SOS Children's Villages

SOS Children's Villages is the largest independent, non-governmental, nonprofit international

development organization headquartered in Innsbruck, Austria. The organization provides humanitarian
and developmental assistance to children in need and protects their interests and rights around the
world.The first SOS Children's Village was founded in 1949 in Tyrol, Austria by an Austrian
philanthropist Hermann Gmeiner [5]. Today, SOS Children's Villages is active in 135 countries and
territories worldwide [6] [7]

SOS Children's Villages provide alternative families to children without adequate parental care [8]. Children
of different ages and background live together in a house with a full-time parent, usually a woman who
serves as the children's parent. There are usually 6 to 15 houses in a typical SOS Village. In addition to the
Villages, the organization also runs a whole range of programs and facilities to support socially
disadvantaged and impoverished families through its subsidized kindergartens, primary and secondary
schools , youth facilities social and medical centers, and emergency response relief operations . In 2017,
over 85,000 children and youths are raised in 572 SOS Children's Villages and over 700 SOS Youth
Facilities. Another 3.8 million children and adults received services from their other programs [19].

SOS relies on contributions from governments and private donors. In 2017, the organization's 350
institutional partnership contracts totaled more than €31 million in institutional funds implemented.
Funding from foundations and lotteries totaled nearly €48 million, and corporate partnerships provided
more than €49 million in support for SOS Children’s Villages globally [20]. The organization was awarded
the Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize[21] in 2002, and the Princess of Asturias Award of Concord in
2016

History

Children at SOS Children's Village in Kandalaksha, Russia

The Second World War resulted in many children becoming homeless and orphaned. Hermann
Gmeiner(23rd June 1919 – 26th April 1986), who himself participated in the war as an Austrian soldier,
founded the first SOS Children's Village in Imst in the Austrian Federal State of Tyrol in 1949 [23].
Originally, the SOS Children's Village was established to look after the orphans of the Second World War.
But later the organization eventually started looking after other children such as the abandoned, neglected,
abused, and children in difficult economic circumstances[24].

In the second half of the 20th century, the organization spread all over Europe. In 1959, SOS Children's
Village national associations were established in Italy, France, and Germany, and in the same year, the first
SOS Youth Facility was founded in Innsbruck, Austria. As the organization grew, the umbrella
organization SOS-Kinderdorf International was established to oversee all the national associations in the
world in 1960. In the same year, the first SOS Children's Village in South America was founded
in Uruguay. In 1963, the organization reached Asia with the first Villages established in North
Korea and India. Seven years later, the organization founded Villages in Africa in the Republic of Ivory
Coast, Kenya, Ghana, and Sierra Leone[25]. In North America, the first Village was established in 1991 in
the United States. Today, there are now more than 570 SOS Children's Villages present in 135 countries
and territories [26].

Hermann Gmeiner was the SOS Children’s Village president until 1985 when he was succeeded by
Helmut Klein. Helmut Klein, born in 1941 in Bolzano, Italy, who was one of the first children admitted in
SOS Austria, led the organization SOS Children's Villages International for 27 years after which in 2012
he was succeeded by the current president Siddhartha Kaul, born in 1951 in Pilana, India [27] [28]

International Frameworks

SOS Children's Villages Hermann Gmeiner Academy, Austria

The organization follows three international frameworks that serve as guidelines for their work. The
United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) adopted in 1989 is a human rights treaty
that sets out the civil, political, economic, social, health, and cultural rights of children [30]. The UN
Guidelines for Alternative Care of Children adopted in 2009 provides a framework for governments to
acknowledge and deliver alternative care to children in need[31]. And the UN Sustainable Development
Goal adopted in 2015 and valid until 2030 in which SOS' work focuses mainly on vulnerable children and
families [32].

