[2] People in Need was founded in 1992 by Šimon Pánek, a leading student activist during the Velvet Revolution, and by Jaromír Štětina, a war correspondent who focussed on conflict in the former Soviet Union.

In order to deliver relief aid and development assistance, PIN works to create a tolerant, open society and mobilises public support.

PIN has established major projects in Afghanistan (irrigation, local schools), Sri Lanka (since the 2004 earthquake), Pakistan (reconstruction after the 2005 earthquake in Pakistani part of Kashmir), Angola and Ethiopia (construction of schools), Namibia (help for people suffering HIV/AIDS), Romania and Serbia (endorse groups of ethnic Czechs settled there for generations) and several other countries.

[8] In 2008, missions were implemented by PIN in Myanmar (relief and recovery operations after Cyclone Nargis) and the DR Congo (support for victims of rape and sexual violence).

In recent years PIN has been providing aid to civilians caught up in the armed conflict in the East of Ukraine and the civil war in Syria.

PIN has provided assistance to people in more than 50 countries across Europe, Asia and Africa, including DR Congo, Ethiopia, Angola, Mongolia, Cambodia and Romania.

Focusing on securing basic living needs (water, health, education, nutrition) and promoting social programmes, local business development, and supporting civil society and good governance.

In Afghanistan, PIN began operating in 2001 after the fall of the Taliban, focusing on addressing long-term problems of livelihood, education and local community development.

People in Need — which has been working in Ukraine since 2003 — immediately organised humanitarian aid for the areas affected by the attacks on the first day of the armed conflict.

[13] In response to the unfolding humanitarian crisis People in Need launched a website Pomáhej Ukrajině[14] (Help Ukraine) with the intention of pairing offer with demand in cooperation with non-government organisations working with migrants.

It helps in poorer areas by providing social outreach projects, namely housing advice, advisory service for debtors, and limiting unemployment.

In the past years, PIN has offered jobs, legal counseling, tutoring, social service assistance, police apparatus, and encouraged meaningful leisurely activities for children.

Families of political prisoners, from harshly repressive regimes such as Myanmar and Cuba, are provided with financial and humanitarian assistance as well as moral support.

It provides direct financial, humanitarian and moral support to the families of political prisoners in harshly repressive regimes, which is largely funded by the Friends of People in Need Club.

[17] The organization is involved in various activities aimed at raising awareness of human rights violations around the world and finding broader public and political support for their protection.

A major part of PIN's work is advocacy for dissidents, opposition activists, and the development of a civil society in countries controlled by authoritarian regimes.

[18] The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic Tomáš Petříček commented on this step, saying that he considered it absurd and demanded an explanation.

[19] Educational programmes focus on students and teachers in Czech primary and secondary schools, universities, and other professional groups (such as employees at employment centers or the police).

Long and short-term campaigns are implemented in film screenings, discursive evenings, creative competitions, and trips for journalists who address specific issues such as development cooperation (Rozvojovka, Stop child labor).

Campaigns include public actions and projects involving the gathering of information and materials on migration and foreigners living in the Czech Republic.

PIN publishes what calls the 'Predator Index',[21] a ranking of companies that provide unguaranteed loans, with inappropriate terms and conditions for the debtor.

One World Film Festival Every year, People in Need organizes the largest human rights film festival in Europe, held in Prague, Czech Republic, called One World (Czech: Jeden Svět),[22] which received honorable reference for its work on education of human rights by UNESCO in 2007.

People in Need further presents the Homo Homini Award to a person who conduced a significant contribution towards the protection of human rights and non-violent promotion of democracy.