Help with us - People in Need

Afghanistan represents one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. A country where two-thirds of the population is in dire need of humanitarian assistance, is plagued by drought for the third year in a row and continues to face an economic crisis two years after the Taliban took power in August 2021, all of this against the backdrop of the effects of decades-long conflict and recurring natural disasters.

We have been working in Afghanistan since 2001. During that time, we have helped just under two million people through our humanitarian and development programmes, mainly in the north, west, south-east and central parts of the country. Through our work, we have earned the trust of local people and authorities, ensuring safe access to the people who need help the most across the hardest to reach places. We stayed there after the regime change in August 2021 and have since delivered humanitarian assistance to more than 350,000 Afghans, mainly in the northern and central provinces of the country. 

Read more about our activities in Afghanistan.

How we help:

Emergency Response and Recovery

Angola is dealing with the fallout of a decades-long civil war that - when it ended at the turn of the millennium - left a deeply fractured society, destroyed infrastructure and nearly half the population below the poverty line. Angola is also facing the impacts of climate change, with extreme weather events affecting the poorest in particular.
Our team is working in the central provinces of Bié and Huambo, hit hard by civil war, in the drought-stricken southern provinces of Huíla and Namibe, and in the poor suburbs of the capital Luanda. We are assisting farming households and communities in their livelihoods, ensuring access to safe drinking water and proper sanitation. We work with local clubs, associations, and civil societies to provide information and services to young people, offer educational programmes to schools and support the activities of local associations to highlight issues in their immediate vicinity. We have also helped thousands of children with malnutrition.

Read more about our activities in Angola.

How we help:

Emergency Response and Recovery
Climate Resilience
Civil Society and Inclusive Governance

HUMANITARIAN AID AND DEVELOPMENT
It is Armenia to which the beginnings of the Czech Republic's foreign humanitarian aid and of People in Need itself are strongly linked. For the first time, Czechoslovaks helped there after the devastating earthquake in 1988. Since 2003, we have had a permanent mission here, thanks to which we have trained hundreds of teachers, supported thousands of people who decided to return to Armenia from abroad or were affected by the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Today in Armenia, we are primarily helping people affected by the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, increasing employment and improving sustainable tourism. We continue to support the repatriation and reintegration of returnees and build the capacities of young people.

HUMAN RIGHTS SUPPORT
Although civil society and independent media developed in Armenia after independence in 1991, the country has not become a full democracy and still suffers from a number of problems, including a bleak economic situation and a frozen military conflict with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh.
We have been working in Armenia since 2015. We support local civil society initiatives and human rights defenders. In 2016, in cooperation with local partners, we helped organize documentary film screenings in regional cities in Armenia, reporting on important global human rights issues.

Read more about our humanitarian and human rights activities in Armenia, or visit our Armenia microsite.

How we help:

Emergency Response and Recovery
Climate Resilience
Civil Society and Inclusive Governance

In February 2021, the Myanmar Army Forces (MAF) overthrew the government led by the National League for Democracy. This sparked severe civil unrest and a gradual escalation of violence across the country, resulting in the disintegration of public services, such as healthcare and education. Due to the disruption of financial services and the overall deteriorating economic situation, half of the population is now at risk of falling below the poverty line.
We have been helping in Myanmar since 1997. In 2008, we provided the first humanitarian aid to Myanmar after Cyclone Nargis and in 2012 we established a permanent mission there.

Read more about our activities in Myanmar.

How we help:

Emergency Response and Recovery

We started helping in Bosnia and Herzegovina after the war broke out there in the early 1990s. At that time we mainly provided material aid. The fighting destroyed the country's infrastructure and economy and displaced half of the population. As a result, Bosnia and Herzegovina still faces many problems as of today. 
We have supported local government by facilitating visits to Czech regions by local mayors and representatives of the non-profit and private sectors so that they can gain valuable experience in effective public administration and technological innovation, and we have a long-standing commitment to improving the lives of people with disabilities. Together with local partners, we are working to change the entire system of care for people with disabilities.
In Sarajevo, we are working to improve waste management and recycling, and in Mostar, we are leading a project to develop public spaces where people can meet regardless of their ethnicity and religion.

