Helping dissidents and supporting civil society in repressive states and countries that are undergoing democratic transition has been underlying the core philosophy of People in Need since its establishment in 1992.
Latin America is a region where such a help is very much needed and so we started our activities in 1997 in Cuba. We helped activists and journalists through the years but it was in 2014/15 when we extended our support also to Nicaragua and Venezuela when the situation gotten worse. In 2015, we have opened our regional office in Costa Rica and further grown to Ecuador and Honduras. Our core activities are articulated around three main areas:
- Direct support of persecuted individuals and their families,
- Capacity building for activists, focusing on Women and LGBITQ+ groups, and other marginalized people such as Indigenous Peoples, farmers, and environmentalists,
- Advocacy efforts to promote fundamental human rights and freedoms.