Campaigns
No Child Should Grow Up Alone

In 2017, the organization launched the No Child Should Grow Up Alone campaign which aims to
emphasize research showing that 1 in 10 children (220 million) worldwide is growing up alone. The
campaign is based on a global research called the 'Care Effect' claiming that children growing up without
adequate parental care are particularly vulnerable to different forms of human rights violations such as
child labor, violence, and sex trafficking.[33]

The report concluded that:

"If we provide care for today’s children in vulnerable circumstances, giving them the foundation they need
for learning and developing life skills, we stand a better chance of building a better future for the world”[34]

Care For Me

In 2012, the organization launched the Care For ME! Campaign to encourage research and assessment on
alternative child care and to advocate the need to protect the human rights of children from various
violations committed against them. Participating countries need to assess whether their national alternative
care system complies with the UN Guidelines for Alternative Care of Children [35].

I Matter

In 2009, the organization launched the "I Matter" campaign to improve legislation surrounding the practice
on leaving care. The aim is to support youth ageing out of care in their transition toward independence[36].

Regional & National Network

SOS is present in over 135 countries around the world. These are listed below by region. SOS
organizations in these countries provide active support to children and families. Exceptions are countries
marked with an asterisk, in which SOS maintains representative offices which focus on fundraising and
building awareness.[37]
Africa

Burkina
Algeria Angola Benin Botswana Burundi Cameroon
Faso

Central Democratic
Cape Côte
African Chad Republic of Djibouti Egypt
Verde d'Ivoire
Republic Congo

Equatorial Guinea-
Ethiopia Gambia Ghana Guinea Kenya
Guinea Bissau

Lesotho Libera Mali

Madagascar Malawi Mauritius Morocco

Sierra
Namibia Niger Nigeria Rwanda
Mozambique Senegal Leone

South South
Somalia Somaliland Sudan
Africa Sudan Swaziland Tanzania

Togo Tunisia Uganza Zimbabwe

Zambia

Americas

Costa Dominican
Argentina Bolivia Brazil Canada Chile
Rica Republic

El
Ecuador Haiti Honduras Jamaica Mexico
Salvador Guatemala

Panama Paraguay Peru USA Venezuela

Nicaragua Uruguay
Asia

Armenia Azerbaijan Bahrain China

Bangladesh Cambodia Georgia

India Israel Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kuwait

Indonesia

Laos Lebanon Mongolia Nepal Oman Qatar

Kyrgyzstan

Saudi South Sri

Pakistan Palestine Philippines Syria
Arabia Korea Lanka

United Arab
Taiwan Thailand Uzbekistan Vietnam
Emirates *

Europe

Bosnia &
Albania Austria Belarus Croatia
Belgium Herzegovina Bulgaria

Czech
Denmark * Estonia Finland France Germany Greece
Republic

Hungary Iceland * Italy Latvia

Kosovo Lithuania Luxembourg

Northern Poland Romania

Macedonia Netherlands* Norway Portugal
Cyprus

United
Russia Serbia Spain Sweden * Switzerland* Ukraine Kingdom *

Oceania
 * Australia French Polynesia

Prominent Supporters
The first prominent supporter was the German-British businesswoman Béatrice von Boch-Galhau, wife of
the largest shareholder of the ceramic manufacturer Villeroy & Boch. She became friends with the at-the-
time unknown Hermann Gmeiner. In 1959, she employed some of her private fortune to pay for the first
Kinderdorf in Germany located in Merzig Hilbringen. She also used her husband's political connections to
promote the SOS Kinderdorf idea which was first meeting resistance from the local majors.

Prominent supporters include Nelson Mandela; the Dalai Lama; Kakha Kaladze; Andriy
Shevchenko; Anna Netrebko; Vincent Kompany; Henning Mankell; Ruud van Nistelrooy; Cesc Fàbregas;
Argentine footballer Javier Zanetti; Belgian tennis player Kim Clijsters; French writer & actress Anny
Dupérey; Sarah, Duchess of York; English Child Actress Georgie Henley; Princess Salimah Aga
Khan; Cher; Mike Holmes;June Carter Cash; and Johnny Cash whose memorial fund is towards the work
of SOS Children's Villages worldwide.[citation needed] The organisation received the 2002 Conrad N.
Hilton Humanitarian Prize. [45]

SOS also receive significant funds through Genworth Financial's Putts4Charity initiative, which they run
on golf's European Tour. In November 2012, the initiative reached €1 million in total money raised since
2007.
 Amnesty International
Amnesty International (commonly known as Amnesty or AI) is a London-based non-governmental
organization focused on human rights. The organization claims to have more than seven million members
and supporters around the world.

