Verein Brücke Le Pont, Fribourg
Brücke Le Pont and its local partner organization initiated the project “Reyes Irene – perspectives for young women without education in Honduras”. Opening better career prospects, the project enables 750 young women to complete their regular school education and/or attend vocational courses. Psychological, medical and legal counselling as well as support in finding work also empower the women. The results are positive, shows a tracer study conducted by Brücke Le Pont in 2022. For example, the incomes of graduates have risen sharply due to the project, thereby improving the living conditions of around 3,000 persons. The women also gain relevant knowledge about labor rights. This gives them greater negotiating power and means that they no longer allow themselves to be exploited
Kamboo Project, Zurich
Every child has the right to a quality education, which includes access to drinking water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) during school hours. Children spend a significant part of their day at school, where WASH services can impact the learning, health and dignity of students, especially girls. The inclusion of WASH in schools in the UN Sustainable Development Goal No. 6 represents an increasing recognition of its importance as a key component of a “safe, non-violent, inclusive and effective learning environment” and as part of “universal” access to WASH, emphasizing the need for WASH outside the home.
Guided by the expertise of two German environmental scientists who were our guests in 2017/2018, Kamboo Project's local team has developed a hygiene program for elementary school that will benefit children in the long term. This is branded "SHIP"-School Hygiene Improvement Program. This hygiene program is fully aligned with the health education framework of the Department of Education (DoE) of the province concerned and was successfully implemented in 2020-2023 at the first nine elementary school in Prasat Bakong district and is now being followed up.
Fondazione Conservatorio della Svizzera Italiana, Lugano
The University of Music at the Conservatorio is distinguished by a strong international focus, as evidenced by the number of faculty and staff from around the world and the high percentage of students from over 40 different countries. The limited number of students (200 places in the Bachelor and Master programs) undoubtedly makes the personalized approach possible, a fact reflected in the practice of accepting written work not only in Italian but also in English, German, and French.
The Fondazione Conservatorio della Svizzera italiana manages, in addition to the University of Music, affiliated with SUPSI, a Department School of Music with 1400 students, and a Pre-College Department with 50 places. All three departments operate with a limited number of places or, in the case of the School of Music, at least through a planned number. While the University of Music offers a window to the world, the amateur section of the School of Music serves the local population, particularly the youth of our Region. The Pre-College, on the other hand, acts as an incubator of talent and a link between the the School of Music and the University of Music.
North-West University, South-Africa
The Ikateleng project spans the North West, Gauteng, Northern Cape, and Free State provinces, reaching over 1,200 talented Grade 10 to 12 learners from more than 65 high schools per year . This initiative is not just about education; it aims to level the playing field and enable these students to rise above their circumstances and achieve greatness.
At the heart of Ikateleng are its dedicated centres located in Vanderbijlpark, Potchefstroom, Mahikeng, Lichtenburg, Mooi Nooi, and Kimberley. The programme offers a comprehensive curriculum across two main streams: natural sciences (including mathematics, physical sciences, life sciences, and English) and economic and management sciences (focusing on mathematics, accounting, economics/business studies, and English).
Beyond academics, Ikateleng enriches the lives of its learners through various extracurricular activities. A standout feature is the comprehensive Career Orientation programme, meticulously crafted by NWU's marketing and recruitment team, which helps students navigate their future career paths.
Child’s Dream Association, Zurich
Already on our seventh project with Child’s Dream, it was agreed to build one fully furnished school building with five classrooms, one teacher room, four toilets and one kitchen. The new Nongkapang Primary School will replace the rotten and unsafe facility constructed in 1960. This will significantly enhance the learning experience and hygiene standards in this school in Savannakhet Province, Southern Laos. The current student population of 112 (71 boys and 41 girls) will greatly profit from this new facility. It is expected that school enrollment will increase and school dropouts decrease. Furthermore, it is expected that more children will continue to secondary education. The newly built toilets will improve the hygiene situation in the village.
TDSO – Teacher Development Support Organization, Cambodia
The Teacher Development and Support Organisation (TDSO) is dedicated to transforming education in Cambodia. Based in Siem Reap, TDSO addresses critical challenges in the country's education system by focusing on teacher development.
TDSO provides high-quality professional development opportunities for teachers, empowering them with the knowledge and skills needed to drive positive change in Cambodian classrooms. Our programs aim to elevate teaching practices, foster innovation, and promote student-centered learning. We deploy experienced educators, offer customized workshops, and prioritize local empowerment. By enhancing both general education quality and English language instruction, TDSO aims to create a ripple effect that benefits countless students and contributes to Cambodia's future economic growth and global competitiveness.
