terre des hommes

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Logo of terre des hommes

The children's aid organization Terre des Hommes ([ tɛʀdeˈzɔm ], French for “earth of the people”) was founded in 1960 by the Swiss journalist Edmond Kaiser in Lausanne ( Switzerland ). The name was inspired by the book of the same name by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry . The foundation was under the influence of the Algerian War , and as part of the first aid program, Algerian children were cared for in refugee camps.

Several legally independent and autonomous organizations exist under the same name and work together under the umbrella of the Terre des Hommes International Federation (TDHIF). All of them work in international child and development cooperation. They fight against malnutrition , child labor , child trafficking , child prostitution , abuse as child soldiers , discrimination and injustice in world trade, and they campaign for children's rights . The individual organizations also provide immediate aid in the event of a crisis or disaster.

TDHIF

In 1966 the national Terre des Hommes organizations merged to form the International Terre des Hommes Federation - today the Terre des Hommes International Federation - based in Geneva . Today the federation has nine sections from Denmark, Germany, France, Italy, Canada, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Spain, which are currently carrying out 933 development and humanitarian aid projects in 65 countries. A total of 329 people are employed in the European offices and, without the employees of the partner organizations, 1,550 people in the respective project countries. The budget in 2008 was 109,883,231 euros, more than 67% of which came from private sources (as of 2010).

TDHIF is an advisory member of the United Nations Economic and Social Council ECOSOC .

Germany

terre des hommes Germany
25 years of tdh Germany: special postage stamp from 1992

Terre des Hommes - Help for children in need e. V. was founded on January 8, 1967 in Stuttgart under the influence of the Vietnam War by committed people on the initiative of the typesetter Lutz Beisel. The aim of the first action was to save injured Vietnamese children and to provide medical care in German hospitals.

The headquarters of the federal office is in Osnabrück . There are volunteers in around 145 cities in Germany who are organized in local working groups. The organization bears the donation seal of the German Central Institute for Social Issues (DZI). The association is also a signatory of the Transparent Civil Society Initiative .

The association currently supports around 400 projects in 32 countries with over 16 million euros and is represented with its own regional offices in Thailand , India , Bolivia , Nicaragua and Mozambique . In addition to specific child aid, the association tries to sensitize the public, politics and business to development and humanitarian issues through campaigns and lobbying.

The association is a member of Attac , TransFair , the Federal Association of Unaccompanied Minors Refugees e. V. , the world trade campaign Justice Now! as well as the Association of Development Policy of German Non- Governmental Organizations ( VENRO ) and the Alliance Development Helps . Until 2010 he was a member of the action alliance Landmine.de .

Switzerland

The original organization appears in Switzerland under the name Terre des Hommes Schweiz / Suisse and is a connection of Terre des Hommes Switzerland with headquarters in Basel and Geneva .

Terre des Hommes Switzerland

Terre des Hommes Switzerland (TDHS) supports around 60 projects in Central, South America and Africa. Terre des Hommes Switzerland works with local non-governmental organizations . The focus is on working with young people, they are the main contact group of TDHS. The main focus of the work is violence prevention, psychosocial support and youth participation. For example, young people in rural areas are developing a livelihood as an alternative to migration; Children and young people affected by HIV and AIDS receive psychosocial support; Widows and orphans' rights are strengthened; The abuse and exploitation of underage domestic workers is combated and youth centers in a refugee camp create prospects for the young people. The association advocates equal opportunities between the sexes and gender-equitable politics. It is just as important that the young people have a say and the right to make decisions in the projects.

The focus of project and information work in Switzerland is on raising awareness. This includes our own development campaigns and information projects as well as the support of cooperation and / or actions of other organizations. Awareness-raising projects against racism and violence are developed and carried out together with young people.

A good 80 percent of the funds used come from around 50,000 private donors. A small part is made up of contributions from foundations, the federal government, cantons, municipalities and parishes as well as Swiss Solidarity . The association has been in possession of the ZEWO Foundation's seal of approval since 1988 . Terre des Hommes Switzerland is also a member of the Swiss Climate Alliance .

