Fundación Acción, Desarrollo y Sostenibilidad
Over 20 years of direct cooperation with rural communities in Africa. We build sustainable solutions that improve lives and open up new opportunities.
About us
Fundación ADS started out in 2005. Our aim was to carry out international cooperation and humanitarian projects with vulnerable communities, especially in Africa.
We work mainly in Ethiopia, where we have worked without a break for two decades. In 2025 we started our first partnership in Uganda. In Spain, we run awareness-raising and development education activities.
For over 20 years, our work has rested on four pillars: water, health, education and food security. They are closely linked. Safe water improves health. Better health makes it easier to go to school. And education opens up opportunities that can change a community’s future.
We believe sustainable development starts with the basics: water, health, food, education and local skills. With these in place, every community can move forward independently and with dignity.
Our cooperation model
At Fundación ADS, we see international cooperation as professional, rigorous, results-driven work. From the start, we have chosen to be present directly and continuously where we work. We carry out projects on the ground, hand in hand with local communities and institutions.
This lets us understand each area’s needs first-hand and make better use of resources. Every action has a clear purpose: lasting impact on people’s lives.
ADS was set up by professionals from many fields (law, psychology, engineering, business and academia) who chose to put their experience to work for cooperation. That mix of backgrounds is still part of who we are. We plan, manage, monitor and evaluate every project on technical grounds, so that it is viable, effective and sustainable over time.
In 2009 we were declared an Entity of Public Utility in Spain. This recognised our social commitment and the transparency of our work. In 2020 we took on our current name: Acción, Desarrollo y Sostenibilidad. In 2023 we became a Foundation. This step strengthened our organisation, our capacity to act and our commitment to communities.
ADS was set up in 2005 as Amigos de Silva by a group of professionals who wanted to put their experience to work for international cooperation.
Looking to the future
After more than 20 years, we at ADS still firmly believe that development is built together with the people and communities we work with.
We want to keep running projects that improve thousands of lives. And we want to reach new regions where water, health, education or food are still a daily struggle.
But we don’t do it alone. ADS is also a community of people, companies and institutions who believe that fairer development is possible.
If you share this vision, we invite you to join us: get involved, back our initiatives or explore new ways to work together.
Because when many people join forces, the impact goes much further.
Every contribution counts.
Every day, we work to turn every resource into practical, sustainable projects with real impact on the ground.
If you believe in direct, close and responsible cooperation, join ADS and discover the projects we carry out with communities.