DEFI - Développer Former Informer (in English, Develop-Train-Inform) - is an association founded in 1989, pursuant to the French Association Law of 1901. Officially recognized as a charitable institution in the public interest, in existence for over 32 years, it is an NGO for sustainable development active in the least developing countries :

• Working in the long term, under agreements with local authorities;

• Working with a lot of people, to gradually reach nationwide influence;

• Working against one of major causes of poverty and with the key factors to sustainable development: education, knowledge and energy.

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For 32 years, DEFI is convinced that education is one of the powerful instruments which exist to reduce poverty and inequality and lay the foundation for a sustained long-term economic growth.

In this way, DEFI leads training projects in four countries - Haiti, Madagascar, Benin, Togo - by forming teachers, school principals and inspectors to teach sciences, technology and civics. We work with "La Main à la Pâte" active learning method, adapted to the local cultural context.

This learning method was promoted by Georges Charpak (who passed away in 2010), Nobel Prize in Physics. Yves Quéré a French Academician of Science, supports DEFI and recently (in 2016) the Malagasy Department of Education delivered a certificate of recognition about the NGO DEFI’s work; they provide a guarantee as to the seriousness of its initiatives.

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Over 18,000 teachers have been trained so far, in other words over 4 million children positively affected.

Upon request of the French Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the European Commission and various financial backers, two external objective assessments (Haiti, Madagascar) were conducted by the F3E to evaluate the pertinence, efficiency and effectiveness of the undertaken initiatives.  The results were very positive and give confidence to the direct and indirect major players: local employees, expatriates, DEFI colleagues, volunteers, donators and financers.

 

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