Junge Frauen am Malen

Vision - Mission - Values

Founded in 1981 by a doctor, Vivamos Mejor is a privately owned and Swiss-based foundation. Our headquarters is in Bern and we have a branch office in Zurich. We are not affiliated with any political groups or religions and we are a ZEWO-certified, tax-exempt non-profit organization. We work primarily in long-term developmental collaborations and we also actively give humanitarian aid when catastrophic events occur in our project areas.

Our Vision

We are committed to giving socially marginalized communities in Latin America a fair chance at social participation, education, and income to overcome poverty on their own.

Our Mission

As a grassroots development organization, we empower socially disadvantaged communities so that they can actively exercise their rights and duties as members of society and promote the sustainable development of their surroundings.

Our Values

Vivamos Mejor, as a politically and religiously neutral organisation, promotes equal opportunities, transparency, fairness, and non-discrimination. We provide aid to people regardless of where they come from, their religion, or political affiliation. We promote equal rights and participation of all in society. We respect cultural values, discuss matters on an equal footing, and are reliable.

Focused and Professional

We work in two thematic programmes and focus on Latin America. We promote the transfer of knowledge among the beneficiaries, between the partner organizations, and share it in relevant professional networks.

Efficient and Transparent

We use lean structures and utilise the resources in Switzerland only as necessary for sustainable, efficient, and professional work. We maintain a transparent use of funds and carry out regular reporting.

Ethical Work

We live our values and consistently uphold our Code of Conduct. This includes keeping a sustainable investment strategy, a due diligence process before accepting funds, and ensuring the obligation of information disclosure.
Bäuerin Brasilien

Our Working Principles

We see ourselves as competent patrons for marginalised groups for whom government programmes have done too little. We empower, educate, and strengthen these communities by urging the people to exercise their rights and duties as enlightened citizens and to promote the sustainable development of their surroundings.

Vivamos Mejor consistently verifies the impact of its work in collaboration with universities. With evidence-based success, we raise awareness to policy makers and show them worthwhile investments.

We are committed to the professional training of future specialists and give them access to our insights into the real world of the beneficiaries. To this end, we enter into strategic collaborations with universities in the project countries and in Switzerland, provide them with educational opportunities involving research or field work, and then recruit them for specialist consultancy.

We always promote temporary start-up assistance because we believe in capacity building. Our aim is to build up the inner strength of socially marginalized communities. We support them in the process of finding their own solutions to their problems.