The listed NGO examples have played incredible roles in making the world more sustainable for all. Africa consists of the most undeserved and marginalized communities in the world, where the people lack the most basic amenities such as food, water, clothing and shelter.
People in this area earn little to nothing, live from hand to mouth and need all the funding and supports they can get. Here are 20 NGOs dedicating their time and resources towards numerous causes.
- ETIJAH Cairo, Egypt
Etijah is a developmental center that aims to build capacities of non-governmental youth serving organizations to provide a professional and safe context for youth development in Egypt. It seeks to promote and facilitate the establishment of an equitable society where all the members irrespective of their gender, age or status have an opportunity to participate in building the social, political and economic infrastructure of Egypt. They are focused on creating a thriving environment in which all members of the community are granted equal opportunities to progress and improve the quality of their lives, their families’ and the society.
- Conservation through Poverty Alleviation International Maroantsetra, Madagascar
CPALI is an international NGO dedicated to conservation with a focus on people and their relationship with their environment. They are on a mission to protect areas of high conservation value by linking the economic livelihoods of poor rural farmers to environmental preservation. They aim to strengthen the existing relationship between natives and their environment through the development of sustainable livelihoods.
CPALI advocates for the improvement of the bond between people and their immediate environment and encourages natives to embrace healthy relationships with it. One of the projects that the organization has worked on is the development of wild silk production technologies using indigenous silkworms and plants to support farmers who have been economically displaced from the Makira Protected Area. Farmers earn money by participating in training programs; this money can increase their income by 30%-300% which is enough to replace extended use of forest resources.
- Little Light Foundation Uganda
Little Light is a non-profit organization, meant to empower underprivileged communities from Namuwongo Slum in Kampala.
Little Light operates several programs, such as: education, sponsorship and health. The center provides vital services to the slum dwellers and gives them access to proper education, health services, economic empowerment, psycho-social support and varied information.
The organization has been working in its full capacities for 11 years now and today, Little Light directly supports over 300 beneficiaries especially children, youths and adults.
- Save The Children Abuja, Nigeria
Save the Children has been working to ensure all children survive, learn and are protected.
The organization protects children from all forms of violence, especially girls, orphans, vulnerable children and children affected by conflict. They run programs to promote children’s rights and protection from the community to the national level and campaign to ensure that girls have equal access to education and are protected from child marriage.
They are focused on increasing access to quality of education, including early childhood care and reducing the causes and impact of poverty on children, by strengthening the livelihoods and resilience of households.
The organization also sets up temporary learning spaces and support systems to help children recover from trauma and to support the re-enrollment of out of school children so that all children can have an education.
- Water School Nairobi, Kenya
Many African countries are unable to access clean water, and those that have access to it are unable to store it, which gives rise to sanitation problems causing child death as a result of preventable, water-borne illness every 90 seconds. Water School has developed a proven method for preventing water-borne illnesses in order to save lives; such methods include solar disinfection, use of handmade sanitary equipment like tippy taps for hand-washing as well as teaching best hygiene practices
World Vision is a global Christian relief, development and advocacy organization focused on working with children, families and communities to combat poverty and injustice. They are committed to impacting issues related to child protection, health and education within South Africa and around the world regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, or gender by providing clean water, safe homes, education and support to low income communities. One of their current projects include the COVID-19 emergency response provides targeted support to communities in 26 countries across the continent, focusing on situations of pre-existing vulnerability and fragility where children are most at risk.
Première Urgence Internationale is a non-profit, non-political, non-religious international NGO that seeks to help civilians who are marginalized or excluded as a result of natural disasters, war and economic collapse. This organization is focused on defending basic human rights and providing a rapid global response to the basic needs of populations affected by humanitarian crises to help them regain independence and dignity.
This organization like most others, makes use of donations to function effectively and to carry out projects.
The Nelson Mandela Foundation is a non-profit organization focused on memory, dialogue and legacy work, founded by Nelson Mandela in 1999 to promote his lifelong vision of freedom and equality for all.
The Foundation focuses its work on contributing to the making of just societies by mobilizing the legacy of Nelson Mandela, providing public access to information on his life and times, and convening dialogue on critical social issues. The key objective is finding sustainable solutions to the problems confronting humanity
- High Atlas Foundation Morocco
The High Atlas Foundation is a Moroccan nonprofit organization founded in 2000 by former Peace Corps Volunteers committed to furthering sustainable development. It supports Moroccan communities to take action in implementing human development initiative such as sustainable agriculture (Nurseries of fruit trees and wild medicinal plants, irrigation efficiency, organic certification, technical skills-building, carbon sequestration, and commercialization), Education (School infrastructure, gardens, and environmental stewardship), Health (Clean drinking water and waste management), Women’s and youth empowerment (Self-discovery, human rights, and cooperative development) and Capacity-building.