Read more about our activities in Bosnia and Hercegovina or visit our Western Balkans microsite.

How we help:

Emergency Response and Recovery
Climate Resilience
Civil Society and Inclusive Governance

In the Czech Republic, we helped after the massive floods in 1997, 2002, 2006, 2009, 2010, and 2013, supporting thousands of individuals and institutions. In 2021, we were also involved in the recovery of South Moravian communities affected by the violent tornado.
We coordinated the work of volunteers in the affected areas, distributed financial aid to the most affected families, and distributed basic equipment such as tools, disinfectant packs, and protective gear to local- people. Currently, our main focus is on flood prevention.

Read more about our activities in the Czech Republic.

Despite its vast natural wealth, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is one of the countries with the highest number of people living below the poverty line. For many years, there has been a humanitarian crisis here, which the UN ranks among the world's worst. Political instability and the poor security situation are hampering the country's overall development. 
We have been working in the DRC since 2008, helping hundreds of thousands of people every year. Our team works in remote areas, particularly in the province of South Kivu in the east of the DRC. We fight malnutrition among children and pregnant and lactating women. We focus on prevention and follow-up treatment in health centres. Beyond that, we are dedicated to improving the quality and availability of health care in rural Congo and to improving access to clean drinking water.

Read more about our activities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

How we help:

Emergency Response and Recovery
Climate Resilience

Ethiopia is one of the poorest countries in the world - almost 30% of the population lives below the poverty line, and the country suffers from extreme weather fluctuations. Our activities in the country focus on both acute assistance to areas affected by devastating droughts or floods and long-term development projects.
We have been working in Ethiopia since 2003. Our projects include school construction (supported by money from the Build a School in Africa public fundraiser - we have already built 20 primary schools and 10 separate special education classrooms) and training for future teachers. Supporting girls' education is an important part of our work. They are more likely to drop out of school, usually because of early marriage.
In addition to building new wells and expanding the water supply network, we are currently training people responsible for the proper functioning of the water supply network.

Read more about our activities in Ethiopia.

How we help:

Civil Society and Inclusive Governance
Climate Resilience
Emergency Response and Recovery

As an island nation, the Philippines is one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change. In addition, Filipinos suffer from political and social conflict, and poverty, which affects up to a fifth of the population.
We started helping in the country in 2013, right after the devastating Typhoon Haiyan hit the Philippines and caused major damage there. 
We are helping to revive and improve local markets and provide people with new, alternative livelihoods. For example, we have introduced cocoa farming and connected poor farmers with customers and suppliers without the intervention of third parties and middlemen. Today, we are working particularly in some of the poorest and most climate-challenged areas of the country, such as Northern Samar, to ensure that people have access to renewable energy.

Read more about our activities in the Philippines.

How we help:

Emergency Response and Recovery
Climate Resilience

Georgia still suffers from the consequences of the civil war and conflicts in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, an unstable political situation, and a high unemployment rate. Prices are rising in the country, particularly as a result of the influx of people from Russia and Ukraine after the start of the Russian invasion in 2022. 
We have been working in Georgia since 2005, and we have helped, for example, to set up dozens of agricultural cooperatives that provide livelihoods and employment opportunities for thousands of people. We also help develop civil society in the country and support local non-profit organisations. We are improving the education system and we focus on initiatives by young people or NGOs in the regions and their cooperation with local councils. Hundreds of schools have started to use documentaries in the classroom and to teach media education.
Together with partner organisations, we are also helping people who have fled to Georgia from Ukraine.

Read more about our activities in Georgia or visit our Georgia microsite.

