ZOA is a Christian international non-governmental organisation and supports people who suffer because of armed conflict or natural disasters, in helping them to rebuild their livelihoods. ZOA wants to contribute to bring real, sustainable change, Signs of Hope and restoration.
ZOA was founded in 1973 in The Netherlands. The three letters ZOA are the abbreviation of the Dutch translation of South East Asia, the area where the organisation started its initial activities.
Over the years, ZOA has grown to a professional organisation that runs high quality, integrated programmes for people affected by conflict or disaster in more than 15 countries. In addition to private support and funding from The Netherlands, ZOA has a variety of institutional donors and partners around the world.
Fragile environments
ZOA is committed and determined to contribute to bringing real, tangible and sustainable change to the lives of people affected by conflict and disaster. ZOA focuses particulary on countries and areas within countries, categorised as 'fragile'. In ZOA's long term rehabilitation programmes, 'conflict-related fragility' is an essential characteristic on the context ZOA chooses to operate in. The underlying causes of conflict are often related to access to livelihood assets such as land and water.
What ZOA does
ZOA works in fifteen countries on three continents in Relief and Rehabilitation. The Disaster Response programmes aims to address short term needs. And in the Rehabilitation programmes, ZOA aims for inclusive programming and endeavours to encourage structural and sustainable change.
Core sectors
ZOA's sectorial focus is on livelihoods and food security, WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) and basic education. In the context of conflict affected fragility, livelihoods comprise how people access and mobilise resources that enable them to pursue the goals necessary for their survival and longer-term well-being, thereby reducing the vulnerability that is created and exacerbated by conflict. In Relief programmes, ZOA has specific experience and expertise in realising household shelter solutions.
Funding
ZOA's work is made possible by the support of over fifty thousand private donors in The Netherlands, including compies, churches, schools and trust funds. ZOA also receives funds from governments, the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the European Union and the United Nations. In the Netherlands ZOA organizes annual door-to-door collection in the last week of March.
Employees and volunteers
ZOA has approximately 800 employees. Most of them are locally recruited people. At the head office in Apeldoorn, ZOA employs approximately sixty people. A few dozen expatriate staff work in the so called ‘programme countries’. ZOA offers young expat professionals the opportunity to gain work experience as trainees in the programs. Volunteers add considerable value to the organisation. For example, in The Netherlands approx 600 volunteers are organizing a door-to-door collection in their communities.