Humanitarian Relief and Development Council (HRDC) is a national non-governmental organization delivering high-quality programming to beneficiaries across Somalia. HRDC programming is directed at refugees, returnees, vulnerable host communities, and internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Somalia. The organization strives to facilitate people-centered development programs, supporting crisis-intervention as well as livelihoods-focused initiatives that create opportunities for marginalized and disadvantaged people especially in sectors like Health, Women and gender equality, Early Childhood Development, Social Services/Child Protection, Social Protection, Education Justice/Law Enforcement and Human Rights
Self-Help International is a non-profit that devotes its efforts to alleviating world hunger and poverty, by providing training and educational opportunities to rural citizens and whole communities in developing countries that ultimately leads to self-reliance.
Self-Help works to alleviate hunger by assisting the rural poor, small-scale farmers and related enterprises in developing countries by helping them become self-reliant in meeting the needs of families and communities through training, education, leadership development, and other forms of assistance.
Self-Help is currently operating sustainable development programs in Ghana, West Africa, and Nicaragua, Central America.
Give Directly is the first nonprofit that allows donors send money directly to the world’s poorest. The organization believes that people living in poverty deserve the dignity to choose for themselves how best to improve their lives and cash enables that choice. To them, the recipients always come first and they don’t impose their preferences or judgment on them but instead allow them to make decisions by themselves.
Their programs are funded by individual donors, foundations, business and institutions.
Action Aid is a federation whose mission is to promote human rights and eradicate poverty. This Organization works to help promote the right of people especially the less privileged and advocate positive actions to end poverty and injustice with focus on areas such as Education, Food and Agriculture, Human Security in Conflict and Emergencies, Health, Just and Democratic Governance, and Women’s Rights.
Action Aid is part of a global movement to promote human rights and eradicate poverty by implementing nationwide, multi-donor-funded interventions in Africa.
ActionAid is strengthening and enabling community associations and networks and takes up cases of injustice and inequality as well as unfair treatment towards the less privileged in the hope of achieving a better and more sustainable future for all.
Zana Africa Foundation equips adolescent girls in Kenya with the tools they need to safely navigate puberty and step into their potential, while also leading global advocacy efforts to break the period taboo.
Zana Africa is focused on creating a world where girls in East Africa live healthy, safe, educated lives while defining their own purpose-a world in which menstrual health management is recognized as a human right, and the onset of puberty as the most effective time to engage girls in a range of personal health decision
The Coca Cola foundation is a philanthropic arm of the Coca-Cola company that aims to support sustainable community initiatives as well as provide response to communities during challenging times. The Coca-Cola Foundation is providing additional funding and grants to communities and organizations in response to COVID-19 pandemic. To date, over $55M has been provided to support local organizations and vulnerable communities during these times.
This foundation is giving back more using initiatives like the Coca life, which gives back 1% of annual sales to the community.
Amnesty international is a global movement consisting of individuals that are passionate about fighting injustice
The organization is tasked with investigating and exposing cases of injustice towards vulnerable people in the society. They lobby governments, and other powerful groups such as companies. Making sure they keep their promises and respect international law.
Through detailed research and determined campaigning, Amnesty International help fight abuses of human rights worldwide, brings torturers to justice, Change oppressive laws and free people jailed just for voicing their opinion.
African women development fund (AWDF) is a Pan-African grant making organization that supports the realization and fulfillment of African women’s rights through funding of autonomous women’s organizations on the continent.
AWDF is touching topics on body and health rights, women’s economic security and justice , leadership participation and peace. is a grant making foundation that supports local, national and regional women’s organizations working towards the empowerment of African women and the promotion and realization of their rights
Beyond zero is an organization that is focused on strengthening health and community service delivery systems at all levels of health care. They work to ensure a world free from new HIV infections by pioneering sustainable solutions through mentoring, technical assistance, training and research. They work with communities, provincial governments, civil society organizations, AIDS Councils, health facilities, media, and academic institutions to improve health systems and health outcomes of people in communities and to ensure that everyone is given help irrespective of gender or sexual orientation.
emPawa is an initiative created with one simple mission: helping new artists reach their full potential musically by equipping them with the knowledge and funding to do so.
This initiative provides artists with marketing, distribution and management at no cost. It’s is an incubator program that provides career guidance and funds for upcoming artists in Africa.
SOS Children’s Villages is the world’s largest non-governmental organization focused on supporting children without parental care and families at risk. They work to ensure that children grow up in a loving environment with the right support system and have their rights fulfilled.
They are on a mission to build families for children in need, we help them shape their own futures, and we share in the development of their communities.
SOS Children’s Villages has since grown to become a well-known organization with 2000 SOS Children facilities worldwide in over 70 years of operation.
All around the world and mostly Africa, philanthropic organization are making a mark and touching lives of people in many sectors. They are extremely dedicated to their causes and provide support to vulnerable people.
