The Fond for development and Partnership in Africa
Der Fonds für Entwicklung und Partnerschaft in Afrika unterstützt seit sechzig Jahren Selbsthilfeprojekte in Zimbabwe und Südafrika
Masike is known for her modern and unique Afrofusion style. She is called “The princess of Mbira” because of her fiery voice and mbira sounds. She is a singer-songwriter as well as a dancer, a visual artist, an advocate for education and women, and also a poet.
In her poems, she addresses the question of when the oppression of women began and how society can break away from this notion.
Find Masike online on her Webseite or on Instagram and Twitter.
Kupfuwa, who is now 22 years old, takes photographs under the name “Remy shoots”. He wants to tell stories with his pictures. The quality of his camera is not important to him. In 2019, he was nominated for the youth competition of the Sony World Photography Award.
Remy’s path led him to Johannesburg, where he is pursuing his dream career as a photographer and youth advocate.
Kudita was the first female photographer from Africa to win the Sony World Photography Award in 2021. She won the award with her series “African Victorian”, in which she addresses her mixed heritage. In her work, she focuses on “bodies that have been overlooked until now”.
She wants to encourage others to challenge themselves and try new things.
Find Tamary Kudita online on Instagram.
Ncube is a multi-award winning poet and spoken word artist. With her poems, she fights against gender-based violence and the oppression of women.
Her poem “Betrayal” addresses femicide against international women environmental activists.
Find Ncube online on Facebook.
“Members of the board of directors disclose vested interests which are relevant to the activity of the organization in the annual report or on the organization’s website.
If the interests of the organization clash with the interests of members of the board of directors or their associates, these interests are disclosed to the board of directors. In such cases, the member concerned abstains.”
Find the regulations here, only available in German.
None.
Please note that we have additional information about the engagements of our Board of Directors on the respective page.
For many decades, fepa has celebrated its anniversaries on the basis of the 1963 statutes, which introduced independent general assemblies.
The impulse to found fepa came in 1959 when Hedwig Schneeberger, a teacher from Berne, heard about the establishment of community farms in what was then Rhodesia: Working together as equals, black and white pioneers created a future-oriented project for the development of the country in southern Africa.
Hedwig Schneeberger was fully committed to financially supporting these anti-racist projects, which challenged the Rhodesian government and the ideology of white supremacy with a genuine partnership approach. Schneeberger found support from like-minded people so that fepa could be founded in 1963, incidentally with the active support of the “refugee mother” Gertrud Kurtz of the Christian Peace Service as well as the Bernese Teachers’ Association.
In the early 1960s, when the majority of African states gained independence from the former colonial powers, too many Swiss still sympathised with the white settler societies that were resisting a change in their political domination. In this environment, fepa’s stance was progressive and courageous. Elements that still characterise fepa today were already present then:
Zimbabwe has remained the focal country of our projects 50 years after fepa was founded. fepa has closely accompanied its partners through the turbulence of recent years.
Via our partner organisations in what was then Rhodesia, first contacts were made in the 1960s with the emerging cooperative movement in Tanzania, which soon caused a developmental furore under the name “Ujamaa”. In Tanzania’s Ruvuma District, fepa supported this grassroots initiative, which was bureaucratised as a state doctrine at the end of the 1960s. For many years fepa then worked with CDTF (Community Development Trust Fund).
fepa’s involvement in South Africa began in 1966 with the support of projects by “Treeman” Mazibuko, a pioneer of organic farming. Other fepa partners in South Africa were Rommel Roberts’ Hilltop Empowerment Centre in the Eastern Cape and the Mdantsane Peace Project.
For some years fepa was also active in Moçambique. In 2004, former members of the association Solidarity with Moçambique approached fepa with a proposal for cooperation in the field of malaria prevention in the province of Cabo Delgado on the border with Tanzania.
Brochure on our 50 year jubilee.
Since 2015, fepa’s office is being ran by historian and ethnologist Marcel Dreier.
Denise joined fepa in April 2024. She is a certified coach with a wealth of international and sustainability experience, bringing a holistic, nurturing pair of eyes to her role. Having delved into environmental, cultural, and social challenges across four continents, Denise has equipped herself with creative problem-solving skills throughout her career. When not working, she enjoys swimming in lakes and rivers with friends, meeting people and looking after her many plants.
Iria Mudimu is an anthropologist and filmmaker who had regular long stays in Zimbabwe. She has been working with fepa since August 2020 on various tasks.
Katja Majirija is an environmental engineer with a BASc degree from the ZHAW in Wädenswil. Assignments in international cooperation with Zimbabwe (e.g. CAMPFIRE). She has been with fepa since August 2020.
Dingulwazi Kenneth Mudimu, Joyce Schäfer and many more that we can count on for short-term assignments. If you also want to participate: More information here. We look forward to seeing you!
fepa was successfully re-certified on 21 November 2022 for the next years (until the end of 2026). We have started with the implementation of small requirements and recommendations, e.g. a register of the board members’ commitment of interests, privacy policy and the calculation of the project effort at the newsletter. The certificate document is uploaded here.
Strengthening trust
Zewo ensures clarity and honesty of fundraising organisations and promotes society’s trust in charitable activities.
Audit aid organisations
Zewo is committed to ensuring that donations are used for their intended purpose, effectively and economically. Aid organisations that allow themselves to be audited by Zewo and meet the strict requirements receive the Zewo seal of approval.
Informing the public
The information service (Tel: +41 44 366 99 55) receives enquiries, tips and complaints about organisations that collect donations. Donors receive independent and competent information on questions about donations.
“I appreciate fepa as an organisation that does not ‘simply’ provide classic (technical) ‘development aid’, but focuses on partnerships with local organisations, placing emphasis on building and supporting local social (self-)organisation and supporting youth, women, HIV-positive and disadvantaged groups. I also find the forward-looking agricultural-social projects (PORET, permaculture…) very rewarding. I would like to leave the exact selection of the supported groups to fepa.” – Martin Bloch, fepa member
As a member, you are part of fepa. At the annual general meeting, you have a say in how fepa should develop its goals and its way of working for the benefit of the people of Southern Africa.
As a member, you are part of the foundation of our organisation. With your commitment, you contribute to an income that fepa can count on.
As a member, we will send you additional information on request and include you in extraordinary activities. And, of course, you will also receive our member’s newsletter twice a year with the statement of accounts and interesting articles about the cooperation with our project partners.
Become a member now: info@fepafrika.ch
