Four decades of Partnership and Experience

The history of Frères des Hommes began in India, in 1965, the day when Armand Malquiset first saw Calcutta.

Shocked by the horrible sight of this “capital of poverty,” he decided to create Frères des Hommes as soon as he returned to France.
He recruited volunteers to go back to India with him, and together they established the first Frères des Hommes center in Calcutta, in order to distribute food to children.
Soon after, similar centers opened on three different continents.
Five years later, Frères des Hommes had recruited more than 100 volunteers working around the world.

By the end of the 1970s, strengthened by a decade of experience, the organization developed further, and began to embrace a new mission: to no longer work independently, but to partner with local grassroots organizations.

The aid work of the first few years had emerged into a real plan for partnership.

In 1980, the association’s charter formally established this plan, which has since guided all of our work. We support actions initiated in the South by empowering local populations to build the sustainable foundations for their own development.

Our unique idea for development, and our experience on the ground, have made us an influential and well respected organization.

“A good idea has a long life.”