AMI was founded in 1984, with Mankind as its main focus. Since 1987, it has intervened in 82 countries, having sent hundreds of volunteers and tonnes of aid (medicines and medical equipment, food, clothes, vehicles, generators, etc.). In the international arena, AMI carries out three large kinds of interventions: Emergency Missions, Development Missions with expatriate teams and International Projects in Partnership with Local Organizations, aiming to adjust its operation to the characteristics and needs of the context, and with that in mind, assuming a phased intervention. The ultimate goal is always the sustainability of the development process.
From 1994 onward, aware of the situation in Portugal, AMI has widened its reach, aiming to minimize the effects of poverty and social exclusion within national territory. Thus, it currently has 15 Social Facilities and Responses throughout the country, namely 9 Porta Amiga Centres (Lisbon – Olaias and Chelas, Porto, Almada, Cascais, Funchal, Coimbra, Vila Nova de Gaia and Angra do Heroísmo); 2 Night Shelters (Lisboa e Porto); 2 Street Teams (Lisbon and Vila Nova de Gaia/Porto); 1 Domiciliary Care Service (Lisbon) and 1 food reception hub (Porto).
A third dimension of AMI´s ongoing work is promoting an active citizenship in the fields of associativism, training or the environment, fostering the active participation of young people and adults in real world projects.