Heisda - Heidelberg Sustainable Development Abroad e.V.

(HeiSDA) is a student association concerned with sustainable developing projects in rural communities of the global south. We harness the energy, enthusiasm and resources of Heidelberg’s student body, and together with our local partner NGOs we support small-scale community-initiated development projects through financial and non-material support. In close cooperation with our NGO partners, we aim to make sure that the projects we fund and help to implement are sustainable – that the projects are actually needed, are sensitive to the social context, and that they have a positive immediate and long-term impact on the communities. The way to achieve this is through community- ownership and community-based decisions. This means that the local community is mainly responsible for both, the initial idea and the implementation of the project. Most of the development projects funded by HeiSDA e.V. are straightforward construction projects implemented to establish a better and healthier life within the communities. Projects supported by HeiSDA e.V. may include building or renovating community buildings, smokeless stoves, latrines, paths or other amenities as well as facilitating informal teaching sessions, health awareness raising workshops, etc.