The stated mission of the organization is to campaign for "a world in which every person enjoys all of the
human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights
instruments."[3]

Amnesty International was founded in London in 1961, following the publication of the article "The
Forgotten Prisoners" in The Observer on 28 May 1961,[4] by the lawyer Peter Benenson. Amnesty draws
attention to human rights abuses and campaigns for compliance with international laws and standards. It
works to mobilize public opinion to put pressure on governments that let abuse take place.[5] Amnesty
considers capital punishment to be "the ultimate, irreversible denial of human rights".[6] The organization
was awarded the 1977 Nobel Peace Prize for its "defence of human dignity against torture",[7] and
the United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights in 1978.[8]

In the field of international human rights organizations, Amnesty has the third longest history, after
the International Federation for Human Rights, and broadest name recognition, and is believed by many to
set standards for the movement as a whole.]

History
1960s

Peter Benenson, the founder of Amnesty International. He worked for Britain's GC&CS at Bletchley Park during World War II.

Amnesty International was founded in London in July 1961 by English labour lawyer Peter
Benenson.[10]According to his own account, he was travelling in the London Underground on 19 November
1960 when he read that two Portuguese students from Coimbra had been sentenced to seven years of
imprisonment in Portugal for allegedly "having drunk a toast to liberty".[a][11] Researchers have never traced
the alleged newspaper article in question.[a] In 1960, Portugal was ruled by the Estado Novo government
of António de Oliveira Salazar.[12] The government was authoritarian in nature and strongly anti-
communist, suppressing enemies of the state as anti-Portuguese. In his significant newspaper article "The
Forgotten Prisoners", Benenson later described his reaction as follows:

Open your newspaper any day of the week and you will find a story from somewhere of someone being
imprisoned, tortured or executed because his opinions or religion are unacceptable to his government...
The newspaper reader feels a sickening sense of impotence. Yet if these feelings of disgust could be united
into common action, something effective could be done.[4]

Benenson worked with friend Eric Baker. Baker was a member of the Religious Society of Friends who
had been involved in funding the British Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament as well as becoming head
of Quaker Peace and Social Witness, and in his memoirs Benenson described him as "a partner in the
launching of the project".[13] In consultation with other writers, academics and lawyers and, in particular,
Alec Digges, they wrote via Louis Blom-Cooper to David Astor, editor of The Observer newspaper, who,
on 28 May 1961, published Benenson's article "The Forgotten Prisoners". The article brought the reader's
attention to those "imprisoned, tortured or executed because his opinions or religion are unacceptable to his
government"[4] or, put another way, to violations, by governments, of articles 18 and 19 of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The article described these violations occurring, on a global scale,
in the context of restrictions to press freedom, to political oppositions, to timely public trial before
impartial courts, and to asylum. It marked the launch of "Appeal for Amnesty, 1961", the aim of which
was to mobilize public opinion, quickly and widely, in defence of these individuals, whom Benenson
named "Prisoners of Conscience". The "Appeal for Amnesty" was reprinted by a large number of
international newspapers. In the same year, Benenson had a book published, Persecution 1961, which
detailed the cases of nine prisoners of conscience investigated and compiled by Benenson and Baker
(Maurice Adin, Ashton Jones, Agostinho Neto, Patrick Duncan, Olga Ivinskaya, Luis Taruc, Constantin
Noica, Antonio Amat and Hu Feng).[14] In July 1961 the leadership had decided that the appeal would form
the basis of a permanent organization, Amnesty, with the first meeting taking place in London. Benenson
ensured that all three major political parties were represented, enlisting members of parliament from
the Labour Party, the Conservative Party, and the Liberal Party.[15] On 30 September 1962, it was officially
named "Amnesty International". Between the "Appeal for Amnesty, 1961" and September 1962 the
organization had been known simply as "Amnesty".[16]

