Helvetas was established in 1955 as the first private organization for development cooperation in Switzerland. It is a politically independent association with 38,000 members, 40,000 supporters and 16 honorary regional groups in Switzerland.

Helvetas is active in 22 developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. It became active in Nepal in 1956.

The mission of Helvetas is to contribute to the improvement of living conditions of economically and socially disadvantaged people in Asia, Africa, Latin America and Switzerland. It also works at promoting the Swiss population’s solidarity with disadvantaged fellow human beings. Its working principles are:

• Focus on the disadvantaged

• Strive for social equity

• Support self-help/self reliance

• Strengthen governance

• Work through partnerships

Helvetas works with economic and social responsibility. Its working approaches are:

• Understanding poverty and culture

• Strengthening gender balanced development

• Avoiding dependency relationships

• Ensuring accountability and transparency

• Searching for solutions together

Helvetas has supported a number of projects in the past. It is currently focusing the following working areas- Rural infrastructure, Sustainable use of natural resources, Education and culture and Civil society and the State. In Nepal, TBSU is one of the programs in the Rural Infrastructure Sector. It works as an implementing agency on behalf of SDC for the trail bridge program.

For more information visit : http://www.helvetas.ch or http://www.helvetasnepal.org.np