How we help:

Civil Society and Inclusive Governance
Climate Resilience
Emergency Response and Recovery

Over the past four decades, Iraq has experienced significant economic and social decline, exacerbated by periods of political instability and armed conflict. 
We have been helping in Iraq since 2003, primarily in the south of the country, where we have renovated health facilities and supported local governments. We continue to help people return to their homes. We are supporting children to start going to school again, catch up on missed classes and cope with the psychological impact the conflict has left on them. In addition, we are repairing water facilities and other critical infrastructure. We are providing people with hygiene kits and organising awareness campaigns to ensure better hygiene and living conditions.
Currently, our team focuses on education, livelihoods support, water, sanitation and hygiene, and renewable energy in Nineveh, Salah al-Din and Kirkuk governorates, with our main office in Erbil and Baghdad.

Read more about our activities in Iraq or visit our Middle East microsite.

How we help:

Emergency Response and Recovery

Yemen still faces one of the world's largest humanitarian crises and the situation has been steadily deteriorating since 2015. Although there has been an easing of the widespread conflict since the signing of a ceasefire between the warring parties in April 2022, it has not yet led to a lasting peace. The ceasefire has not been renewed even after two extensions, leading to renewed fighting.The political situation remains volatile, with 4.5 million people still displaced as a result of the ongoing conflict.
We established our mission in Aden, in the south of the country, in early 2022. We are focusing on providing access to safe drinking water, improving sanitation and environmental conditions, and promoting hygiene education in schools for host communities and displaced populations in the governorate of Lahj in the southwest. We are working here with our 2015 Alliance partner, the German NGO Welthungerhilfe.

Read more about our activities in Yemen or visit our Middle East microsite.

How we help:

Emergency Response and Recovery

Cambodia has made significant economic progress and has undergone a major transformation in the last two decades. Yet it remains one of the poorest countries in Southeast Asia, with around 30% of the population still at risk of lacking the basic necessities of life. Moreover, Cambodia is the country most vulnerable to natural disasters in the whole of Asia.
We have been operating in Cambodia since 2008 and have so far helped more than 100,000 farming households in 25 provinces. We focus on green energy, sanitation, access to safe drinking water, we support schools and offer vocational technical training to increase people's employability. We also provide economic opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises.

Read more about our activities in Cambodia or visit our Cambodia microsite.

How we help:

Emergency Response and Recovery
Climate Resilience

Kosovo is one of the poorest countries in Europe. Since the declaration of independence in 2008, its political situation has been precarious, and this has hampered the country's development. Industry has not developed and agriculture has only partially developed. Previously functioning trade has been hampered by strained relations with Serbia, which does not recognise Kosovo's independence. 
We have been working in Kosovo since 1998, providing humanitarian aid to refugees and people affected by the war during the ongoing armed conflict. After the fighting ended, we focused mainly on repairing schools and health facilities. In 2002, we ended our work in Kosovo, but eight years later we returned to the country again.
Today, we work with organizations that help blind and deaf children with autism spectrum disorders, and we support inclusive education for ethnic minority children.

Read more about our activities in Kosovo or visit our Western Balkans microsite.

How we help:

Civil Society and Inclusive Governance

We started working in Mali shortly after the opening of the Czech Embassy in Bamako in 2019, through our Alliance 2015 partner Welthungerhilfe (WHH). This organization draws on more than fifty years of experience in the country.
Together with Welthungerhilfe and local partners, we focus on the challenges faced by local people and seek to strengthen their resilience. We build water resources such as wells, small tanks or ponds in communities and help people develop resilient and sustainable agriculture through various training courses. We also provide technical support to locals and teach them how to enrich their diets through fishing or growing new crops. Through this, we also support local food production and economy in the changing environment. The communities are also improving the nutrition of their children and adults.

Read more about our activities in Mali.

How we help:

Climate Resilience

Moldova declared its independence in 1991, during the collapse of the Soviet Union. It has shifted from industrial and agricultural production to the service sector, yet remains the second poorest country in Europe, right after Kosovo. Moreover, in 2022, after the full-blown Russian invasion of Ukraine began, the country was hit by a strong wave of migration and inflation.
We have been working in Moldova since 2003, helping people to create better conditions and job opportunities right where they live. We are currently providing development support to the local population in four areas: agriculture and economy, social protection and inclusion, strengthening civil society, as well as supporting Ukrainian refugees and the Moldovan families currently hosting them.

