Frères des Hommes

Frères des Hommes France (FdH) -Brothers of Men in English- is a secular non-profit aid organization. It was recognized as promoting the public interest in 1998 and involves 250 members and 250 volunteers spread within 13 local teams.

Frères des Hommes supports projects of sustainable development in Asia, Africa and Latin America on the following issues: small-scale agriculture, social economy^[1] and democratic citizenship.

History

Frères des Hommes’ story starts in India in 1965, in Calcutta. Impressed by the deplorable spectacle of this “capital of misery” Armand Marquisel decides to create, once he is back in France, the NGO Frères des Hommes. He recruits volunteers willing to go to India with him and create the first Frères des Hommes center, in Calcutta, where they feed the children. At its beginning, the ONG was organized by different Frères des Hommes centers in Africa, Asia and Latin America, where the volunteers worked. In the 70’s they are already more than 100 all over the three continents. In 1980, the Charter of the NGO launches a new functioning that establishes a partnership with local organizations: the assistantship developed during the first years disappears to a real cooperative work. This original method will guide, from now on, all actions carried out by Frères des Hommes.

In 2011, Frères des Hommes celebrated its 45th anniversary.

Philosophy

Frères des Hommes bases its activities on a long term partnership with its representatives from the South (non governmental organizations, associations, movements…). This imminence implies sharing ideals and goals, supporting new or existing initiatives, as well as co-responsibility. All projects supported by Frères des Hommes are designed and set up by the people, with the help of local organizations. Therefore, each project responds to real needs. More than a background lessor, Frères des Homes is a European civil actor and a meeting point between the movements and organizations from both the North and the South who wish to build together a fairer society.

Partners and some actions around the world

Small-scale agriculture

• Peasant Papaya Movement (MPP) in Haiti supports peasant families in order to develop the farming sector in the Central Plateau of Haiti. The project works to restore and develop the familial agriculture^[2] (2010–2013);
• Trust Rural Development (TRD) in India trains peasant families dedicated to agroecology. In collaboration with Frères des Hommes they boost the training of these families (2009–2011);
• Movement of the Landless (MST) in Brazil fights to defend the social, economical and political rights of the landless peasants. The action helped to reinforce this Movement (1995–2003);
• Adenya and Duhamic-Adri in Rwanda. Adenya is an organisation dedicated to Nyabimata’s development, in the South-west of Rwanda. Duhamic-Adri is an organisation for integrated rural development. These two partners work together with Frères des Hommes proposing cultural and agricultural alternatives (2013–2015);
• Farmers and Breeders Peasant Cooperation (Coraca Protal) in Bolivia, helps the reconstruction of peasant communities. Coraca-Protal has taken part in two projects supported by Frères des Hommes and made in collaboration with other Bolivian partners: The social economy aid to peasants (2013) and the sustainable tourism towards communities (2008–2010);
• Ekta Parishad in India works to achieve the autonomy of the poorest sectors of the population, especially due to land access difficulties. In collaboration with Frères des Hommes, they helped smallholder farmers, landless workers and tribes to fight for their rights to access natural resources^[3](2006–2008);
• PDRN in Philippines helps victims of environmental disasters and trains citizens in the risk management field.

Social economy

• Union of Méckhé Peasants associations (UGPM) in Senegal supports women in Méckhé, improving handmade peanut plant and millet and their commercialization. Frères des Hommes and his partner develop, both in urban and rural areas, the commercialization of high quality peanut plant oil produced by Méckhé women (2011–2015);
• Kora-PRD in Senegal walks with carpenters in their fight against school expulsion and young unemployment. This project has developed a new program focused on technical and professional training (2011–2012);
• Feminine entrepreneurship Association (Apef) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo gives women means to make a living from their work, know and defend their rights and take and active role in the local political arena. In the region of Bukavu, these two organisations have developed economical and educational activities carried out by women and for women that do not have enough means (2009–2011);
• Red Tusoco walks with peasant communities to carry out sustainable tourism activities that are respectful with human beings and nature (2008–2010);
• CIOEC Cochabamba in Bolivia coordinates Kampesino, a caring company that supports the transformation and commercialization of goods produced by farming organizations. With Frères des Hommes they worked to promote a consortium model to commercialize peasant’s farming products (2013);
• Adenya and Duhamic-Adri in Rwanda help the strengthening of economical activities in rural areas. The goal of the project was to develop and promote wood and forge homemade work (2009–2011);
• Adec-ATC in Peru manages employment issues, supporting the most vulnerable sectors;
• Coraca-Protal in Bolivia, it’s a peasant organization that goes into action and leads a global local development program in the region of Cochabamba, in the center of Bolivia, basically organizing the production, transformation and commercialization of food crops;
• Cenca in Peru walks with Lima poorest people, it develops economic activities for them and it helps them to become collective subjects. The project has carried out a fairtrade micro-program^[4](2013);
• PhilNet-RDI in Philippines is a militant alternative Philippine network that works to reinforce rural economic activities.

Democratic citizenship

• Union of Farmer Groups of Méckhé (UGPM) in Senegal carries out supporting activities to provide inputs to training and socialization for young farmers in the Thiès region.
• Graim in Senegal is an association that works with decentralisation and with the health and education sectors, in the Thiès region. Together they created Radio Coorkaat^[5] in the Thiès High plateaum in west Senegal (2009–2011);
• Fedesi in Ivory Coast leads the organization and the development of economic activities for workers in the informal sector who carry out their duties in unsafe conditions;
• Cieric in Cuba, works for social development and walks with the people to encourage them exercise their citizenship, organizing artistic and socio cultural activities;
• Cresfed in Haiti trains civil and public authorities actors for the exercise of the democracy;
• Fedina in India walks with the marginalized population so they can defend their rights and become actors in their own emancipation.^[6] (2008). Also, we worked to guarantee the application of the “National Rural Employment Guarantee Act” (NREGA) to the benefit of rural populations (2009–2011); http://fedina.org/?page_id=1036
• Consortium for the land reform (KPA)^[7] in Indonesia works for the attainment of the Indonesian land reform, and gives to the marginalized populations the means to defend their right to access the land. Together we fought against poverty and for a better distribution of the country’s natural resources (2009);
• Pergerakan in Indonesia it’s a group that walks with social movements emerged from the working classes, especially rural.
• Piler in Pakistan is a centre for economic, social and cultural promotion of vulnerable workers. It also aims to provide them an education.

References

External links

• Official website