About us

Who are we?

Our NGO has been involved in international cooperation for over 80 years, drawing on long experience and institutional expertise in development cooperation and humanitarian action.

Solidar Switzerland was founded in 1936 by the Swiss Federation of Trade Unions and the Swiss Socialist Party under the name OEuvre suisse d’entraide ouvrière. Since 2005, its international department has been an independent organization called Solidar Suisse. Solidar Suisse has been present in Burkina Faso since 1974. Our organization continues its development cooperation work in West Africa with various projects.

Always attached to our historical roots, we are committed to social justice and the fight against extreme inequality. In collaboration with local partner organizations, we do our utmost to eliminate abuses and open up new prospects for people in precarious situations. Since 2008, Solidar Suisse has been running awareness-raising campaigns in Switzerland to improve working conditions abroad. Our organization currently manages over 80 projects and employs 150 staff in Africa, Asia, Latin America, Southeast Europe and Switzerland. Organized as an association, Solidar Suisse is supported by collective members and a broad network of private members and donors. Private foundations and the public sector, in particular the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), Swiss Solidarity and the Liechtenstein Development Service (LED), are important partners for us.

Our organization is a member of SOLIDAR, a European network of over 60 civil society organizations (CSOs) working to defend social justice in Europe and worldwide. We are a partner of Alliance Sud, the Swiss alliance of some of the largest NGOs active in the field of international cooperation.

In Burkina Faso, Solidar Suisse is a member of various development, education and humanitarian networks, including the Secrétariat permanent des Organisations Non Gouvernementales (SPONG), the Réseau Education de qualité par le Bi-plurilinguisme au Burkina Faso (REB), and the Forum des ONG Internationales Humanitaires (FONGIH).

Our vision

Our vision is of a just and equitable world, free from discrimination, exploitation and violence, in the spirit of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We fight for decent working conditions, social justice, equal opportunities and democratic participation for all, and want to eradicate extreme inequality.

Our mission

Fighting for social justice and against exploitation;
Providing emergency aid for post-disaster reconstruction in disadvantaged regions;
Strengthen the resilience of particularly vulnerable individuals and communities;
Improve the quality of formal and non-formal bi-lingual educational provision;
Promoting peace and social cohesion.

Our strategic orientation

To promote a more equitable world, Solidar Suisse Burkina focuses its actions on 02 major programs: the Economy and Labor Program (ET) and the Democracy, Civil Society and Humanitarian Aid Program (DCSAH).

In addition, these 02 programs include a complementary approach called Nexus. Through this approach, Solidar Suisse combines humanitarian aid, rural development and peace-building actions, with the aim of providing better living conditions for rural populations in an environment of social cohesion.

Each program carries out different development projects according to its field of intervention.

Democracy, Civil Society and Humanitarian Aid

Economy and Labor

Our values

Solidarity and human rights

We stand in solidarity with poor people and vulnerable groups. Human rights are our guiding principle: they are non-negotiable and universal. What's more, we advocate an equitable distribution of resources, goods, services and economic opportunities.

Outspoken

We take clear positions in major political and social debates. All humanitarian interventions are carried out impartially and independently, based on the rights and needs of those affected.

Liability

We strive to be accountable for our actions and are committed to transparency.

Inclusiveness and equality

We respect all people, regardless of gender, origin, religion, social position or physical ability. For Solidar Switzerland, gender equality means that all human beings enjoy the same rights, opportunities and benefits in all areas of life. We believe that every person has the right to shape the measures and decisions that affect their lives and the society in which they live.

Autonomy

As a humanitarian organization, we support people living in precarious conditions and vulnerable groups; these people must be able to enjoy and exercise their rights. Consequently, we do not see recipients as passive recipients of charity or as victims, but as active, autonomous people who fight for their rights.

Professionalism

Solidar Suisse is committed to being a fair employer. As an employer, we promote a culture of personal responsibility, flexibility and professional development. We are competent, innovative and reliable, thanks to qualified and motivated employees.

Our approach - Our values in practice

Partnerships

We build lasting, authentic, high-quality partnerships to enable citizens and their collective organizations to fight for a democratic society and the rule of law. We work with civil society organizations, NGOs, grassroots organizations, social movements and labor rights movements. We actively collaborate with our donors, on whose behalf we implement projects.

Cooperation between equals

Our work is based on cooperation between equal partners. Far from charity based on an unequal relationship between donor and recipient, we believe that our understanding of solidarity means respecting the integrity of our partners and their right to set their own conditions. In return, we expect our partners to respect our interests and values.

Alliances, networks and collective platforms

We engage in national and international movements, platforms and networks to achieve common goals and respond collectively to global challenges.
We actively seek to build appropriate collaborations and alliances to increase the awareness and impact of our work.

Labour and human rights :

We fight against precarious working conditions and exploitation (modern slavery such as child labor or forced labor), while striving for legal, social and labor protection where it is not granted where it should be. Social protection focuses on labor rights, fair and dignified working conditions, living wages, social security and health, as well as the right of assembly and unionization.