Read more about our activities in Moldova or visit our Moldova microsite.

How we help:

Civil Society and Inclusive Governance
Climate Resilience

Mongolia is a place with a harsh climate, being also the most sparsely populated country in the world. After the collapse of the USSR, the Mongolian economy collapsed. Recently, the country has experienced economic growth thanks to its mineral wealth, but more than a quarter of the population lives below the poverty line. We have been working here since 2009 and have since helped thousands of herder families during the extreme cold known as dzud, among other things.
In addition to humanitarian aid, we focus on sustainable development and improving rural livelihoods. We raise awareness among entrepreneurs and business associations on access to finance for further development. We support the processing of sheep wool as a thermal insulation building material, with an emphasis on developing the entire supply chain, which includes both individual sheep farmers and small and medium-sized enterprises.
In addition, people living in remote rural areas of Mongolia have very limited access to healthcare. In the past, we have therefore commissioned mobile ambulances with modern diagnostic equipment and equipped remote hospitals with ultrasounds.

Read more about our activities in Mongolia or visit our Mongolia microsite.

How we help:

Emergency Response and Recovery
Civil Society and Inclusive Governance
Climate Resilience

We started helping in Nepal in 2015 when the country was hit by the most devastating earthquake in 80 years, killing more than 8,500 people and leaving hundreds of thousands more homeless. Nepal is one of the least developed countries in the world and is still coping with the aftermath of the earthquake to this very day. We have helped to repair 125 km of mountain roads and provided jobs for more than 3,900 local people. We have supported the rebuilding of the local economy and provided people with access to the surrounding areas, which has made life much easier for them.
We are also helping the local population to prepare for and cope with any further natural disasters. In addition to displaced people, we are also supporting people returning home and helping them to rebuild their houses to make them earthquake-resistant. 

Read more about our activities in Nepal or visit our microsite in Nepal.

How we help:

Emergency Response and Recovery
Civil Society and Inclusive Governance
Climate Resilience

The Czech villages in the Romanian Banat, which are now home to about 2 000 inhabitants, form a unique cultural phenomenon. Their long-standing isolation has led to the preservation of the Czech language, customs and traditional ways of cultivating the land and farming. However, Romania is one of the poorest countries in Europe, which is reflected in the quality of life of our expatriate community. 
We have been helping in Banat since 2000. It is mainly young people who are leaving the villages. We are therefore developing sustainable tourism and helping to create employment opportunities in the villages themselves.
In the past, we have also helped to improve the local damaged infrastructure: we have built or repaired roads, water pipelines or schools. We have helped repair roads to all Czech villages, build a new school in St Helena, repair a school in Eibenthal, equip computer rooms in schools and repair water supply systems in Bígr and Rovensko.

Read more about our activities in Romania.

How we help:

Emergency Response and Recovery
Climate Resilience

Northern Macedonia was spared the ethnic violence that erupted in the Balkans after the break-up of Yugoslavia in 1992. A decade later, however, the country was on the brink of civil war. A peace agreement with Albanian fighters resulted in unequal representation of minorities in the government. To this day, there is still a need to improve social inclusion and to integrate excluded communities.
In North Macedonia, we supported local NGOs providing assistance to refugees in 2015 and 2016. From 2020 onwards, we will focus on the deinstitutionalisation of people with disabilities, as in other countries in the region. The programmes in North Macedonia are administered by our office in Kosovo. 

Read more about our activities in North Macedonia or visit our Western Balkans microsite.

How we help:

Civil Society and Inclusive Governance

We have been operating in what is now Serbia, formerly Yugoslavia, since the early 1990s after the outbreak of the war. The country is still coming to terms with its aftermath, as well as with the legacy of its socialist regime. Today, we are helping to rebuild the social and economic sphere of life, develop civil society and bring the positive experience of the Czech Republic gained during our transition to Serbia.
In Serbia, we are dedicated to supporting local NGOs and the deinstitutionalisation process, and to helping independent housing services to emerge. We also support the education of young people in the field of human rights, through documentary films and other audiovisual materials.