Co-Operaid, Zurich
The CO-OPERAID project “Komar An” improves the quality of kindergartens and primary schools in the province of Kampong Chhnang in Cambodia. Every year, around 1,700 children in the Sameakki Mean Chey district benefit from improved access to primary education. The project area is very rural and has an above-average number of poor families. Children from these households are often disadvantaged when it comes to education and are therefore less likely to perform well.
The focus thereby lies in the development of the teaching methodology and the pupil’s learning success at 9 primary school and 12 kindergartens. A wide range of activities are aimed at improving the teaching staff and school management, the school infrastructure and the school curriculum. In addition, the project supports the poorest families with income projects or direct payments.
Action Education, Geneva
The project " Enhanced the quality of teaching and learning for primary education in the target schools of Vientiane Province" aims to improve the quality of education for ethnic minority’s children. Here are the various axis of this project:
- The Support for school administrators in drawing up and implementing school improvement plans.
- the strengthening of teachers‘ skills in proactive and pupil-centered teaching techniques and an assistance by providing teaching materials for classroom learning.
- the strengthening of parents’ skills in supporting schooling (different themes),
- the development of ICT resources,
- the tour of mobile libraries,
- the improvement in terms of nutrition through the provision of balanced meals throughout the schooling process
In-depth consultations with local partners have enabled us to identify the needs and interests in Vientiane province. This bottom-up approach is the best way of making the project sustainable.
Women’s Hope International, Bern
Women’s Hope International, a non-governmental organization based in Berne and founded in 2003, is committed to ensuring that women and girls – regardless of their background, wealth, or religion – can exercise their right toa healthy and self-determined life. In partnership with local organizations and affected communities, Women’s Hope supports the development and expansion of essential medical services for pregnancy and childbirth in Africa and Asia. The organization also empowers women to assert their sexual and reproductive rights and to stand up against gender-based violence.
The project ‘A Midwife for Every Mother’ aims to improve the quality of the midwifery education at St. Luke College in Wolisso, Ethiopia, and provides young women from rural communities with the opportunity to become professional midwives. Not only does this project empower young women, but it also has a positive impact on maternal and newborn health in rural areas of Ethiopia.
Engage for All NPC, South-Africa
With the project “Educating, empowering and connecting disadvantaged youth in South Africa for active leadership and participation in 2025” we can equip 250 high school learners in 10 disadvantaged high schools in 3 provinces with the knowledge, skills and platforms to find their voice as young leaders and become active members of their schools and communities.
World Bicycle Relief (Switzerland), Geneva
Sustainable mobility is an issue and amplifier of development impact often overlooked, particularly in rural areas. Worldwide, up to one billion people lack access to livelihood opportunities, markets, healthcare and education due to distance. To address the challenges of distance and lack of sustainable mobility, World Bicycle Relief manufactures and distributes a rugged, specially designed, locally assembled bicycle (Buffalo Bicycle) to students, health service providers, entrepreneurs and workers with their project “Bicycles for Education Empowerment Program (BEEP) in Nort-west Uganda”. With a Buffalo Bicycle, World Bicycle Relief-led and partner-led rural mobility initiatives increase access to livelihoods opportunities, health services and education.
Association ANAK – Aide aux Enfants d'Indonésie – Suisse, Geneva
Anak – Aid to Indonesian children, is a non-profit, apolitical, and non-denominational humanitarian organization founded in 2003 and has branches in France, Switzerland, Luxembourg and, Spain and an office in Bali. The association works to educate children from remote villages on the island of Bali, in areas where a lot of people live below the poverty threshold. In partnership with local communities, Anak helps and guides more than 200 children in their studies, from primary school to university, thanks to the financial support of more than 300 godparents, donors, partners and foundations. All these children live with their families and are able to attend public schools and continue their studies until graduation, thanks to the monthly payment of their school fees. Anak also guides these young people in their choice of career and follows up their studies in the remotest areas of Bali, where the lack of information and the lack of schooling among adults are true obstacles to education and autonomy. If these young people and future generations are supported to become independent and autonomous, they can break the vicious cycle of poverty. As a consequence, their futures can be brighter, and they can have a better chance to achieve their dreams.
