Vita is a small but very effective Irish not-for-profit organisation founded in 1989, and originally called Refugee Trust International (RTI).

Vita’s vision is to forge long-term international partnerships which bring an end to extreme poverty, reduce vulnerability and increase the sustainability of people’s livelihoods by Building Sustainable Livelihoods.



Our mission is to bring about lasting positive change in the living conditions of poor and marginalised people in our priority countries of Ethiopia, Eritrea and Kenya. We achieve this by developing and supporting income generation activities with marginalised and deprived communities.



At the heart of Vita’s commitment to Building Sustainable Livelihoods in the Horn of Africa, is the core belief that the participation by poor people in the analysis of their own situations is a necessity, as is their inclusion in programme design.