DEDRAS is a Benin Christian organization active since 1979 and officially registered in July 2002 with the government of Benin. It is a humanitarian and development NGO whose mission is "to serve with vocation and professionalism the cause of disadvantaged people as God's creatures for the realization of their rights and their integral development while developing synergies to concretize innovations that make these communities enterprising".

DEDRAS aspires to be "an innovative Christian Development Organization that promotes social justice and contributes to the empowerment of disadvantaged communities for the realization of their integral well-being". The areas of expertise of the NGO covers various thematic areas namely: education, child protection, community and reproductive health, nutrition, food security, peace/security and humanitarian action.

The NGO's interventions cover 8 of the 12 departments and 54 of the 77 communes of Benin and also operates in Togo Republic. DEDRAS also has a framework agreement with the government of Benin and enjoys a privileged partnership with it. DEDRAS is also member of various networks and alliances of NGOs working in the same fields.

These include: the West African Regional Alliance (WARA); The Network of Structures for the Protection of Children in Difficult Circumstances (ReSPESD), the Global Network of civil society organizations for Disaster Reduction (GNDR); the Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture and Food in Africa (ADAA); the Nutrition Practitioner Group/UNICEF...etc.