Stanley Thomas Johnson Stiftung | Bern

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Support sectors Conflict and violence

Conflict and violence

“Peace is a good which overcomes every barrier, because it belongs to all of humanity.”
Pope Francis

What we support


The Stanley Thomas Johnson Foundation supports people affected by war and armed conflict. Our aim is to protect the lives, safety, dignity and physical and mental well-being of such people. The projects we support deal primarily with the circumstances and consequences of armed conflict and violence, and include:

  • protection for civilians, especially displaced persons and refugees
  • psychosocial assistance and rehabilitation of victims of war and conflict
  • the foundation gives preference to projects supporting (unaccompanied) children and young people

Priority countries for support

We support projects for people affected in the following countries:

  • Afghanistan
  • Central African Republic
  • Democratic Republic of Kongo
  • Somalia
  • Sudan
  • South Sudan
  • Syria
  • Yemen

In addition we support projects in Switzerland and the UK benefiting people affected by conflict in their countries of origin (regardless of the priority countries mentioned above).

Criteria for Organisations

We support recognized civil non-profit organisations with headquarters registered in Switzerland or the UK. These organisations have years of established experience, well-qualified staff and professional management structures. The organisations are capable of evaluating their projects in accordance with accepted scientific standards and manage them as follows:

  • they are based on a standardised hierarchy of objectives (e.g. impact/outcomes/outputs). This applies above all to larger scale international projects
  • they are registered as non-profit, tax-exempt legal entities
  • they apply internationally recognised, issue-based quality criteria for humanitarian work
  • they cooperate with professional, nationally recognised partner organisations in the priority countries
  • they are based on the national strategies of Switzerland and the United Kingdom

Projects we do not support

  • projects that do not meet the foundation’s aims 
  • applications that do not meet the selection criteria
  • very small or one-off events
  • projects that are about gaining prestige
  • projects submitted by private, non-charitable organisations
  • projects by groups or organisations that are not registered with a national or regional authority (e.g. not recognised as charities) or that are not monitored by the public sector. Exceptions are subject to justification.

How we select our project partners

The foundation approaches organisations with headquarters in Switzerland or the UK which it considers most in accordance with the support strategies and criteria defined by the foundation, and which are capable of planning and executing relevant projects.

Applications outside of this process are no longer accepted.

Selected projects

Baobab Centre

The Baobab Centre supports young asylum seekers who have survived war and violence. Many of them are alone in exile and suffer from loneliness, uncertainty and a lack of opportunities for integration. Through individual psychotherapy and group activities they learn to cope with their past experiences and master daily life in their new country.
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Fachstelle Psy4Asyl

Many refugees are traumatised by their experiences in their places of origin or during their escape, or affected by difficult circumstances and legal proceedings involved in migration. At the same time, hundreds of therapy placements for traumatised refugees are lacking. The expert network Psy4Asyl offers refugees in the Canton of Aargau psychological counselling and therapy, largely free of charge. To reach as many people as possible, the experts also offer group sessions for refugees and specialist training for professionals.
Find out more

Medair: Somalia

As a response to pressing humanitarian needs for acute malnutrition treatment resulting from massive food insecurity and extensive population movements, this project provides essential nutrition services to Internally displaced persons as well as host communities in selected districts in Somalia. Cases of acute malnutrition will be treated and benefit from an extensive health and hygiene education programme.

Syrian refugee support and child protection in Iraq

The Arbat refugee camp was established in 2013, when conflict in Syria escalated and many Syrians, fleeing the war, entered the Kurdish region of Iraq. STEP’s Child-friendly Spaces in the camp ensure refugee children are provided with education, child protection interventions and psychosocial support to help them process trauma and grief.
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War Child: Central African Republic

The Central African Republic (CAR) has been in turmoil since a violent takeover of power in 2013. Decades of civil war have taken a heavy toll: more than half the population now relies on humanitarian aid and 1.3 million people are displaced, resulting in significant numbers of highly vulnerable children and young people.
War Child’s project in Ndélé and the surrounding districts in CAR provides life-saving services to the most vulnerable conflict-affected children and their families to enhance their wellbeing, access to protection and education.
Find out more