Terre des Hommes Foundation

Terre des hommes - aide à l'enfance
Terre des hommes in Afghanistan

Different views on the organizational structure and the developmental orientation led to the departure of a group around the founder Edmond Kaiser from Terre des Hommes Switzerland / Suisse in 1972. They set up the Terre des Hommes Foundation - Children's Aid in Lausanne . In its charter , Kaiser explains the foundation, its mission and its basic values.

Over the years, Tdh has made a name for itself in two specialist areas: in healthcare on the one hand and in child protection on the other. In countries such as Algeria , Myanmar , Afghanistan and Peru , the Terre des hommes Foundation runs projects in more than 30 countries and improves the lives of more than 1.4 million children and their families. Tdh not only carries out development projects such as those to improve the sustainable treatment of children in Benin or to combat malnutrition in Bangladesh , but also provides emergency aid in Sri Lanka , which was devastated by the tsunami, or in Haiti , which was badly affected by the earthquake in January 2010 was hit.

The implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is one of the core areas of TDH's activities. The Foundation regards the plea for children's rights, their defense and dissemination as their main task. In 1999 the foundation joined the TDHIF. In 2002 the foundation received the French State Human Rights Prize. Every year over CHF 50 million flow into their projects in Africa , Asia , Latin America and Eastern Europe .

There is also the Terre des Hommes Valais association based in Monthey , which runs a children's home in Massongex .

Terre des Hommes Netherlands

Stichting Terre des Hommes supports 297 projects in 22 countries. These projects were initiated and implemented by local organizations. The association supports national and international campaigns to defend children's rights all over the world, which is why they are directly related to the problems of the local population. For example, they offer evening courses for children who work during the day and physical education for disabled children. The Sweetie project received special media attention , in which a research group pretended to be a 10-year-old girl from the Philippines on the Internet, thereby highlighting the extent of sexual violence in chats and other platforms. From this a campaign was developed that calls for a proactive police strategy against online child sex tourism. Using the virtual identity Sweetie, the researchers contacted over 10,000 men within ten weeks, most of whom had sexual interests. 1,000 of them could be identified and in Australia there was an initial conviction on this basis.

Spain

Tierra de Hombres España is a non-profit foundation and a member of the International Terre des Hommes Federation , whose aim is to help the poorest children in the world directly. The association supports various direct aid programs for children in various countries in Africa, Latin America and Eastern Europe in the social and educational sectors as well as in the field of children's rights and the health of mother and child. In Spain the association is running an awareness campaign called Stop al Tráfico de Niños , which aims to combat all forms of child exploitation. With the Viaje hacia la Vida program, the association also does important work in the field of medical help for children from various African countries.

France

The association Terre des Hommes France (TDHF) defines itself today as a non-governmental organization for international solidarity, which works for the implementation of a sustainable, socially just and justifiable ecological and economic development in the north and south. In this capacity, THDF, together with local partner organizations, focuses on the promotion and defense of economic, social and cultural rights. The aim is to develop the local population and to integrate their rights into national legislation and to respect them in everyday life.

Luxembourg

The association Terre des Hommes Luxembourg (TDHL) is a non-governmental organization in Luxembourg. TDHL was founded on July 10, 1966 as a non-profit organization and is a member of the International Terre des Hommes Federation. The aim of TDHL is to improve the situation of children in the poor areas of Central and Latin America and to defend the rights of children. In 2017, the Board of Directors consists of nine members who work exclusively on a free basis. The main source of income are donations. These donations are invested integrally in projects. The Luxembourg state triples or quadruples its own funds.

Children's radio play award

Terre des Hommes initiated the Terre des Hommes Children's Radio Play Prize in 1985 . Since 1994 it has been called the German Children's Radio Play Prize .

Similar organizations

  • The association Terre des Femmes - human rights for women e. V. was named after Terre des hommes .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Information from the IFTDH homepage
  2. Archived copy ( Memento from February 9, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
  3. www.transparency.de ( Memento from September 5, 2017 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on March 6, 2014
  4. Sweetie. youtube, accessed June 4, 2015 .
  5. ^ Sweetie: First conviction in Australia. Terre des hommes, accessed October 22, 2014 .