Rule of law, democratic rights and civic participation

People’s participation and organization are important for guaranteeing human rights and enabling people to exercise greater influence over their lives and social development. We fight for universal access to democratic participation, and are determined to ensure that all the people we work for and with are able to influence the political decisions that shape their lives.

Responsibility for sustainable development

We assume social, economic and ecological responsibility, both nationally and internationally, and are committed to using our resources diligently and sparingly.

Global solidarity

Humanity is facing challenges unprecedented in the 21st century, such as climate change, urbanization and migration, inequality, food and water crises, digital transformation, access to renewable energies, fragile states and armed conflict. We believe we need to cooperate across borders and cultures to meet these challenges. As a Swiss organization, we must show solidarity with those who do not enjoy the wealth, prosperity and security we do. We stand in solidarity with our partner organizations, with workers, with women, with young people and with all other groups concerned in our priority countries.
Finally, solidarity and responsibility towards future generations oblige us to act swiftly and responsibly.

Results and impacts

All our work must lead to positive change for the people and communities we work with, and make a significant contribution to development processes. As such, we strive to optimize our impact by continually refining the focus of our objectives and results. To this end, we place as much emphasis on the use of synergies and collective learning as we do on achieving concrete, objectively assessed results. Solidar intends to further strengthen its impacts and qualitatively assess the positive changes within partners, communities, households and individuals.

Global and national reference

Our work is based on a set of multilateral and national standards, legal frameworks and programs, the most important of which are :

the United Nations Agenda 2030 with its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Human rights conventions, in particular the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Norms and standards drawn up by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and adopted at International Labour Conferences (ILC)
Business and human rights: UN guidelines on business and human rights; OECD guidelines; ILO core conventions
Humanitarian standards: the Fundamental Humanitarian Standard of Quality and Accountability (CHS), the SPHERE standards and the Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and NGOs in Disaster Relief.

Solidar Suisse Burkina Faso's theory of change

Our theory of change involves theEconomy and Labor, Disasters and Crises, Democracy and Civil Society.

Download“Solidar Suisse Burkina Faso’s theory of change”.

A word from the Country Representative

Arid land, climate change, food insecurity, precarious living and working conditions for young people and women, low levels of civic participation: these are just some of the many challenges facing rural populations in Burkina Faso.

A predominantly rural country, 8 out of 10 people make their living from the land, and the effects of climate change are extremely harsh for them.

Furthermore, the results of the 5th General Population and Housing Census (RGPH, 2019) show that 54.7% of the population is of working age (15 years or older). However, of this working-age population, only 42.9% is employed, compared with 53.8% outside the workforce. This is due, among other things, to: i) the lack of appropriate educational provision for rural young people who are not in school or who are excluded from the education system; ii) the poor access to vocational training for poor and vulnerable young people, and the weak democratic culture that undermines efforts to emerge from underdevelopment.

To this I would add the security situation, which is forcing millions of people to leave their homes (leaving behind their possessions and income-generating activities). This increases the number of vulnerable people in the country, and consequently the need for humanitarian aid.

To help change this situation, Solidar Suisse in Burkina Faso supports the most vulnerable, as it has done since the beginning, to help them improve their living conditions. Through the intermediary of the Burkina Faso government and our partners in civil society, we propose solutions to alleviate people's suffering.

Train and equip farmers and women in agriculture, animal husbandry and market gardening;

Training and educating young people in job-creating professions;

Innovate education by introducing national languages to facilitate learning and interculturality to promote social cohesion. Offer literacy opportunities to as many people as possible;

This is how we express our solidarity with the men and women of Burkina Faso.

Our support is bearing fruit. More and more farmers are developing resilience to the effects of climate change. Women are gardening, harvesting, selling and improving their families' living conditions. Literate young people, educated and trained in the bilingual system, are succeeding brilliantly in their studies and integrating into socio-professional life.

These efforts deserve to be made known to the world. This is what we aim to do through this website. It is a showcase for the programs of the Solidar Suisse Representation in Burkina Faso, through the life stories of people who have overcome adversity thanks to our combined efforts.

For us, solidarity also means sharing our life experiences. Let's stand together, let's be Solidar!

R. Dieudonné ZAONGO

Country Representative of Solidar Suisse in Burkina Faso

History

Solidar Suisse has been working in Burkina Faso since 1974. We have chosen not to implement projects directly in the field. Our approach is to support our state and civil society partners in implementing projects that are in line with our priority areas of intervention:

In all our interventions, we give pride of place to gender, organizational and capacity-building for farmers’ organizations, and natural disaster risk reduction.

The projects of the Solidar Suisse Representation in Burkina Faso are in line with its strategic orientation.

They offer a guarantee of institutional development, continuity/perpetuity and the chance of positive impacts within communities.