Read more about our activities in Serbia or visit our Western Balkans microsite.

How we help:

Emergency Response and Recovery
Civil Society and Inclusive Governance

The devastating conflict in Syria erupted in 2010 and continues to this day. Although the lines of control in each territory are more stable, the ongoing violence continues to disrupt lives and forces people to flee their homes. In a country of 21 million people, 14.6 million people are now dependent on humanitarian aid to provide access to basic needs and services such as drinking water, food, shelter, and education. There are more than 6.9 million internal refugees in Syria and 1.8 million of them are still living in camps or other temporary accommodation.
We were one of the first international humanitarian organisations to respond to the war in Syria. We are now supporting education and child protection, delivering vital food aid and providing shelter, protection or hygiene packages to people at risk. We also repair destroyed infrastructure, support agriculture and rebuild other livelihoods, including public employment opportunities.
We also repair public wells and water networks, restore and expand sewage systems, and build landfills.

Read more about our activities in Syria or visit our Middle East microsite.

How we help:

Emergency Response and Recovery

Türkiye is home to the largest number of refugees and asylum seekers in the world, with over 4 million people seeking asylum or refuge in September 2020 - 3.6 million of them are Syrians. Drawing on our extensive experience in the region, we are now working to help achieve a durable solution to help people on the run. At the same time, we are focusing on supporting the Turkish host community, particularly helping the most vulnerable children, women, and men.
We have been working in Turkey since 2014, in the provinces of Gaziantep, Sanliurfa, Hatay and Kilis. We are currently working on finding more ways to address the needs of the vulnerable populations. We draw on our experience and existing opportunities in Türkiye and work with local and international partners, donors and government and non-government actors. 
Our main focus is on refugee protection and sustainable livelihoods, social and economic inclusion, overall social justice, dialogue and peaceful coexistence between Turkish nationals and the refugee community.
We are currently helping to recover from the February 2023 earthquake, which killed around 44 000 people and completely destroyed entire neighbourhoods and extensive infrastructure.

Read more about our activities in Türkiye.

How we help:

Emergency Response and Recovery
Civil Society and Inclusive Governance

HUMANITARIAN AID AND DEVELOPMENT
We have been helping in eastern Ukraine since the beginning of the war in 2014, not only in the humanitarian field, but also in the education of young people and the economic development of agricultural areas. After the massive Russian invasion at the end of February 2022, we have vastly expanded our team and we provide humanitarian, financial, and psychological assistance throughout the Ukrainian territory. We also began helping refugees who were arriving in the Czech Republic by the tens of thousands. Since February 2022, we have provided assistance to more than 1 million people.
We still operate in the west and east of Ukraine, where we provide humanitarian, financial, and psychological assistance, and where 296 members of our team are now working. Across the country, we continue to repair houses, water systems, and makeshift power supplies. At the same time, we are helping to run a help line in Ukrainian and Russian.

HUMAN RIGHTS SUPPORT
We have been working in the country since 2003. In addition to humanitarian aid to people affected by the war, we focus primarily on supporting civic initiatives, journalists and human rights defenders. In 2016, together with local partners, we established a network of civic control centres in five Ukrainian cities (Vinnytsia, Mariupol, Ternopil, Kramatorsk, and Zaporozhye). These centres monitor the functioning of decision-making processes at the local level.
We also provide institutional support to independent journalists and media in different regions of Ukraine. We also work to connect independent journalists from Ukraine and Russia. 
After the Russian aggression in 2022, our assistance changed. Although it remains primarily concerned with civic activists, we have had to respond quickly to current needs. We have increased our assistance to organisations with which we have long worked, opened several centres for journalists so that they can continue to do their work, and relocated dozens of activists who were at risk of arrest and ill-treatment in Russian-occupied territories to safety.

Read more about our humanitarian and human rights activities in Ukraine, or visit our Ukraine microsite.

