Misplaced Pages

#637362

38-591: The Swiss Aid Committee was created in February 1937 at the initiative of Rodolfo Olgiati , secretary of the pacifist organization Service Civil Internacional (SCI), who promoted a plan to act in Spain and bring together the maximum number of Swiss entities to contribute to humanitarian aid, with the go-ahead from the Swiss federal government, which had initially been reluctant due to a strict interpretation of neutrality. In fact, SCI

76-612: A SCI volunteer and former teacher at the Swiss school in Barcelona, who ran the canteen for pregnant and lactating women in Madrid as part of the facilities of Swiss Aid. Schneider would be Olgiati's wife in the future. Olgiati and Schneider also met another SCI volunteer in Barcelona, Ruth von Wild . After the end of the war in January and February 1939, the Swiss Aid continued providing services to

114-590: A humanitarian mission to support children mainly in the Republican zone . The mission consisted of evacuating children from war areas to safer places; distributing material and food as well as other basic necessities from Swiss donations to children's colonies, hospitals and shelters; and managing milk canteens for vulnerable and displaced populations. The volunteers were working mainly in Madrid , Burjassot (Valencia) and Barcelona . In Spain, Olgiati met Irma Schneider ,

152-646: A Swiss educator and pacifist who founded the Herzberg Adult Learning Center. In 1935, Olgiati became the secretary of the pacifist organization Service Civil International (SCI) , created in 1920 by Pierre Cérésole . During the Spanish Civil War , Olgiati was the secretary of the Swiss Committee for Aid to Children of Spain , better known as Swiss Aid . It was a platform of non-governmental organizations, led by SCI , and developed since 1937

190-627: A culture of peace. Most of the workcamps are short-term projects of between one and three weeks for groups of international volunteers. In 2022, SCI organised 136 such workcamps and 839 volunteers participated in them. SCI also sends volunteers to workcamps organised by partner organisations. About half of volunteers are aged between 18 and 25 and about half of all participants are school or university students. In addition in 2022, 324 volunteers participated in long-term volunteering or special programmes. Many long-term voluntary projects within Europe are funded by

228-568: A means to post-war reconciliation and an alternative to military service . Cérésole, together with English Quaker Hubert Parris, put the idea into practice with a workcamp in the French village of Esnes-en-Argonne , which had been badly damaged during the Battle of Verdun . The team of volunteers, which set to work in November 1920, included three Germans, an Austrian and a Dutchman. A Dutchwoman covered

266-403: A public park, including outdoor swimming pool and paddling pool, alongside British volunteers and local men and women, during the summer of 1931. Cérésole, who was inspired by Gandhi 's philosophy of non-violence and who had met Gandhi in 1931, wanted to spread the idea of workcamps to India . Through the support of British Quakers and friends of Gandhi, among them Charles Freer Andrews , he

304-506: A teacher. From 1929 to 1932, he taught at Odenwaldschule in Heppenheim , created in 1910 by Paul Geheeb following the progressive education movement. The experience in this school had a great influence on his thinking and action. In 1933, he worked for an institution for children with learning difficulties in England. From 1934 to 1935, he worked in youth education for Fritz Wartenweiler ,

342-436: Is an international peace organisation , founded by Swiss pacifist Pierre Cérésole in the aftermath of World War I to foster understanding and a culture of peace between people from different countries. Since 1920 SCI has organised international volunteering projects in the form of workcamps and has expanded to have branches in 40 countries, as well as partner organisations who help run the projects. SCI bases its work on

380-596: The European Commission through the European Solidarity Corps programme. SCI was founded by Swiss pacifist Pierre Cérésole , who had taken part in the peace conference organised by the Fellowship of Reconciliation at Bilthoven in 1920. It was at the conference that he gained support from other Christian pacifists, including Quakers , for his idea of an international civil service, which would be both

418-459: The Quakers on many of the missions. SCI members who participated in the Swiss Aid included Elisabeth Eidenbenz , Ruth von Wild , Karl Ketterer, Irma Schneider, Ralph Hegnauer , Trudi Ketterer, Maurice Dubois, Elsbeth Kasser , Willy Begert and Eleonore Imbelli, and others. In January 1939, most of the Swiss Aid volunteers left Spain. In a few months, they reorganized in the south of France to assist

SECTION 10

#1733085341638

456-754: The Swiss Aid in Europe (now named Swiss Aid). Specifically, Olgiati managed aid for the displaced population in Germany in collaboration with Marianne Flügge-Oeri , who had also been part of Swiss Aid. From 1949 to 1970, Olgiati was a member of the International Red Cross based in Geneva, where he moved. From 1949 to 1958, Olgiati also worked for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Olgiati

494-491: The 1980s and an international refugee campaign in the 1990s. With the reorientation in the 1970s, SCI established working groups with a focus on a particular region or interest area. In 1997 a major constitutional change gave these groups an official status which is approved every year. Regional working groups exist for Africa (AWG), Asia (AIWG), Latin America (Abya Yala) and South Eastern Europe (SAVA). Other working groups focused on