Emma Arnold - Stiftung Hoffnungsbaum, Altdorf
The project’s aim is to support the school «Institución Educativa Técnica Ecológica Emma Cecilia Arnold» in El Carmen de Bolivar, Columbia. The school supports kids from kindergarten to primary school and college and gives them the opportunity for a two-year vocational training. The majority of the children is particularly vulnerable, for example as victims of armed conflicts or due to learning difficulties.
ena Schweiz, Zurich
The project region Huánuco is in the Peruvian Andes and covers nearly the size of Switzerland. It is one of the most economically challenged areas of Peru. For some 35,000 people with physical and/or mental challenges, the situation is particularly difficult. If they are unable to perform physical labor in agriculture, they have little chance to generate an income. They are typically viewed by their families and society as a burden and live in isolation. Despite existing legislation, in practice they receive little to no support from their government.
ena Switzerland partners with an experienced local organization (Renacer) to offer 192 people with challenges vocational training in textile handicrafts, metal construction, food services, and gardening. Project participants receive individualized support for their personal and professional development and are equipped to promote and sell their products successfully. As a result, trained individuals experience a growing sense of self-confidence and receive validation from others. Renacer also advocates with the authorities for the rights of people with various challenges and raises awareness among family members and the larger community to value and support them. Renacer has an excellent track record for their work and has already received two awards from the International Labor Organization of the UN.
EcoSolidar, Basel
Although the school enrollment rate in Cambodia is relatively high, the numbers of successful school graduates are low, especially at the secondary level. There is a clear correlation between dropping out of school and poverty because children from poor families often must help earn money and thus neglect school attendance. With the support of EcoSolidar, the local partner organization BSDA has therefore set up and expanded a holistic education project aimed at these children over the past 15 years.
Within the framework of the current 4-year project, around 1,000 children and young people are cared for each year in Kampong Cham: children are prepared for school in kindergartens; with supervised scholarships to particularly poor families, the local partner organization ensures their children attend school and strengthens their self-confidence in dance and music courses; socially vulnerable young people are trained in vocational apprenticeships in gastronomy, mechanics and beauty care and can complete internships in two social enterprises (restaurant and resort).
Stiftung Right To Play, Zurich
Right To Play is a global organization that protects, educates, and empowers children to rise above adversity using the power of play. The “Play Forward” project aims to increase the integration of gender-responsive and inclusive play-based learning in teacher training and enhance the capacity of teachers to improve children’s literacy skills in Mozambique. Leveraging Right To Play’s expertise in play-based learning, the project seeks to contribute to improved educational outcomes, higher quality teaching and learning, and the creation of a more inclusive and engaging educational environment in Mozambique.
Stiftung Kinderdorf Pestalozzi, Trogen
The project "Improving the quality of education for ethnic minorities at primary schools in Laos" aims to improve the living conditions of girls and boys from ethnic minorities in Laos by strengthening the quality of education and teaching in the Et district of Huaphanh province in Laos. This provides them with sustainable support and encouragement in their development. This project provides teachers with training in teaching methods and raises their awareness of gender equality and children's rights. The project activities enable girls and boys from ethnic minorities in the affected communities to learn in safe and clean school environments and to be encouraged by their parents to attend school regularly, regardless of their gender. In the long term, this leads to more peaceful coexistence in the community.
Child’s Dream Association, Zurich
The project "Promotion of equal education after the covid 19 pandemic" enables to assist over 2500 children and 200 vulnerable families in Bharaptur, Nepal. Despite great progress, poverty is still widespread in Nepal. In addition, the country was hit hard by the corona pandemic. Many families lost their income during this time. Their children did not return to school after the end of the last lockdown because their parents could no longer afford the school materials or because the gaps in schooling had become too large. Child labour and early marriage of girls also increased again since the pandemic. The aim of the program is to ensure that all children in the program area have equal access to quality education. Furthermore, the schools should be able to respond to child protection cases as well as to future crises, such as earthquakes, riots, or pandemics.
Verein Child Aid Papua, Näfels
Child Aid Papua is a non-profit, public benefit organisation based in Switzerland, working exclusively in Raja Ampat, Indonesia.
The organisation is committed to providing quality education to children and adolescences living in the remote islands of West Papua to create better perspectives for their future. As a completely independent, but nationally accredited education institution, Child Aid Papua follows the official Indonesian curricula while, however, designing the programs in a way to increase environmental awareness with the goal to protect the breathtaking nature of Raja Ampat.
Arcanys Early Learning Foundation Inc., Philippines
An advocate of early education, the Arcanys Early Learning Foundation is dedicated to empowering parents to become their child’s first teacher. Since 2012, the foundation has been helping Filipino families in poor Cebu City districts by giving free parent-child math coaching to children from 3 to 5 years old and their parents. This program grants the children a brighter future in academics, as well as in their personal and professional lives.
