the largest NGOs in our country, only behind the Spanish Red Cross, the Roman Catholic Church, the Spanish Commission for Refugee Aid and the Spanish Association against Cancer”, said the councillor for social action of FEREDE, Joan David Grimà.

Over 83 million euros invested

Over 35,800 volunteers cared for more than 1,843,000 people in need in 2022, just over half of them (932,912) in Spain, and the rest in other countries.

According to the report, the groups they assisted are: children and families; migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers; women; young people; the elderly; those with disabilities; those with addiction problems; and prisoners, ex-prisoners and their families, among others.

All this work was carried out by 3,340 entities, 1,493 of which were local evangelical churches.

In total, over 83,408,000 euros were invested, of which more than half (54.4%) came from donations.

On the front line of social action

Diaconia Spain, the social entity of FEREDE, is one of the 10 most important entities out of the 24 that cooperate with the Spanish government in the International Protection system.

It has also been distinguished by the Spanish security forces for its work in the fight against human trafficking, and has several cutting-edge social projects, including one recently set up on suicide prevention, which will become a reference in Spain.

Public recognition

FEREDE publicly distinguished the work of 44 evangelical social entities, chosen for their impact at local, national and/or international level.

The awards recognised “the exceptional dedication and commitment in social work to impact and transform lives, which has improved and given hope to the most vulnerable. This is a reminder that real change comes from acts of kindness”.

Around 150 guests (including political and religious authorities, evangelical pastors, and leaders of Protestant denominations) attended the event, co-chaired by the executive secretary of FEREDE, Carolina Bueno, and Joan David Grimà.

There were also real testimonies of people who had been rescued from drugs, marginalisation, human trafficking and prison, thanks to the solidarity action of some of the entities present at the event.