The Strømme Foundation () is a Norwegian volunteer development organization that was established on September 21, 1976. The foundation provides assistance to poor people in the

Global South Global North and Global South are terms that denote a method of grouping countries based on their defining characteristics with regard to socioeconomics and politics. According to UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the Global South broadly com ...

to pull themselves out of poverty through

microfinancing Microfinance consists of financial services targeting individuals and small businesses (SMEs) who lack access to conventional banking and related services. Microfinance includes microcredit, the provision of small loans to poor clients; saving ...

. The vision of the Strømme Foundation is a world without poverty. Its head office is in

Kristiansand Kristiansand is a city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder county, Norway. The city is the fifth-largest and the municipality is the sixth-largest in Norway, with a population of around 116,000 as of January 2020, following th ...

Activity

The Strømme Foundation conducts long-term development work with local partner organizations in the Global South. By giving people, among other things, knowledge and skills, access to small loans, and saving opportunities, the foundation helps make it possible for poor people to improve and build their lives so that they can get by without charitable assistance. The foundation is active in 12 countries, where it carries out various development projects in education and microfinancing. The organization emphasizes self-help and utilizes local partners. Its head office is in

Kristiansand, Norway Kristiansand is a city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder county, Norway. The city is the fifth-largest and the municipality is the sixth-largest in Norway, with a population of around 116,000 as of January 2020, following th ...

. The foundation has three regional offices: in

Kampala Kampala (, ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,875,834 (2024) and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kampala, Kawempe Division, Kawempe, Makindy ...

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

;

Bamako Bamako is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Mali, with a 2022 population of 4,227,569. It is located on the Niger River, near the rapids that divide the upper and middle Niger valleys in the southwestern part of the country. Bamak ...

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

; and

Colombo, Sri Lanka Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...

.''Strategic Plan 2014–2018''. 2013. Kristiansand: Strømme Foundation, p. 5.

History

The foundation is named after Olav Kristian Strømme, a priest and chaplain at

Oddernes Church Oddernes Church () is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Kristiansand Municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the district of Lund in the borough of Lund in the city of Kristiansand. It is one of the churches for the Oddern ...

, who carried out extensive fundraising work. The foundation confers the Help for Self-Help Award (''Hjelp til selvhjelp-prisen''). The award was given to

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize (Swedish language, Swedish and ) is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the Will and testament, will of Sweden, Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobe ...

winner

Muhammad Yunus Muhammad Yunus (born 28 June 1940) is a Bangladeshi economist, entrepreneur, and civil society leader who has been serving as the Chief Adviser of Bangladesh, Chief Adviser of the Interim government of Muhammad Yunus, interim Yunus ministry, g ...

in 1997. Proceeds from Operation Day's Work in 2008 went to the Strømme Foundation's Shonglap project for young people in Bangladesh. The Strømme Foundation has its own student exchange program called Act Now at Hald International Center, which the organization carries out together with the

Norwegian Missionary Society The Norwegian Missionary Society or the Norwegian Mission Society (, NMS) is the first and oldest missionary organization in Norway. It was started by a group of approximately 180 Stavanger residents in August 1842, to spread Christianity to oth ...

and the

Norwegian Christian Student and School Association The Norwegian Christian Student and School Association (Norwegian: ''Norges Kristelige Student- og Skoleungdomslag'' or NKSS) is an evangelical Christian student movement with affiliate groups on university campuses in Norway. There are around 200 ...

RE:ACT

RE:ACT is the Strømme Foundation's youth organization. It was established in October 2009 by former students at Hald International Center.

References

External links

Strømme Foundation homepage

Catalog of Strømme Foundation material at the National Archives in Kristiansand
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stromme Foundation Development charities based in Norway Organizations established in 1976