Stiftung SOS-Kinderdorf, Bern
The project "Promotion of equal education after the covid 19 pandemic" enables to assist over 2500 children and 200 vulnerable families in Bharaptur, Nepal. Despite great progress, poverty is still widespread in Nepal. In addition, the country was hit hard by the corona pandemic. Many families lost their income during this time. Their children did not return to school after the end of the last lockdown because their parents could no longer afford the school materials or because the gaps in schooling had become too large. Child labour and early marriage of girls also increased again since the pandemic. The aim of the program is to ensure that all children in the program area have equal access to quality education. Furthermore, the schools should be able to respond to child protection cases as well as to future crises, such as earthquakes, riots, or pandemics.
Verein Mudiro, Bern
Mudiro has been operating in northern Namibia since 2014, along the Kavango River, on the border with Angola. About 200'000 Kavango live here, consisting of subgroups. The regional capital Rundu is the second largest city in Namibia with about 90'000 inhabitants, behind Windhoek with about 410`000 inhabitants.
There are economically and medically well-developed areas in Namibia, such as Windhoek or Swakopmund, and there is the precarious health situation in the north. The overall status for Namibia in terms of development projects shows an extremely uneven picture. The economy in Namibia is strained in other ways, which is why the Namibian Ministry of Health and Social Affairs cannot provide the financially necessary means to employ enough medical personnel (doctors as well as health professionals) or to promote their further education, especially in the rural region in the north. Mudiro aims to close this gap.
In Mudiro's approach, the local village population and the ministries are strongly involved. The focus is on helping people to help themselves. The key to effective and sustainable engagement is being welcoming on complementary levels.
University of Cape Town, Cape Town (South Africa)
Another project of University of Cape Town is the African Paediatric Fellowship Programme (APFP), which aims to transform Africa's capacity for child health care by reducing its gap in human resources for paediatric health.
The University of Cape Town (UCT) does so by training and providing ongoing support to a growing continent-wide network of highly skilled, strategically selected paediatric clinician-leaders who are able to optimize paediatric health systems, shape policy and build an evidence base for paediatric care in low-resource settings.
Long-term strategic collaborations with tertiary teaching hospitals and universities across Africa are at the center of UCT's approach. These partnerships ensure that UCT does not just boost individuals, but rather build paediatric departments and professional associations.
Plan International, Zurich
The Project "Ready, set, go. Building sustainable school readiness Lao PDR" focuses on under 5-year-old that are excluded from Pre-Primary Education in the Districts Houayxai and Tonpheung of Laos. The project aims to improve primary student learning outcomes and on-time primary enrolment through enabling children to participate in high quality Summer Pre-Primary courses with appropriate parental support in a COVID-19 and WASH (improving Water, Sanitation and Hygiene at schools) responsible manner and supporting the progressive institutionalization of the Summer Pre-Primary courses model within the national and provincial education system.
TSiBA Education, Cape Town (South Africa)
TSiBA is a private, not-for-profit business school which serves approximately 500 students at two campuses. The students are disadvantaged South Africans who, for academic and financial reasons, are otherwise unable to access tertiary education. The aim is to enable talented school leavers from poor backgrounds to climb above the social circumstances in which they were raised and to graduate entrepreneurial leaders. The Green Leaves Education Foundation supports TSiBA by granting scholarships and living allowances for the students.
Caravan to Class
Caravan to class improves education in general and literacy rates. They include school funding to support the operations of nine schools in rural villages around Timbuktu, paying for teachers’ salaries and providing both supplementary food and school supplies. The Bourse Jackie is a competitive university scholarship given to five female high school students from Timbuktu. For the selection process the top five scores from the exam receive the scholarship. The Bourse Jackie scholarship includes four years of university tuition including fees, books, room and board, transportation to university in Bamako, Mali and also a three-month intensive English program in nearby Accra, Ghana
SONNE-International, Austria
SONNE-International has been active in Bihar State, India, since2012. Bihar is the poorest state in India. Public and private schools do exist, but especially in rural regions, the parents are so poor that they are unable to pay the school fees and buy school uniforms and learning materials for their children. Without education, these children are usually condemned to a life of misery and squalor. With the support of the Green Leaves Education Foundation, SONNE-International is running a primary school in a remote village called Basadhi. In this village, SONNE-International provides free access to quality education for approximately 150 children(between 5 and 14 years old) who would otherwise have no possibility to go to a school. In order to improve the children’s general state of health, SONNE-International has started to install a system of mobile medical care for the students in this school. In order to combat sexual violence (which is deplorably widespread in India, particularly against women from lower castes), SONNE-International offers regular and free karate courses to the female students in this school.
