Crédit photo : Lucie Carlier

Who we are

Inter Aide specializes in carrying out development programs for particularly poor families. Since its establishment in 1980, the domains in which it acts have been water sanitation and hygiene (WASH), agriculture, health and school support.

These programs are set up in particularly isolated rural areas, where needs and population densities are both high, where few or no NGOs are involved, and where the local situation is stable enough to allow effective action towards populations self-reliance.

There are 66 professionals in the field and at headquarters. They rely on local teams recruited in the intervention zones and, as far as possible, on local partners (such as public authorities, associations or contractors). They strive to always involve the beneficiaries, with the aim of developing their autonomy and the sustainability of the actions carried out.

Inter Aide long-standing presence in the countries of intervention gives it a deep understanding of the local context. The teams are on the ground, and facilitators are often recruited among the beneficiaries.

The approach aims at being concrete and pragmatic:

The analysis of the activities to be implemented is therefore based on field expertise and adapts to meet the changing needs of beneficiaries.
The projects respond to concrete requests and their definition (actions, methodology, duration, etc…) depends entirely on how the context and the needs evolve.
All stakeholders commit themselves:
- The beneficiaries are the parties who drive change, their involvement is crucial and is most often formalized in a contract;
- The project managers are required to manage their project independently and to adapt to the population’s needs;
- The teams at the headquarters are committed to ensure the coherence and sustainability of the projects. They are also responsible for providing expertise and funding, as well as for presenting the operational and financial results in full transparency.
Funding is only sought once the needs have been assessed in depth and once a program has been conceptualized. Inter Aide operates through co-financing: projects do not rely on a single source of funding, thereby ensuring actions are continuous, sustainable and coherent.