People in need
To support people in need, Somaha Foundation is committed to ensuring secure livelihoods, improve health, and strengthen human rights in the Global South.
Challenge
Human hardship takes many forms and affects millions worldwide. Many challenges, such as hunger, lack of access to water and healthcare services, as well as inadequate access to existing legal remedies, are primarily the result of poverty, armed conflict, and natural disasters. Living in poverty or fragile contexts threatens safety and livelihoods. Minorities and vulnerable groups are also often at increased risk of human rights violations.
Solution
Somaha Foundation strengthens the resilience of people in need.
In pursuit of this, the foundation is committed at three levels:
- Combating extreme poverty to secure livelihoods in the long term.
- Ensuring access to safe drinking water and healthcare to improve health.
- Ensuring access to justice to strengthen human rights.
Somaha Foundation collaborates with Swiss funding partners on a long-term basis. Within these institutional partnerships, Somaha Foundation focuses on the joint development of interventions to address specific challenges and, among other things, supports conceptual frameworks and structures. The goal is comprehensive capacity development in local organizations and ultimately their operational and financial self-determination.
In addition, Somaha Foundation provides emergency relief worldwide to alleviate acute suffering caused by war and disaster in forgotten crisis.
Theory of Change
The theory of change explains in more detail how Somaha Foundation’s funding intends to alleviate human hardship in line with the corresponding SDGs.
Somaha Foundation
Somaha Foundation deploys its resources through professional expertise, cross-sector relationships, and financial means. In doing so, it supports Swiss funding partners operating in the Global South.
Swiss funding partners
Through the support of Somaha Foundation, Swiss funding partners can strenghten their quality, increse the relevance of their activities, and expand their reach. They work with local organizations on a long-term basis.
Local organizations
In collaboration with Swiss funding partners, local organizations develop their capacities, thereby strengthening their leadership and resilience. By shifting decision-making power from a higher level to the local level, their self-determination is enhanced.
Local organizations apply their capacities in the implementation of projects and programs. This takes place at three levels:
- At the first level, by supporting projects that take measures to combat absolute poverty.
- At the second level, by promoting access to safe drinking water and healthcare, for example by strengthening healthcare systems and water supplies.
- At the third level, by ensuring access to justice for vulnerable groups, such as refugees, by providing information on and expanding access to various legal services.
Focusing on these three levels aims to strengthen the resilience of people in need.
Outcome
In the theme of people in need, Somaha Foundation aims to strengthen the resilience of people:
- By combating absolute poverty, more people should be able to meet their basic needs such as food, shelter, and education to secure their livelihoods.
- By providing safe drinking water and healthcare, the risk of preventable diseases is reduced, contributing to better overall health.
- Access to justice for vulnerable groups is an important prerequisite for strengthening human rights.
Impact
Somaha Foundation’s objective is to reduce human suffering. Through its funding, the Foundation contributes to the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, in particular SDG 1 (no poverty), SDG 3 (good health and well-being) and SDG 16 (peace, justice and strong institutions).