Who are we?

About us

Secodev is a non-governmental organisation with charitable status whose mission is to fight and extinguish poverty in the south. Its development assistance program “Reversing the process of impoverishment of rural populations” has been developed with local partners and is based on the needs of the world’s most severely disadvantaged communities.

Focused on countries which have suffered from armed conflicts or are still experiencing unstable geopolitical conditions, Secodev operates in isolated regions where wars and violence have claimed many victims, first and foremost, women and children.

Thanks to its expertise in food sovereignty and vocational training, Secodev empowers supported communities, in particular small rural families and women and children, to become dynamic actors of change, taking control and improving their living conditions in a sustainable manner.

Through a vigorous social inclusion methodology, Secodev ensures the most vulnerable social strata, often forgotten, are included in its programs. This includes widows, widowers, young people, young single mothers, and ex-prisoners.

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Background

1966

Establishment of a Development Cooperation division within Caritas Geneva, under the name of Caritas Tiers-Monde (Caritas Developing World)

1967

Secodev becomes a member of the Fédération Genevoise de Coopération (Geneva Cooperation Federation)

2010

Caritas Tiers-Monde changes its name to Secodev, Service de Coopération au Développement de Caritas Genève (Secodev, Caritas Geneva Development Cooperation division)

2012

First funding by the FGC of a four-year action plan

2014

Secodev becomes an autonomous association with the appointment of its own committee and Secretary general. Maintains close collaboration with Caritas Geneva

2016

Second four-year action plan

2019

Appointment of a new Secretary general

2020

Awarded the Zewo label

2020

Third four-year action plan

Organisation, team and committee

Secodev is an association with its secretariat based in Geneva. It is a lean structure, managed by a Secretary general supported by two employees, a Program manager and a Communication and fundraising manager, alongside a committee composed of volunteers.

Team (as of October 2021)

Portrait d'Anne Simon, Secrétaire générale

Anne Simon

Secretary general

Parcours

Anne Simon, appointed Secretary general of Secodev in May 2019, has more than 25 years of experience in management and global strategy consulting, spanning non-governmental, public and private sectors. She has steered various organisations in the implementation of strategies to run successful programs in the fields of international solidarity and development cooperation. She recently helped the Silvana Arbia Foundation to develop their program and strategy to combat the practice of using child soldiers in Africa and the Middle East.

As Executive director of the Soroptimists International European federation, an organisation of more than 80,000 women across 126 countries, Anne was responsible for advocacy at the United Nations. Previously, she had a long career with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC), where she headed up the Strategy and Intelligence Research division in the Middle East and the Global External Affairs division in New York.

Anne is now also involved as a technical commissioner for the Fédération genevoise de coopération (FGC), which brings together more than 60 associations. She continues her consulting activities with various foundations and non-profit organisations and is co-author of several publications, notably the Arab Women Leadership Outlook 2009-2011, a pioneering report on the issues and challenges faced by Arab women.

Portrait de Leny Mora-Monteros, Responsable de programme

Leny Mora-Monteros

Program Manager

Parcours

Leny Mora-Monteros holds a bachelor’s degree in Applied foreign languages and a master’s degree in International cooperation and multilingual communication from Stendhal University in Grenoble, France (2015).

Before joining Secodev, Leny worked in Grenoble and Geneva as a project manager in the field of development cooperation. He has also been involved as a coordinator of African and Latin American projects in a Geneva-based NGO.​

As Program manager at Secodev, Leny is responsible for planning, monitoring and evaluating African projects.

 

Actuellement, Leny, en tant que Responsable programme chez Secodev, assure la planification, le suivi et l’évaluation des projets en Afrique.

Portrait d'Olivia Gerig, Responsable de communication et de recherche de fonds

Olivia Gerig

Communication and Fundraising Manager

Parcours

Olivia Gerig holds a master’s degree in International relations from the Graduate institute of international and development studies in Geneva. In 2004 she also obtained the specialist federal certificate in public relations.

Today, with a career spanning over 15 years in the field of corporate communication and public relations, Olivia oversees communication and fundraising for Secodev. Beyond this she also enjoys a writing career with four novels published to date: L’Ogre du Salève (Encre Fraîche, December 2014), Impasse khmère (Encre Fraîche, March 2016), Le Mage noir (L’Âge d’homme, June 2018) et Les Ravines de Sang (L’Âge d’homme, June 2020).

Committee (as of Octobre 2021)

Martyna Olivet

President

Parcours
  • Département sur la bonne gouvernance des comités nationaux de l’UNICEF
  • Membre de la COTMEC
  • Membre de la commission d’information de la FGC

Théogène Gakuba

Vice-president

Parcours
  • Adjoint scientifique à la Haute Ecole de Travail Social de Genève
  • Président de l’association REFORMAF

Philippe Frésard

Treasurer

Parcours
  • Adjoint financier du Vicariat Episcopal de l’ECR

Sylvie Manzini

Member

Parcours
  • Secteur bancaire
  • Vice-présidente de Caritas Genève
  • Présidente de la fondation Caritas Genève

Michel Warynski

Member

Parcours
  • Secrétaire général de Caritas Genève