• work, under "just and favorable conditions", with the right to form and join trade unions (Articles 6, 7, and 8);
• Social security, including social insurance (Article 9);
• Family life, including paid parental leave and the protection of children (Article 10);
• Adequate standard of living, including adequate food, clothing and housing, and the "continuous improvement of living conditions" (Article 11);
• Health, specifically "the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health" (Article 12);
• Education, including free universal primary education, generally available secondary education, and equally accessible higher education. This should be directed to "the full development of the human personality and the sense of its dignity", and enable all persons to participate effectively in society (Articles 13 and 14);
• Participation in cultural life (Article 15).

These rights as defined by the covenant, provides all individuals of the world the right to create a ‘Life Plan’. An individual’s life plan may include such things as, where they go to school, where they choose to live, whom they marry, what religion they practice, where they work, etc. The effects of oppression in essence alienate an individual from these rights. Most often when people think about oppression they think about one person (or persons) denying another person (or persons) a specific right. But, history teaches us that people can be denied opportunities not just by other people but by events and circumstances. These circumstances may take the form of natural disasters, poverty, general lack of resources, etc. Oppression in its various forms can in effect disable a person. A common disability is depression. A depressed person simply cannot see a better future. While in a depressed state, offers for help and assistance can go unnoticed or unused.

• Wikipedia
• Gauri, Varun; Social Rights and Economics: Claims to Health Care and Education in Developing Countries, World Bank, 2003
• Benderly, Beryl Lieff; Overlooked and Undertreated: Mental Health Care Is a Major Unmet Need in Countries Around the World

As shown in the figure above, a disastrous event can inject a person into a vicious cycle of poverty and depression. This cycle is passed on to the succeeding generations unless there is a break in the cycle. The break in the cycle can be brought about by an individual who is strong enough to overcome the oppressing forces or by external agencies that help an individual neutralize the effects of the oppression. The external agencies that seek to intervene in these situations will have to consider the various economic, cultural and political forces in play.

Profugo seeks to be such an external agency that helps individuals break out of oppressive cycles and facilitate progressive improvement.