About Witness for Peace

History
WFP was founded in 1983, as the Contra War raged in Nicaragua. We established an ongoing presence there and sent U.S. citizens to accompany the Nicaraguan people in war zones and to document the “human face” of the Reagan Administration’s military policy. WFP led the way in bringing the brutal facts of those policies home to the U.S. public through grassroots education and large-scale media outreach. During this initial period, WFP established its successful model of merging the powerful forces of on-the-ground documentation, assertive media strategies, a dynamic delegations program, and stateside grassroots mobilization. 

Through the years, WFP has answered prophetic calls to accompany people most affected by harmful U.S. policies and corporate practices. Currently, our Witness has a permanent presence in Nicaragua, Mexico, and Colombia. We also have a visible presence in Bolivia and Venezuela. We document the human costs of unfair trade and military policy, transform U.S. citizens who travel with us to our sites, and mobilize a motivated grassroots network of nonviolent, and often faith-based activists who hold policymakers accountable and work for positive change. 

In the past twenty-five years, WFP developed and maintained an energized nationwide base of 15,000 members, sent more than 10,000 people to Latin America and the Caribbean on short-term transformative delegations, and sustained a highly skilled team of international volunteers in our program sites abroad. 

To see some of Witness for Peace's historical highlights from our first 20 years, click here.

All members of Witness for Peace are expected uphold our ideals as expressed in the following covenant.

Read our Annual Report(pdf format)