How we help:

Emergency Response and Recovery
Civil Society and Inclusive Governance

Zambia is one of the least developed countries in the world. It ranks among the countries with the highest chronic poverty in the world and the highest disparities between rich and poor. In addition, it faces high unemployment rates, extremely high rates of malnutrition, poor infrastructure, and a lack of skilled labour. 
We have been helping in Zambia since 2017, especially the most vulnerable people who lack financial resources and suffer from malnutrition. In the Western Province, where more than 80% of the population lives in extreme poverty, we are trying to introduce an innovative approach to getting information about health and good eating habits through a project called health "via cellphone" or mHealth.
We work with local communities on sustainable forms of agriculture and good hygiene habits, and we also promote education and the efficient use of sustainable thermal energy sources.

Read more about our activities in Zambia.

How we help:

Emergency Response and Recovery
Climate Resilience
Civil Society and Inclusive Governance

Azerbaijan has been ruled for several decades by the Aliyev family clan, which has secured its power through harsh repression and the building of a rigid dictatorship based on oil revenues. Elections have been manipulated at various levels, freedom of speech has been suppressed, uncomfortable NGOs have been liquidated, independent journalists have been persecuted and political opponents have been imprisoned.
We have been working in Azerbaijan since 2013, primarily to support human rights defenders and civil society and to strengthen respect for fundamental freedoms. We support independent lawyers and human rights NGOs financially and through training, and we provide moral, material, and financial support to political prisoners and their families.

Read more about our activities in Azerbaijan.

In 2015, Václav Havel presented the Homo Homini Award to Ales Bialacky of the human rights organization Vjasna. The Czech President mentioned his belief that everything would soon turn out well for the Belarusians. Unfortunately, this did not happen.
After the elections in 2020, Belarusians protested again against the current regime, but no change took place. Although groups of protesters still regularly take to the streets on Sundays, the atmosphere is different from the time just after the elections when the country seemed to be on the threshold of change. The criminal regime has not collapsed; on the contrary, it is strengthening its dominance. The courts have been putting protesters behind bars for months and for years.
We support Belarusian civil society, provide psychological, advisory, and financial assistance to individuals, and we cooperate with Belarusian organisations and individuals working abroad.

Read more about our activities in Belarus.

Under President Abd-al-Fattah al-Sisi, who took office in June 2014, the country has experienced a deepening crisis of human rights and freedoms and the Egyptian civil society has faced severe repression. Egyptian NGOs and independent activists are frequently targeted by local authorities. Many members of civil society have been detained, sometimes tortured, and charged with offences under draconian laws, banned from travelling or had their assets frozen. Egyptian state institutions systematically restrict the right to free expression of protest and limit freedom of assembly.
We have been working with NGOs in Egypt to promote human rights, most recently focusing on training lawyers.

Read more about our activities in Egypt.

Democracy in Ecuador has undergone a major decline since 2007, when President Rafael Correa came to power. Particularly worrying is the degree of concentration of power in the hands of the executive. There have been repeated violations of the fundamental rights and freedoms of indigenous communities in the country.
We are focusing particularly on organisations that bring together representatives of Indian communities. The main objective of our work in Ecuador is to strengthen the capacity of Indian communities to defend their rights and territories.

Read more about our activities in Ecuador or visit our Latin America microsite.

There are widespread human rights violations in Honduras, one of the poorest countries in Latin America. Since the rigged presidential elections at the end of 2017, the country has been mired in political crisis. Many people who protested against the election results have been detained and physically attacked, and some have been killed.
Our main focus is to support human rights defenders and NGOs working to protect gender equality, and those speaking out against the mining industries, which often result in the forced eviction of entire communities. By the end of 2017, we had established partnerships with several NGOs in Honduras. For example, our support enabled a local radio station to professionalize its broadcasts, the only one in the region that focuses on sensitive human rights issues, including land rights.

Read more about our activities in Honduras or visit our Latin America microsite.