What started as a short appeal soon became a permanent international movement working to protect those
imprisoned for non-violent expression of their views and to secure worldwide recognition of Articles 18
and 19 of the UDHR. From the very beginning, research and campaigning were present in Amnesty
International's work. A library was established for information about prisoners of conscience and a
network of local groups, called "THREES" groups, was started. Each group worked on behalf of three
prisoners, one from each of the then three main ideological regions of the world: communist, capitalist,
and developing.
By the mid-1960s Amnesty International's global presence was growing and an International Secretariat
and International Executive Committee were established to manage Amnesty International's national
organizations, called "Sections", which had appeared in several countries. The international movement was
starting to agree on its core principles and techniques. For example, the issue of whether or not to adopt
prisoners who had advocated violence, like Nelson Mandela,[17] brought unanimous agreement that it could
not give the name of "Prisoner of Conscience" to such prisoners. Aside from the work of the library and
groups, Amnesty International's activities were expanding to helping prisoners' families, sending observers
to trials, making representations to governments, and finding asylum or overseas employment for
prisoners. Its activity and influence were also increasing within intergovernmental organizations; it would
be awarded consultative status by the United Nations, the Council of Europe and UNESCO before the
decade ended.

In 1967, Peter Benenson resigned after an independent inquiry did not support his claims that AI had been
infiltrated by British agents.[18] Later he claimed that the Central Intelligence Agency had become involved
in Amnesty.

1980s

By 1980 Amnesty International was drawing more criticism from governments. The USSR alleged that
Amnesty International conducted espionage, the Moroccan government denounced it as a defender of
lawbreakers, and the Argentinian government banned Amnesty International's 1983 annual report.[22]

Throughout the 1980s, Amnesty International continued to campaign against torture, and on behalf of
prisoners of conscience. New issues emerged, including extrajudicial killings, military, security and police
transfers, political killings, and disappearances.

Towards the end of the decade, the growing number of refugees worldwide was a very visible area of
Amnesty International's concern. While many of the world's refugees of the time had been displaced by
war and famine, in adherence to its mandate, Amnesty International concentrated on those forced to flee
because of the human rights violations it was seeking to prevent. It argued that rather than focusing on new
restrictions on entry for asylum-seekers, governments were to address the human rights violations which
were forcing people into exile.

Apart from a second campaign on torture during the first half of the decade, two major musical events
occurred, designed to increase awareness of Amnesty and of human rights (particularly among younger
generations) during the mid- to late-1980s. The 1986 Conspiracy of Hope tour, which played five concerts
in the US, and culminated in a daylong show, featuring some thirty-odd acts at Giants Stadium, and the
1988 Human Rights Now! world tour. Human Rights Now!, which was timed to coincide with the 40th
anniversary of the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), played a series of
concerts on five continents over six weeks. Both tours featured some of the most famous musicians and
bands of the day.

2000s
After 2000, Amnesty International's agenda turned to the challenges arising from globalization and the
reaction to the 11 September 2001 attacksin the United States. The issue of globalization provoked a major
shift in Amnesty International policy, as the scope of its work was widened to include economic, social
and cultural rights, an area that it had declined to work on in the past. Amnesty International felt this shift
was important, not just to give credence to its principle of the indivisibility of rights, but because of what it
saw as the growing power of companies and the undermining of many nation states as a result of
globalization.[27]

