by Good Shepherd International Foundation
In a year shaped by compounding crises, shrinking development aid, and deepening global disorientation, the Good Shepherd International Foundation and Good Shepherd global network chose not to retreat but to deepen their commitment to the communities they serve. Rooted in the almost 400-year-old mission of the Congregation and inspired by Pope Francis’s call for co-responsibility, GSIF’s work reaffirmed that meaningful change is never delegated from above. It is built from the ground up, by sisters, partners, and communities united in shared purposes.
As GSIF President Hubert Janssen reminded the community gathered for the online presentation of the report on July 8, 2026, this is an invitation extended to everyone in the Good Shepherd family – sisters, staff, donors, and partners – to embrace “co-responsibility in creating and putting into place new processes and changes,” in the words of Pope Francis’s Fratelli Tutti. “We can start from below,” he continued, quoting the encyclical, “and, case by case, act at the most concrete and local levels, and then expand to the farthest reaches of our countries and our world… Yet let us not do this alone, as individuals.”
This vision lies at the heart of GSIF’s role as a partner-in-mission, entrusted with enabling the Congregation’s programs in the most impoverished areas of the world, promoting a global culture of justice, and building the connections that allow Good Shepherd partners to generate lasting change.
In 2025, that commitment translated into 179 supported projects reaching over 153,000 individuals, primarily women and children, across 34 countries.
From Lebanon’s emergency and long-term development response for displaced women and girls and their families, to Indonesia’s listening-first approach securing rights for children in marginalized situations, to Nepal’s survivor-centered anti-trafficking work that repatriated 348 individuals, each intervention GSIF supported adapted to local realities while remaining anchored in a strong conviction: that every person deserves dignity, protection, and hope.
These figures sit alongside others that speak to the depth of the 2025 year’s work: 21,742 women and girls accessed services addressing domestic violence, trafficking, and sexual abuse — the highest figure ever recorded by GSIF — while humanitarian assistance reached over 50,000 people, nearly twice as many as the previous year, sustained by the continuity of sisters and local partner networks present and trusted in the communities they serve long before any crisis strikes.
As GSIF Director Cristina Duranti reflected during the presentation of the report, drawing on Pope Leo’s Magnifica Humanitas, a civilization of love is not built through spectacular gestures but through “the sum of small, steadfast acts of human fidelity.” Our donors and solidarity partners, like many Congregational Units, embody this truth daily. Their generosity extends far beyond material aid: it is an act of spiritual and moral resistance against dehumanization, restoring vital relationships and standing as a powerful counter-narrative to fear and division.
“The numbers in GSIF’s report,” Cristina added, “tell us part, but not all, of the story” because behind every statistic is a woman, a child, a family whose life has been touched and transformed by the accompaniment of the Good Shepherd community.
Across every region, the approach remains the same: walk alongside communities rather than imposing solutions from a distance. In Africa, this meant walking alongside former child miners in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to prove that true resilience requires community accompaniment, empowering them to transform their past trauma into purpose. In Asia, it meant strengthening women’s leadership and organizational capacities through cooperative management training in India, enabling hundreds of women to embrace collective economic empowerment and play a greater role in promoting economic sustainability. In Latin America, it meant accompanying indigenous women in Mexico’s Chiapas highlands as they rebuilt confidence and economic independence: a process that is also, gradually, opening space for more equitable relationships at home and in the community.
In every context, the starting point is listening before acting, where every act of accompaniment becomes an expression of the mission, restoring dignity, hope, and justice to women, children, and marginalized communities. Each person accompanied in their process of transformation and empowerment; each community strengthened, standing as tangible evidence that a different world is possible, and that the Congregation’s mission remains alive.
As the past year is brought into perspective, it becomes clear that the achievements highlighted in the 2025 Annual Report represent far more than measurable outcomes. As reflected in the closing remarks by Sr. Erika Sanchez, GSIF Board member and Congregational Councilor, “they are powerful expressions of the transformative impact of merciful love in action.” As she shared, drawing on the teachings of Saint John Eudes and Saint Mary Euphrasia, “the transformation does not come only from great actions, but also from daily surrender, from the humble service of all those who make this possible.” May this report be, in her words, “more than a record of what has been accomplished — a hymn of thanksgiving for the presence of God, who continues to accompany our mission and to work through so many generous hands.”
Explore the GSIF 2025 Annual Report