Verein Smiling Gecko, Dübendorf
Smiling Gecko is a Swiss-Cambodian NGO with a sustainable, holistic approach that focuses on imparting knowledge to children and adults in rural Cambodia. The Smiling Gecko Campus, founded in 2014, is located approximately 60 kilometers northeast of the capital Phnom Penh in the Kampong Chhnang province. Around 30,000 people live in the immediate vicinity of the campus, most of whom are supported or sponsored by Smiling Gecko. The central element of the Smiling Gecko commitment is their school and the kindergarten, which opened only in 2017. The project started with around 140 children, and today almost 400 schoolchildren are part of it. Every year Smiling Gecko will take in 50 more until they have reached the maximum size of the school with 1,000 children. The students benefit from bilingual teaching from kindergarten onwards. In addition to their education, Smiling Gecko cares for them with a comprehensive nutrition, hygiene, and medical program. The solid foundation for a brighter future.
Consciente – Unterstützungsverein El Salvador, Berne
El Salvador is struggling with a severely deficient education system. Teachers are often insufficiently trained in subject matter and didactics and are overburdened with the large and heterogeneous classes. As a result, young people are often barely able to read, write or do math after completing elementary school. In the program for educational innovation, Consciente improves the quality of education in public schools with creative and science-based ideas. This includes providing school children with additional and effective learning environments. Further, the organization trains teachers professionally and didactically to achieve long-term development of teaching in public schools.
Institut Européen de Coopéeration et de Développment (IECD), France
SESAME, a program of Institut Européen de Coopéeration et de Développment (IECD), is recognized locally as a reference actor in the field of education in Madagascar and benefits from growing institutional appreciation. The goal of the current project is to support underprivileged, talented and motivated graduates in their higher education and their employment integration, in order to foster their active participation to local development. This means to promote access to higher education for youth with high potential from underprivileged backgrounds, to enforce students’ professional insertion in high-growth employment sectors as well as to scale up the benefits of the project at a national level for the Madagascan youth.
Vivamos Mejor, Zurich
During the civil war, many children and young adults and their families had to flee from rural areas to Colombia’s main city, Bogotà. There, the young people scratch a living for themselves and for their families by occasional jobs - an education or a secure job is out of their reach. This project supports children from marginalized families by offering them an officially recognized vocational education. After the completion of the programme, the participants are given a secure workplace with a guaranteed minimum wage and social benefits which helps them to gain a foothold in the working world.
Children from marginalized families are often badly neglected. The project aims to address the lack of cognitive, psychosocial and psychomotor skills among disadvantaged children. The intervention helps young children to be well prepared for the demands of school. Pre-school teachers receive state-approved and on-the-job training in age-appropriate childcare, and parents learn about children’s rights, nutrition, health, immunization and violence-free parenting methods.
1001 Fontaines Suisse, Geneva
1001 Fontaines was created in 2004 and aims to enable isolated populations to meet their drinking water needs by themselves through the creation of micro-enterprises. This initiative is specifically aimed at isolated rural communities who are often sidelined from drinking water infrastructure construction projects. Small drinking water production stations are set up in the villages and entrusted to micro-entrepreneurs in charge of producing the water and selling it less than 2 cents of franc per liter to families living below the poverty line. The goal of the project is to give access to drinking water in Cambodian schools and to give children in underprivileged social conditions the same chances as their peers in developed countries. They would like to provide children with a doorway to education so they can learn more about empowering themselves.
Swisscontact, Zurich
Swisscontact, established in 1959, promotes inclusive economic, social and ecological development in order to make an effective contribution towards sustainable and widespread prosperity in developing and emerging countries. The project "New Opportunities – Reintegration of returning migrants in El Salvador" contributes to the improvement of the living conditions of migrant returnees and internally displaced persons and their families in El Salvador. It promotes the reintegration of returnees and displaced migrants from an economic and social perspective. At the economic level, it addresses the main challenges for the search for employment and the development of sustainable enterprises. At the social level, the project is framed within a rights-based approach and incorporates a vision based on reestablishing the conditions of rootedness of both groups.
elea Foundation, Zurich
elea fights absolute poverty with entrepreneurial means. As an active philanthropic impact investor, elea supports impact entrepreneurs and their ventures in the post-startup and growth phase in combining long-term economic success with sustainable, measurable impact. To this end, elea provides its portfolio companies not only with capital, but also with business know-how, coaching, and access to the global elea network. As such, elea sees itself as a growing community of committed entrepreneurs and philanthropic investors.