Women & young people

Targeted campaigns in the Marathwada region sensitise young people, adults and state actors against gender based violence and discrimination. Through a holistic approach, the dream of a life free of violence should finally become a reality for as many girls and women as possible.

After the pandemic, girls and boys from the community of Sincé in northern Colombia had to go back to school – if only getting there wasn’t so difficult. This is exactly where this SWISSAID project comes in: Using new educational methods, the emotional and psychosocial well-being of the insecure young people is to be strengthened again. Awareness-raising measures are designed to prevent violent situations and creative learning methods help young people to rediscover the joy of learning.

16.10.23 | Access to healthy and sustainable food is still far from being a given for all people. In an interview, Kavita Gandhi, head of the SWISSAID coordination office in India, explains why agrobiodiversity is particularly important in combating hunger in the face of climate change.

Known as the lungs of our planet, forests are essential for biodiversity and the survival of all living beings, including humans. In Colombia, a project in the tropical region of Sucre aims to raise awareness among indigenous communities about their environment, in order to live in harmony with the forest and protect this vital space.

Marthe Tchere, a smallholder farmer from Bokyo in Chad, was one of the first to join SWISSAID’s goat project. Thanks to the animals, she can now feed her family, earn her own money and use it to send her children to school. And in doing so, she earns the respect of the men in the village.

3.10.2022 | In autumn 2021, we followed Yaya, Marceline and Esther, women farmers in Chad, who received support from SWISSAID through its Women’s Empowerment Project. One year later, the aid provided has enabled these women to improve their living conditions and those of their families, and to fight against hunger. In video and in pictures, they tell us about their situation one year later.

02.09.2022 | January emergency aid in the south south of Niger is bearing fruit. The farmers in need in need have received food packages and have been able to plant fast-growing seeds for almost immediate consumption. Beyond the emergency, the project has allowed a conversion to more resistant and quality crops for fight against the climate change.

14.12.2021 | The fight against hunger is multi-faceted. It starts with women being able to inherit and own land. This is what Isabela, a farmer from Guinea-Bissau, is fighting for. With the help of SWISSAID, she has broken through the patriarchal traditions in her country.

In the north of Myanmar, the landscape is adorned with huge tracts of forest. Despite being the main resource for survival, the population has little access to it. Large industries are destroying the available land and replacing it with banana plantations. Thanks to the perseverance of the villagers and the help of SWISSAID, the village community is able to assert its rights.

2.12.2020 | The 13-year-old student Maria experiences the lockdown in a small village in Tanzania. Her school is closed. She no longer sees her friends. But her dreams live on.

October 2020 | SWISSAID supports women in its projects in the South and campaigns for women’s rights in the Swiss landscape. The same fight is waged in many different ways. Like in October 2020, for example, when SWISSAID launched a week of action under the motto “I step out of the shadows”.

25.03.2020 | The global corona crisis does not affect everyone equally. Some people are much more economically and socially affected than others. Women, who are often victims of domestic violence as well as being the sole earners of their families and in precarious employment, are especially under pressure.

A centre of expertise which trains future experts in agroecological techniques – farmers, promoters, association leaders. Widespread dissemination at local level and lobbying at  national level: this is the ambitious project of SWISSAID Guinea-Bissau.

In Myanmar today, many women farmers are also taking part confidently in discussions with groups of men. They have been on courses where they expanded their knowledge of agroecological cultivation methods and built up their self-confidence.

Women feed the world – yet they often have few rights. This is why SWISSAID has been working for decades to empower women. One of them, the farmer Louise Ndodjita, is successfully asserting herself in the male-dominated society of Chad. This is thanks in part to a literacy course.