In the aftermath of 11 September attacks, the new Amnesty International Secretary General, Irene Khan,
reported that a senior government official had said to Amnesty International delegates: "Your role
collapsed with the collapse of the Twin Towers in New York."[28] In the years following the attacks,
some[who?] believe that the gains made by human rights organizations over previous decades had possibly
been eroded.[29] Amnesty International argued that human rights were the basis for the security of all, not a
barrier to it. Criticism came directly from the Bush administrationand The Washington Post, when Khan,
in 2005, likened the US government's detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to a Soviet Gulag.[30][31]

During the first half of the new decade, Amnesty International turned its attention to violence against
women, controls on the world arms trade, concerns surrounding the effectiveness of the UN, and ending
torture.[32] With its membership close to two million by 2005,[33] Amnesty continued to work for prisoners of
conscience.

In 2007, AI's executive committee decided to support access to abortion "within reasonable gestational
limits...for women in cases of rape, incest or violence, or where the pregnancy jeopardizes a mother's life
or health".

Amnesty International reported, concerning the Iraq War, on 17 March 2008, that despite claims the
security situation in Iraq has improved in recent months, the human rights situation is disastrous, after the
start of the war five years earlier in 2003.[36]

In 2009, Amnesty International accused Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement of committing war
crimes during Israel's January offensive in Gaza, called Operation Cast Lead, that resulted in the deaths of
more than 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis.[37] The 117-page Amnesty report charged Israeli forces with
killing hundreds of civilians and wanton destruction of thousands of homes. Amnesty found evidence of
Israeli soldiers using Palestinian civilians as human shields. A subsequent United Nations Fact Finding
Mission on the Gaza Conflict was carried out; Amnesty stated that its findings were consistent with those
of Amnesty's own field investigation, and called on the UN to act promptly to implement the mission's
recommendations.
2010s

Amnesty International, 19 March 2011.

Japanese branch of Amnesty International, 23 May 2014.

2018

On October 25, federal officers raided the Bengaluru office for 10 hours on a suspicion that the
organization had violated foreign direct investment guidelines on the orders of the Enforcement
Directorate. Employees and supporters of Amnesty International say this is an act to intimidate
organizations and people who question the authority and capabilities of government leaders. Amnesty
International has accused India of human rights violations throughout Kashmir multiple times. Aakar Patel,
the Executive Director of the Indian branch claimed, "The Enforcement Directorate’s raid on our office
today shows how the authorities are now treating human rights organizations like criminal enterprises,
using heavy-handed methods that are commonly found in repressive states."[67] The current prime minister
of India, Narendra Modi, has been criticized for harming civil society in India, specifically by targeting
advocacy groups.[68][69][70] Modi has cancelled the registration of about 15,000 nongovernmental
organizations under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA); the U.N. has issued statemenets
against the policies that allow these cancellations to occur.[71][72] Though nothing was found to confirm these
accusations, the government plans on continuing the investigation and has frozen the bank accounts of all
the offices in India. A spokesperson for the Enforcement Directorate has said the investigation could take
three months to complete.[71]

Structure

Amnesty International Sections, 2012

 The Amnesty Canadian headquarters in Ottawa.

Amnesty International is largely made up of voluntary members, but retains a small number of paid
professionals. In countries in which Amnesty International has a strong presence, members are organized
as "sections". Sections co-ordinate basic Amnesty International activities normally with a significant
number of members, some of whom will form into "groups", and a professional staff. Each have a board of
directors. In 2005 there were 52 sections worldwide. "Structures" are aspiring sections. They also co-
ordinate basic activities but have a smaller membership and a limited staff. In countries where no section
or structure exists, people can become "international members". Two other organizational models exist:
"international networks", which promote specific themes or have a specific identity, and "affiliated
groups", which do the same work as section groups, but in isolation.[73]

The organizations outlined above are represented by the International Council (IC) which is led by the IC
Chairperson. Members of sections and structures have the right to appoint one or more representatives to
the Council according to the size of their membership. The IC may invite representatives from
International Networks and other individuals to meetings, but only representatives from sections and
structures have voting rights. The function of the IC is to appoint and hold accountable internal governing
bodies and to determine the direction of the movement. The IC convenes every two years.

