Swiss Solidarity collected CHF34.7 million in 2019

Some money went to people in the Swiss mountain village of Bondo, who have struggled since a huge landslide in 2017 (pictured) Keystone

Donations to Swiss SolidarityExternal link last year totalled CHF34.7 million ($35.6 million), which helped people in Mozambique affected by Cyclone Idai, women in forgotten wars and children in Switzerland who are victims of domestic violence. 

The humanitarian arm of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation, swissinfo.ch’s parent company, said on Friday it had spent CHF29.2 million in 2019, supporting six million people in 37 countries. 

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Some CHF5 million went to projects in Switzerland – the highest amount allocated per country. The funds were used, for example, to care for and protect children who are victims of violence at home, to support projects for the professional and social reintegration of young people, and to help people in the mountain village of Bondo, who have suffered considerable hardship caused by a huge landslide in 2017. 

Abroad, most of the money was spent on projects for the Rohingya in Bangladesh (CHF4 million), on projects for victims of the tsunami in Indonesia in 2018, to victims of the war in Yemen and to people affected by Cyclone Idai. 

The foundation’s focus last year was on children: Swiss Solidarity supported 20 projects in 15 countries with its children’s relief fund. The projects were aimed at better protection, better health and better education for more than 475,000 children.