Southeast Asia

The term terre des hommes means earth of humanity. It is taken from a novel by the French humanist Antoine de Saint Exupery. How humane are earths societies? Perhaps, one of the best indicators is how they care for their children. The first terre des hommes began in Lausanne, in the French speaking region of Switzerland. Similar initiatives were ta... ken in other countries, and on January 8, 1967, terre des hommes Germany was founded. With a nucleus of 40 people, the organizations first actions were rescue missions for war-injured children in Vietnam. For more than 30 years since that time, children in the South have been the focus of terre des hommes. Wherever there is war, hunger or oppression, children are the first victims. Today, the German section of terre des hommes has its main office in the German city of Osnabrück, and co-ordination offices in Asia, Africa and Latin America. The Regional Co-ordination Office for Southeast Asia was established in Bangkok, Thailand in 1976. In Germany, terre des hommes has grown into a citizens movement, with 160 working groups in cities and townships all over the country. The volunteer members of these working groups are active in many ways. They provide educational outreach, raise funds, and organize campaigns to ensure that development issues are mainstreamed into the local agenda of cities and townships. Relying primarily on private donations, terre des hommes maintains its independence in order to take clear positions on issues, and to work for justice and peace worldwide. terre des hommes Germany is a founding member of the International Federation of terre des hommes (IFTDH) based in Geneva, Switzerland. The Federation represents terre des hommes at the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the UN, and does lobby work with other UN agencies based in Geneva, including the UN Human Rights Commission. The IFTDH has ten member movements with headquarters in Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Syria. The ...Read More