The International Board (formerly known as the International Executive Committee [IEC]), led by the
International Board Chairperson, consists of eight members and the International Treasurer. It is elected
by, and accountable to, the IC, and meets at least two times during any one year and in practice meets at
least four times a year. The role of the International Board is to take decisions on behalf of Amnesty
International, implement the strategy laid out by the IC, and ensure compliance with the organization's
statutes.

The International Secretariat (IS) is responsible for the conduct and daily affairs of Amnesty International
under direction from the International Board.[74] It is run by approximately 500 professional staff members
and is headed by a Secretary General. The Secretariat operates several work programmes; International
Law and Organizations; Research; Campaigns; Mobilization; and Communications. Its offices have been
located in London since its establishment in the mid-1960s.

Objectives
Amnesty International's vision is of a world in which every person enjoys all of the human rights enshrined in the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights standards. In pursuit of this vision, Amnesty International's
mission is to undertake research and action focused on preventing and ending grave abuses of the rights to physical and mental
integrity, freedom of conscience and expression, and freedom from discrimination, within the context of its work to promote all
human rights.

-Statute of Amnesty International, 27th International Council meeting, 2005

Amnesty International primarily targets governments, but also reports on non-governmental bodies and
private individuals ("non-state actors").

There are six key areas which Amnesty deals with:

 Women's, children's, minorities' and indigenous rights

 Ending torture
 Abolition of the death penalty
 Rights of refugees
 Rights of prisoners of conscience
 Protection of human dignity.

Some specific aims are to: abolish the death penalty, end extra judicial executions and "disappearances",
ensure prison conditions meet international human rights standards, ensure prompt and fair trial for
all political prisoners, ensure free education to all children worldwide, decriminalize abortion,
fight impunity from systems of justice, end the recruitment and use of child soldiers, free all prisoners of
conscience, promote economic, social and cultural rights for marginalized communities, protect human
rights defenders, promote religious tolerance, protect LGBT rights,[80] stop torture and ill-treatment,
stop unlawful killings in armed conflict, uphold the rights of refugees, migrants, and asylum seekers, and
protect human dignity.
 Amnesty International at the 2009 Marcha Gay in Mexico City, 20 June 2009

To further these aims, Amnesty International has developed several techniques to publicize information
and mobilize public opinion. The organization considers as one of its strengths the publication of impartial
and accurate reports. Reports are researched by: interviewing victims and officials, observing trials,
working with local human rights activists, and monitoring the media. It aims to issue timely press releases
and publishes information in newsletters and on web sites. It also sends official missions to countries to
make courteous but insistent inquiries.

Campaigns to mobilize public opinion can take the form of individual, country, or thematic campaigns.
Many techniques are deployed, such as direct appeals (for example, letter writing), media and publicity
work, and public demonstrations. Often, fund-raising is integrated with campaigning.

In situations which require immediate attention, Amnesty International calls on existing urgent action
networks or crisis response networks; for all other matters, it calls on its membership. It considers the large
size of its human resources to be another of its key strengths.

The role of Amnesty International has an immense impact on getting citizens onboard(sic) with focusing
on human rights issues. These groups influence countries and governments to give their people justice with
pressure and in human resources. An example of Amnesty International's work, which began in the 1960s,
is writing letters to free imprisoned people that were put there for non-violent expressions. The group now
has power, attends sessions, and became a source of information for the UN. The increase in participation
of non-governmental organizations changes how we live today. Felix Dodds states in a recent document:
"In 1972 there were 39 democratic countries in the world; by 2002, there were 139."[citation needed] This shows
that non-governmental organizations make enormous leaps within a short period of time for human rights.

