Terre des Hommes International Federation (TDHIF) is a non-political network dedicated to helping children in need and promoting their rights, regardless of race, religion, gender, or culture.

The Terre des Hommes International Federation consists of 10 independent member organizations, including Terre des Hommes Denmark. TDHIF’s headquarters are located in Geneva, Switzerland. The 10 member countries of Terre des Hommes have 921 projects in 69 countries, 8,500 volunteers, and a revenue exceeding 1.3 billion DKK.

TDHIF can be seen as an association where member organizations collaborate when it adds value to their activities. The member organizations share a name, values, and principles and work to achieve the same goals of helping children in need based on the same methods.

At the same time, each member organization has the freedom to take independent initiatives and actions and to operate in the way it finds most beneficial. Besides Denmark, Terre des Hommes is represented in Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Canada.

History

Terre des Hommes was founded in 1960 in Lausanne, Switzerland, by French-Swiss Edmund Kaiser.

The goal was to create an organization that remained focused on children in need, in contrast to the administratively heavy organizations that, according to Edmund Kaiser, often ended up drowning good intentions in administration and bureaucracy, ultimately benefiting adults more than children.

Edmund Kaiser found inspiration for the name “Terre des Hommes,” or “Earth of Mankind” in English, from the world-renowned author Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s autobiography of the same name. In the book, the author touches on themes such as every person’s duty to create a better world, the obligation to cooperate, and the potential in every child if they are protected, nurtured, and loved—values that Terre des Hommes remains faithful to.

Edmund Kaiser’s desire to help children in need stemmed from the then-ongoing conflict in Algeria. The organization’s first achievement was transporting Algerian children suffering from tuberculosis to Switzerland. That was nearly 60 years ago.

Today, Edmund Kaiser’s pioneering efforts have grown into a federation of ten countries (TDHIF) with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. Terre des Hommes now helps children in need in 69 countries with a total of 921 projects and a combined revenue of over one billion DKK. More than 8,500 volunteers work for Terre des Hommes.

In 1967, seven years after Edmund Kaiser’s assistance to Algerian children, Terre des Hommes Denmark was established.