Our Vision
We hold a vision of a world without poverty, a society where each person is respected. Poverty is an affront to human dignity, and people in poverty have unique knowledge and experience that can lower the barriers separating people and communities. ATD Fourth World is a movement that gathers people from all backgrounds and around the world in order to think, act, and live together differently.
Wherever men and women are condemned to live in extreme poverty, human rights are violated. To come together to ensure that these rights be respected is our solemn duty.
– Joseph Wresinski, founder of ATD Fourth World
The violence of extreme poverty, ignorance, deprivation, and contempt isolates people and locks them in silence to the point where they doubt that they are part of the human community. Recognizing the efforts made by people in poverty to ensure that no one is left behind, and combining our strengths to reach out to those still unreached, are essential steps on the path toward overcoming poverty and building peace together and a world without poverty.