Country focus

Protesting Israel's policy against African refugees, Tel Aviv, 9 December 2011

Amnesty reports disproportionately on relatively more democratic and open countries,[81] arguing that its
intention is not to produce a range of reports which statistically represents the world's human rights abuses,
but rather to apply the pressure of public opinion to encourage improvements. The demonstration effect of
the behaviour of both key Western governments and major non-Western states is an important factor: as
one former Amnesty Secretary-General pointed out, "for many countries and a large number of people, the
United States is a model," and according to one Amnesty manager, "large countries influence small
countries."[9] In addition, with the end of the Cold War, Amnesty felt that a greater emphasis on human
rights in the North was needed to improve its credibility with its Southern critics by demonstrating its
willingness to report on human rights issues in a truly global manner.[9]

According to one academic study, as a result of these considerations the frequency of Amnesty's reports is
influenced by a number of factors, besides the frequency and severity of human rights abuses. For
example, Amnesty reports significantly more (than predicted by human rights abuses) on more
economically powerful states; and on countries which receive US military aid, on the basis that this
Western complicity in abuses increases the likelihood of public pressure being able to make a
difference.[9] In addition, around 1993–94, Amnesty consciously developed its media relations, producing
fewer background reports and more press releases, to increase the impact of its reports. Press releases are
partly driven by news coverage, to use existing news coverage as leverage to discuss Amnesty's human
rights concerns. This increases Amnesty's focus on the countries the media is more interested in.

In 2012, Kristyan Benedict, Amnesty UK's campaign manager whose main focus is Syria, listed several
countries as "regimes who abuse peoples' basic universal rights": Burma, Iran, Israel, North Korea and
Sudan. By including Israel in that short list Mr. Benedict was reprimanded; his opinion was garnered
solely from "his own visits" with no other objective sources.[82][83]

Amnesty's country focus is similar to that of some other comparable NGOs, notably Human Rights Watch:
between 1991 and 2000, Amnesty and HRW shared eight of ten countries in their "top ten" (by Amnesty
press releases; 7 for Amnesty reports).[9] In addition, six of the 10 countries most reported on by Human
Rights Watch in the 1990s also made The Economist's and Newsweek's "most covered" lists during that
time.[9]

Funding
Amnesty International is financed largely by fees and donations from its worldwide membership. It says
that it does not accept donations from governments or governmental organizations. According to the AI
website, "these personal and unaffiliated donations allow AI to maintain full independence from any and
all governments, political ideologies, economic interests or religions. We neither seek nor accept any funds
for human rights research from governments or political parties and we accept support only from
businesses that have been carefully vetted. By way of ethical fundraising leading to donations from
individuals, we are able to stand firm and unwavering in our defence of universal and indivisible human
rights."[84]

However, AI did receive grants from the UK Department for International Development,[85] the European
Commission,[86] the United States State Department[87][88] and other governments.[89][90]

AI(USA) was also funded by the Rockefeller Foundation.[91] However, this funds are only used "in support
of its human rights education work.[85]"
 Edhi Foundation

The Edhi Foundation is a non-profit social welfare program in Pakistan, founded by Abdul Sattar
Edhi[4] in 1951. Edhi until his death on 8 July 2016 was the head of the organization and his wife Bilquis, a
nurse, oversees the maternity and adoption services of the foundation. Its headquarters are

in Karachi, Pakistan.

The Edhi Foundation provides 24-hour emergency assistance across the nation of Pakistan and abroad. The
Foundation provides, among many other services, shelter for the destitute, free hospitals and medical
care, drug rehabilitation services, and national and international relief efforts. Its main focuses
are Emergency Services, Orphans, Handicapped Persons, Shelters, Education, Healthcare, International
Community Centers, Blood & Drug Bank, air ambulance services, Marine And Coastal Services.

History
In 1951 Abdul Sattar Edhi bought a small shop in Mithadar area of Karachi and opened a free dispensary.
From that small beginning Edhi has built up the Edhi Foundation. Edhi established his first welfare center
in 1957 and then the Edhi Trust.[5] What started as one man operating from a single room in Karachi is
now the Edhi Foundation. The foundation has over 300 centers across the country, in big cities, small
towns and remote rural areas, providing medical aid, family planning and emergency assistance. They own
air ambulances, providing quick access to far-flung areas.

