PCL was founded in 1961. In 1961, a young doctor from San Diego, James Wesley Turpin, had an ambition to live a meaningful life of helping people and learned of a clinic in Tijuana that needed help and there he saved the lives of two small children who were dying of pneumonia. This experience led Turpin to found Project Concern when he realized it took more than one caring doctor in one place. From there he learned of the challenges in Hong Kong and from there he learned of the challenges in Vietnam. He published two books detailing and expanding the commentary on the work. Along the way he was assisted in fundraising for the project and other doctors working in the clinics. Project Concern began to provide services in more and more places - Hong Kong, Vietnam, Appalachia, Navajo lands - with an internationally diverse personnel. And Turpin's work would come to be recognized in later years. In 1974 Turpin gave up being general director of PCI though he's continued to work the same kinds of care in his other endeavors and some of the work, for example in Vietnam, has survived. Turpin continued to help with fundraising for PCI into 2002. PCI is headquartered in San Diego with offices in Washington D.C., and employs more than 900 people around the world, 83 percent of whom are host country nationals. In 2018, PCI impacted the lives of 10 million people around the world.
Projects
Health
In 2018, more than 1.4 million community members participated in peer/self-help groups to improve health and nutrition behaviors. That same year, PCI reached 25,314 orphans and vulnerable children to improve their health and well-being.
Food security
More than 18,135,000 nutritious meals were served to over 220,000 primary school children through PCI's school-based programs in 2018.
Disaster relief
In 2018, 930,172 people benefited from PCI’s risk reduction and resilience programming globally. The organization also completed a post-project sustainability study of post-earthquake relief efforts in Haiti, determining that neighborhood-level infrastructure continued to make a significant impact on the community and its recovery.
Gender related issues
In Botswana and Malawi, PCI is helping adolescent girls develop into resilient, empowered women through the DREAMS program, so they can forge a path to a brighter future. In 2018, over 85,000 new Women Empowered groups totaling 908,298 members were formed. $894,200 was saved by 48,000 active WE members to improve their lives, households and their communities.
