Annual report Helpcode Italia - EN

WHAT WE DO
Well-being
At Helpcode we contribute to assuring healthy growth and harmonious development for
children, protecting their well-being and that of their families and communities through a multidimensional
approach, with attention to management of natural resources, respect for the
environment and sustainability.
The work we do in the area of well-being represents Helpcode’s putting into practice our
integrated, multidimensional approach including all the projects and activities aimed at
improving living conditions and health, access to basic rights and the socio-economic status of
the communities we serve, and the most vulnerable groups in them.
In the countries were we work, the pandemic has seriously impacted the conditions of the
families. Due to the restrictions on mobility, many informal or precarious workers had to interrupt
their income-generating activities, access to health services was reduced, agricultural activities
which are the basis of survival for many families were negatively influenced by the increase in
prices and general scarcity of seeds, and the food security of families worsened.
To respond to this crisis, in contexts that were already frail, 2021 was a year in which our staff
was committed on various fronts. The first had to do with “WASH” activities (Water, Sanitation
and Hygiene), that included opening or rehabilitating wells so as to guarantee access to safe
water, and the building or restructuring of latrines in schools.
From the point of view of food security, Helpcode’s work concentrates on support to associations
of small agricultural producers with the goal of improving ability to plan, produce, conserve,
transform and sell agricultural products. With this activity, the diets of families improves both
thanks to greater availability of quality agricultural products as well as thanks to an increase in
the families’ income coming from a more stable and sustainable presence on local markets. The
increase in family income also comes from support to economic activities that are an alternative
to farming, especially in contexts more subject to extreme climate phenomena where agriculture
is at risk. Improving family income in our experience has an immediate multiplying effect and is
very often a crucial element for guaranteeing the participation of girls in school and combating
early marriages.
ANNUAL REPORT 2021 59