Masja Helmer

Both ENDS works on many different themes that appear to not have much to do with each other, but turn out to be deeply intertwined. It is a huge challenge to communicate about these complex subjects in an attractive way without violating the truth, but the deeper you dive into them, the more connections you see between subjects such as climate policy, women's rights, international (public) finance, poverty and land degradation.

Why did the river suddenly dry up? Where does the money for a polluting coal plant come from? Who is the financier of that palm oil plantation for which the whole community is evicted? Which rules and laws make this possible? Together with local organisations we search for ways to tackle the problems that communities are facing, very often completely beyond their control.

Instead of just doing symptom control, Both ENDS and partner organisations are always searching for the root cause and advocate real system change at a local, national and if necessary international level.  I am convinced that the problems we work on can only be solved by involving all parties and looking at the big picture. This is exactly what Both ENDS does, which makes me proud to work here.