In Karachi alone, the Edhi Foundation runs 8 hospitals providing free medical care, eye hospitals, diabetic
centres, surgical units, a 4- bed cancer hospital and mobile dispensaries. In addition to these the
Foundation also manages two blood banks in Karachi. As with other Edhi services, employed
professionals and volunteers run these. The foundation has a Legal aid department, which provides free
services and has secured the release of countless innocent prisoners. Commissioned doctors visit jails on a
regular basis and also supply food and other essentials to the inmates. There are 15 " Apna Ghar" ["Our
Home"] homes for the destitute children, runaways, and psychotics.

On 25 June 2013, Edhi's kidneys failed; it was announced that he would be on dialysis for the rest of his
life unless he found a kidney donor. Edhi died on 8 July 2016 at the age of 88 due to kidney failure after
having been placed on a ventilator. His last wishes included the request that his organs were to be donated
but due to his ill health, only his corneas were suitable. He was laid to rest at the Edhi Village Karachi.

The foundation also has an education scheme, which apart from teaching reading and writing covers
various vocational activities such as driving, pharmacy and para-medical training. The emphasis is on self-
sufficiency. The Edhi Foundation has branches in several countries where they provide relief to refugees in
the United States, UK, Canada, Japan, and Bangladesh. In 1991 the Foundation provided aid to victims of
the Gulf war and earthquake victims in Iran and Egypt. The organization has held the Guinness record for
world's "largest volunteer ambulance organization" since 1997.[6] In 2016, after the death of Abdul Sattar
Edhi, the state bank of Pakistan urged bank CEOs to donate to the foundation.[7]

Services
The Edhi Foundation provides a number of services, emergency and non-emergency, to the general public.
In addition to emergency medical services and private ambulance services, the organization also renders
aid to women and children in need, assists with missing persons cases, and helps in covering burial and
graveyard costs of unclaimed and unidentified bodies during times of disaster and tragedy.[8]

Ambulance Services

As of March 2016, the Edhi Foundation owns over 1,800 private ambulance vans stationed in areas across
Pakistan.[8] The ambulance dispatchers in Karachi, one of the busiest cities in Pakistan, have reported up to
6,000 calls a day, with the average response time for each incident falling within 10 minutes.[9] It was also
an Edhi ambulance which responded to and picked up the body of the American journalist, Daniel Pearl,
when he was killed in 2002.[9]

The organization also owns two private jets and one helicopter to assist in moving victims from hard-to-
reach locations, especially during the event of a natural disaster.[10] In addition to land and air assistance,
Edhi Foundation also hosts 28 rescue boats to aid during floods and in cases of shipwrecks and disaster
along the Arabian Ocean coast.[11]
Hospital Services

The organization runs several private outpatient hospitals located in Pakistan. Additional medical facilities
include a diabetic center, a nurse training center, immunization centers, and blood banks, including
emergency banks during times of natural disasters or tragedies.[7]

Childcare Services

Bilquis Edhi, co-head of the Edhi Foundation, is responsible for overseeing children's and women's
services within the organization. Services she heads currently for children include the jhoola project, a
child adoption center, and an abandoned children's welfare center. Jhoola is the Urdu word for
"cradle",[12] and refers to a baby hatch for abandoned children. Most of the Edhi emergency centers have
a jhoola located outside the venue for mothers to leave their infants, regardless of the current situation they
may be in.[13] These children are taken into custody and are taken care of, often being adopted by pre-
screened families.

International Services
The Edhi Foundation has reached out to international communities and assisted with the setup of several
offices overseas which assist with donations, fundraising, and especially financially aiding Pakistanis who
have to be flown overseas for urgent medical attention. In addition to providing their regular services, the
overseas foundation offices often help with community needs as necessary. In 2005, the Edhi Foundation
provided $100,000 in aid to relief efforts following Hurricane Katrina.