532-728: The Children of Spain was renamed "Swiss Cartel for Relief to Children Victims of War", in German Schweizerischen Arbeitsgemeinschaft für kriegsgeschädigte Kinder . Olgiati remained in the secretariat, coordinating a campaign for humanitarian work in the "free zone" of southern France and in Switzerland from 1940 to 1941, the activities of the volunteers and the negotiations with the authorities in Bern. In 1944, Olgiati wrote down his memories and reflections about his experience in

570-701: The Cold War, SCI established an east–west commission in 1972 in order to facilitate volunteer exchange and to improve co-operation with partner organisations in Eastern Europe. After the Revolutions of 1989 , new SCI branches were founded in former socialist countries. During the 1970s, SCI re-evaluated its role in society, moving away from the mainly developmental aid model of workcamps towards one of raising social and political awareness. In keeping with this approach were international campaigns for Namibian independence in

608-526: The Spanish Civil War. In January 1942, when the "Swiss Cartel for Relief to Children Victims of War" was transferred to the Swiss Red Cross , Olgiati brought his organizational experience with him, but resigned at the end of 1943. From the end of 1944 to 1948, Olgiati was the head of operations of Schweizer Spende or Don suisse , an aid organization for post-war reconstruction that in 1948 became

646-727: The Spanish Republic. Twenty years later, humanitarian aid was given to orphans in Tunisia during the Algerian War . These two projects were rare examples of SCI providing humanitarian aid. A branch of SCI had been set up in Britain in 1931, the same year as the Brynmawr workcamp. As more countries set up branches after World War II an international association of SCI branches with a secretariat in Paris

684-692: The United Kingdom, were sent to India in the 1950s and to Malaysia in the 1960s, while Indian and Pakistani volunteers participated in European workcamps. During the Cold War , SCI organised activities where people from both sides of the Iron Curtain could meet. SCI volunteers from Western Europe took part in a workcamp during the 5th World Youth Festival in Warsaw , Poland, in 1955. Workcamps were later organised with

722-703: The co-operation of socialist volunteer organisations in Poland, East Germany , the Soviet Union , Hungary , Czechoslovakia and Bulgaria . Volunteers from Eastern Europe could also participate in workcamps in the West, with for example 166 Czechoslovak volunteers taking part in projects organised by the British branch of SCI during the Cold War. While it was not possible to set up SCI branches in Eastern European countries during

760-628: The direction of the recently founded Evangelical Home of Eastern Switzerland in Wartensee ( canton of St. Gallen ). Throughout his life, Olgiati also worked for the creation of an alternative civilian service to the military service in Switzerland. In 1958, he was named honorary doctorate by the University of Basel . After his retirement in 1970, he was an honorary member of the ICRC. Service Civil International Service Civil International ( SCI )

798-484: The following topics: National SCI organisations can be branches with full membership or groups with associated membership, according to their constitution, organisation and infrastructure. The national branches can have their own names, and describe themselves as a "branch of SCI" in documents. As of 2022, SCI counts 40 organisations as branches and groups. SCI also works with partner organisations to run voluntary projects. The organisation has consultative status with

SECTION 20

#1733085341638

836-413: The following values: volunteering, non-violence, respect for human rights, solidarity, respect for the environment, inclusion, empowerment, and cooperation. According to their constitution, SCI "believes that all people are capable of living together with mutual respect and without recourse to any form of violence to solve conflicts ". SCI organises international voluntary workcamps in order to promote

874-453: The initial costs of the work and did the cooking and washing. The team constructed two wooden houses and then, when the French government cancelled their contract, turned to clearing fields of debris, filling up shell-holes and repairing a road until, in April 1921, the French authorities asked them to leave. In spite of its premature end, the project had been of benefit to both the volunteers and

912-593: The name of Swiss Cartel for Relief to Children Victims of War, originally in German: Schweizerischen Arbeitsgemeinschaft für kriegsgeschädigte Kinder (SAK). It remained a neutral NGO platform, led by the SCI , which extended their action to all refugee children from war zones, because more children started arriving from the north of France due to the Second World War. From 1942, the platform

950-592: The project was well received as creating a new image of how Europeans could interact with Indians by, among others, Rajendra Prasad , who later became the President of India. In 1937, SCI joined a number of International relief organisations working in Spain during the Spanish Civil War . Under the name Ayuda Suiza and coordinated by SCI activist Rodolfo Olgiati , Swiss SCI volunteers including Elisabeth Eidenbenz , Ralph Hegnauer und Idy Hegnauer evacuated women and children and distributed food and clothing in parts of

988-564: The refugee population in the south of France, where they reorganized the infrastructures. The Swiss colony for Spanish refugee children Château lleva Lac in Sigean ( Aude ) and the Elna's maternity , run by Ruth von Wild and Elisabeth Eidenbenz , were created. After the outbreak of World War II , this humanitarian mission was extended to other countries at war. So the Swiss Aid Committee for