Respect for fundamental human rights in Cuba remains by far the worst in Latin America. This concerns, in particular, the right to freedom of opinion and expression and freedom of peaceful assembly and association. Every month, several hundred activists are detained for short periods of time. Radio, press, and television are subject to the absolute state control and many independent media outlets are blocked. The Internet is inaccessible to most people. People critical of the regime are banned from travelling by the government.
We are working hard to support civil society in Cuba. We are organising training sessions in which experts from different countries and disciplines give their expertise. In the past, we have also supported the printing of independent newspapers, human rights seminars, environmental projects and writers' clubs.
We pay great attention to independent journalists and agencies in Cuba. We support them in their professional efforts to provide critical information to the Cuban people, while at the same time trying to inform the general European public and the media about the situation on the island.

Read more about our activities in Cuba or visit our site monitoring human rights abuses in Cuba, Eye on Cuba.
For more information, you can also visit our Latin America microsite.

Since 2014, Libya has been torn between two political camps, backed by dozens of armed militias. The internationally recognised government established under the December 2016 peace agreement has so far failed to unite and stabilise the country. Although the fighting is localised, there are systematic rights violations and citizens have limited access to basic services. 
We have been working in Libya since 2012 and our first projects focused on raising awareness of democratic transition processes and the role of civil society in promoting them. Through training and small grants, we support civic initiatives - helping them to combat violence against women or to make local governments more transparent. 

Read more about activities in Libya.

With regard to human rights, the situation in Nicaragua has gradually deteriorated in recent years. Most of the media in the country are in the hands of the state or are owned by pro-government businessmen. The space for independent NGOs is also steadily shrinking.
Therefore, we focus on working with the NGO sector and independent NGOs that are facing obstacles to their operations. The most common form of assistance is small grants that we provide to local partners to implement their own projects. One of the most important projects in Nicaragua that is implemented with our support is the Cine MÁS human rights film festival.

Read more about our activities in Nicaragua or visit our Latin America microsite.

In what was once Latin America's richest country, people are facing acute shortages of food, medicine, water, and massive power outages. Due to extreme poverty, a dysfunctional health system, as well as the lawlessness and brutality of the Venezuelan regime, countless Venezuelans are dying or fleeing the country.
We have been working in Venezuela since 2014 as part of a programme to support human rights and independent civil society. As one of our first projects, we supported a local human rights centre where lawyers help fight unjust, politically motivated sentences.
We also help Venezuelan organisations and activists organise advocacy trips across Europe and assist them during their participation in international forums.

Read more about our activities in Venezuela or visit our Latin America microsite.

The situation in Vietnam has been deteriorating since the new political leadership took office in 2016. All branches of government are controlled by the Communist Party and the repressions of political and civil rights is ongoing.
We have been working in Vietnam since 2015. We focus on supporting small-scale civic initiatives advocating for human rights and democratic values. We work primarily with independent groups advocating for non-violent resistance to human rights violations. These people raise awareness of human rights in Vietnamese society, promote civic engagement, seek dialogue with those in power, and advocate for equality and tolerance. 

Read more about our activities in Vietnam.

Transnistria is an internationally unrecognised region that declares itself as the Transnistrian Republic of Moldova. De jure, Transnistria is still part of the Republic of Moldova, although its government has no control over the region. The region thus remains an island of Russian influence in the immediate vicinity of the EU's borders, a kind of open-air museum of Soviet times, especially in the mindset of the local population. 
We have been working in Moldova since 2003. Our main focus in Transnistria is on helping local activists and organisations. Over the past few years, we have assisted in establishing a network of Information and Law Centers and Civic Clubs #19.

Read more about our activities in Transnistria.

In Central Asia, we support human rights defenders, lawyers, activists, and members of civil society. This is where human rights remain under threat in all five countries of the region. All countries are in a region with a complex political situation, but they differ from each other in their level of political, economic and social development. They also share the status of 'not free' countries, with the exception of Kyrgyzstan, which remains in its 'partly free' status.
We provide direct psychological, legal, and medical assistance to civil society representatives. In addition, we also offer opportunities for young leaders in Prague.

Read more about our activities in Central Asia.