AVAID

AVAID – Association of Volunteers for Aid Development – Associazione Volontari per l’Aiuto allo Sviluppo – is a Swiss NGO (non-governmental organization) that has been active for twenty years in international cooperation interventions. AVAID's mission is to support the dignity of individuals in the most challenging contexts through development aid projects. AVAID, with offices in Lugano and Bellinzona, is officially recognized as a public utility organization by the authorities of the Canton of Ticino and is a member of FOSIT, the Federation of NGOs of Italian-speaking Switzerland. AVAID's activities focus on support for children, youth, and their families and have a significant presence in Kenya, Uganda, Haiti, and Lebanon. AVAID also supports various projects in other countries such as Ecuador, Brazil, Sierra Leone, and Jordan, and intervenes in humanitarian emergency situations. AVAID is a founding member of the AVSI Foundation (www.avsi.org), a network of NGOs from the North and South of the world based in Italy. The network aims to improve the quality of interventions, ensure sustainability, and strengthen the reliability of project partners. AVAID's interventions are carried out through donations from private individuals and companies, with fundraising initiatives and through the remote support program which has been participated in for years by several hundred Swiss families. Various projects have also received public funds from some municipalities in Ticino, for example, Sorengo and Lugano. Each year, AVAID's financial statements are audited and certified by audit firms and submitted to the cantonal tax authority.