1026-647: The spring and summer of 1928. Until 1934 the group was run informally, but at that stage Cérésole decided to found a national organisation. After some debate, Cérésole's view that the organisation should broaden its base and be open to non-pacifists prevailed. . In 1931 SCI sent a team of international volunteers to the Welsh colliery town of Brynmawr , which was hard-hit by unemployment. The Quakers , joined by student organisations, had started relief work in Brymawr in 1929. The SCI team of 37 international volunteers helped build

1064-460: The thousands of refugees interned in camps and to retrieve children from sponsored colonies who had been evacuated to France. In this context, they founded children's colonies and maternity wards, such as the famous Elna Maternity , and served various internment camps. In 1940, the Swiss Aid adapted to the new situation created by the outbreak of the Second World War so it was refounded with

1102-546: The villagers, and Cérésole's enthusiasm for workcamps was undiminished. Another opportunity for a workcamp presented itself in 1924. The village of Vers-l'Eglise in the Vaud district of Switzerland had been damaged by an avalanche in December 1923. Forty volunteers from different countries spent three weeks in August 1924 rebuilding a house, building a bridge and clearing a stream. This

1140-515: Was able to set up the first workcamp in India in 1934 to do disaster relief work in the Bihar region, which had been affected by the 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake . The project had only four European participants and the concept of organising workcamps as international reconciliation proved difficult to translate to a colonial context, where white Europeans would be identified with the colonising power. However,

1178-509: Was defeated in the Swiss parliament. The largest disaster relief camp of the early history of the organisation took place in 1928 in Liechtenstein , after the river Rhine had burst its banks in October 1927 and left farmland covered in silt and stones. Cérésole, With the help of his brother, colonel Ernest Cérésole, recruited more than 700 volunteers from 17 countries who cleared the land over

Ayuda Suiza - Misplaced Pages Continue

1216-399: Was followed by a workcamp to help rebuild Someo, a village in Switzerland that had been damaged by a landslide , where for the first time unemployed men were recruited. In 1924, Cérésole also started to promote international workcamps as a model service for conscientious objectors , in order to support a political campaign to introduce an alternative service in Switzerland, a proposal that

1254-537: Was founded in 1948. During the following years the number of branches proliferated. The first branch in Asia was the Indian branch, registered in 1956. There was likewise a proliferation of the number of workcamps, from 46 workcamps in 9 countries in 1947 to 298 workcamps in 24 countries in 1968. In the 1950s, SCI established development aid programmes and recruited qualified volunteers for these. The largest development programme

1292-720: Was in Tlemcen Province in western Algeria , set up in 1962 after the Algerian War. Volunteers including Simone Tanner Chaumet and Mohamed Sahnoun were involved until 1968 in rebuilding the village of Beni Hamou and setting up medical and primary education services in the district of Sebdou . In the 1960s, regional coordination structures for Africa, Asia and Europe were set up. From 1949 Swiss SCI volunteers had been carrying out relief work in refugee camps in Faridabad in India. Long-term volunteers from Europe, mainly Switzerland and

1330-480: Was one of the main founders of the Swiss development aid organization Helvetas in 1955, with the aim of moving from aid reconstruction in Europe to peace work outside of Europe. Olgiato had founded the association as Swiss aid in extra-European regions (ASRE) ( Schweizerisches Hilfswerk für aussereuropäische Gebiete, in German), together with Regina Kägi-Fuchsmann . In 1965, it was renamed Helvetas. In 1958, he assumed

1368-797: Was open to work with both side in conflict but, in the practice, they almost always acted in the Republican faction zone, because in general the Nationalist faction rejected the aid. There were local Swiss Aid groups located in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia and Murcia. The main tasks of the volunteers were: manage canteens; evacuate children from war zones to safe places; send to children's colonies, shelters and hospitals basic necessities from donations; and logistical support to children's colonies, shelters and hospitals through direct assistance and sponsorship. They worked together with republican institutions and local entities who received refugee children and families. Swiss Aid volunteers also collaborated with

1406-582: Was transferred to the Swiss Red Cross , which extended their humanitarian action throughout France, using aid systems that had already been used during the Spanish Civil War.   Rodolfo Olgiati Rodolfo Olgiati ( Lugano , 30 June 1905 – Bern , 31 May 1986) was a Swiss educator and humanitarian activist . Rodolfo Olgiati was the son of Emilio Olgiati and Fanny Pozzy. He attended school in Chur and Bern. After graduating from high school, he studied mathematics and physics at ETH Zurich and graduated as

1444-403: Was very important inside the committee and contributed with the largest number of volunteers to the ground (around thirty volunteers throughout the entire war, mostly Swiss). Olgiati was also the secretary of the committee. The main beneficiaries of the aid were children and other vulnerable populations, such as the elderly and pregnant and lactating women. From the initial idea, the Swiss Aid

#637362