Our people

“Involved in humanitarian action since 1999, I have coordinated operations and managed human resources in around fifteen countries, predominantly in Africa and Asia, but also in Switzerland where I live with my family since 2008.

These experiences have convinced me of the importance of developing effective and coherent human resources management, which is adapted to the mission of an organisation and respectful of its values and the commitment of its workers.

It is the employees, volunteers and partners of Terre des hommes who act and make our work possible, both at the headquarters and in the field. The main objectives of Terre des hommes´ Human Resources Department are supporting, equipping and training our diverse team, at the same time as guaranteeing good management practices.

I enjoy cooking, playing music, sailing and by force of circumstances I have become a bit of a mountaineer (all of these as an amateur). I have been very happy to play my part here at the Foundation since joining at the end of 2016.”

“Ever since my university education in Italy and Belgium, I have been fortunate to meet many inspirational people who have influenced my career choices within the NGO sector.  

Different professional missions in both development and humanitarian contexts strengthened my belief in the essential role of non-governmental organisations, as the most vulnerable people are often neglected by the international community. I maintained this conviction during my years at the headquarters of an international federation working in the field of disability.

As a father, I am particularly enthusiastic about continuing my career here at Terre des hommes. Our mission to protect children is vital in a world which is sometimes too unjust and violent, but which nevertheless deserves all our efforts to contribute to humanity.”

Before I joined Terre des hommes (Tdh) in 2009, I had been working to protect children against sexual exploitation for almost ten years. I had previously come into contact with Tdh during a campaign in Madagascar and was impressed by what I saw. When the Foundation first started working there, it didn’t try to go it alone. It drew on the experience of other organisations present in the country and sought to work with various bodies. I believe that the key to successfully protecting children depends on everyone’s involvement so this approach appealed to me.

Tdh is a courageous and innovative organisation that endeavours to keep abreast of children’s actual needs and to work as closely as possible with those on the ground despite being the largest organisation of its kind in Switzerland.

I grew up in Moldova in a challenging social and economic environment, which persists to this day. I know the hardships children face in Eastern Europe, so I always felt that this should change and everybody can contribute to this goal.  But it wasn’t before I joined Terre des hommes (Tdh) in 2013 that I engaged professionally in the field of child protection. Tdh helped me learn about this field, but on the other hand, I brought my diverse background into the organisation – I had studied economics and management, lived in several countries, and worked as a PR manager in the music industry.

I’m grateful and proud to be part of this committed and extremely professional team; it is both inspiring and motivating. I also consider myself lucky, as my work allows me to apply my skills and to be creative, while having a positive impact on the lives of children and their families.

I started working for Terre des hommes (Tdh) in May 2009 as part of a project to protect children living and working in mines and quarries. Everyone told me I was crazy, that a woman shouldn’t be working in a such a rough environment full of degenerates. To tell the truth, I was pretty apprehensive on my first day. It was the first time I had been to a traditional gold mine. I rode about 100km through the bush by myself, but when I got there I immediately understood Tdh’s cause. The children were living in terrible conditions and many of them were fending for themselves. I saw 5-year-old children playing alongside their mothers. They were covered in dust and could easily have come into contact with the toxic products being used by the adults.

With the Tdh team, we set up a “bissongo” (a community day nursery) so that the children would have somewhere safe to play while their parents were at work. A week later, a fire broke out causing a lot of damage. Fortunately, no children were harmed as they were all at the nursery, away from the mine.

Soon afterwards, a large group of miners came to Tdh’s office to thank us for helping to save their children. I felt extremely happy and proud that our efforts to protect the children were paying off.