who we are
A Thousand Metres Above (ATMA) is an international non-profit organization that supports healthcare initiatives in the Himalayas. We work closely with regional partners in the Himalayas to deliver these services and are based on four guiding principles of being: sustainable, collaborative, informed and utilitarian.
ATMA targets big impact initiatives while staying true to its grassroots principles by remaining volunteer-run and wasting little to no money on overhead expenses. The effort was and remains to create a dynamic and efficient organization that thinks big and spends wisely. At ATMA 100% of every dollar you donate goes directly where it ought to - into the hands of the local communities!
At ATMA we also make a conscious decision to bridge the gap between donor and receiver and establish more equal partnerships in development. We strive to move away from a development model that tells people in the developing world what to do. ATMA relies on a collaborative approach to international development where first world donors and aid receiving communities are bound together in a shared responsibility to humanity.
ATMA targets big impact initiatives while staying true to its grassroots principles by remaining volunteer-run and wasting little to no money on overhead expenses. The effort was and remains to create a dynamic and efficient organization that thinks big and spends wisely. At ATMA 100% of every dollar you donate goes directly where it ought to - into the hands of the local communities!
At ATMA we also make a conscious decision to bridge the gap between donor and receiver and establish more equal partnerships in development. We strive to move away from a development model that tells people in the developing world what to do. ATMA relies on a collaborative approach to international development where first world donors and aid receiving communities are bound together in a shared responsibility to humanity.
sustainable
- Our focus is on the use of short- to medium-term funding to create long-term impact in the community in a sustainable manner.
- Focusing on long-term impact and sustainability means our regional partners will not be dependent upon continued aid and can find other means of funding their initiatives.
- In addition to funding specific community projects we will work alongside our regional partners to devise alternative funding mechanisms and partnerships for sustainable development.
collaborative
- In international development work it is common to find organizations dictating the terms of development by building those things or providing those services that they believe are important. At ATMA we are opposed to such one-way direction of aid and actively encourage collaboration with our regional partners. Our goal is to enable organizations in these communities to develop those projects that they feel are most important. We strongly believe in providing local people with the means to help themselves, thereby facilitating their wishes and desires.
- Two-way, open communication between ATMA and our regional partners means we are better able to determine what projects are most important to the local community, and therefore in most urgent need of funding. To this end we act as a large repository of expertise. We do not dictate the terms of an organization's initiatives; instead, we offer our services as a knowledge-base in development research at no cost to our regional partners and all other parties working within local remote communities around the developing world.
- In our collaborative process, our regional partners and their local communities are active partners in the development process.
- At ATMA, we play to both parties' strengths by tapping into the resources and knowledge available to us in the developed world and coupling that with our regional partners' knowledge of the local community and the desire to create a positive impact in it.
informed
- By drawing upon a rich body of research and expertise, ATMA is able to make informed decisions on the most effective use of resources across a region.
- We believe it is important to have a strong, evidence-based understanding of the needs in a particular region to ensure that the correct projects and organizations are being funded. With limited resources available to us all, it is important that due diligence is employed to ensure that these resources are allocated in a highly effective manner.
- During the grant allocation process at ATMA we work with those organizations who have a track-record of non-profit work in their communities and official registration as a non-profit society or charity. We also track our donations after they have been given to our regional partners. These measures, and others like them, are taken to ensure donated money is spent appropriately.
- We strive to identify needs and evaluate project outcomes based on a standardized, well thought-out process. These outcomes will be analyzed and shared with our donors and regional partners. By sharing project outcomes with our partners we hope to help them further develop their projects in a well-researched manner.
- To this end, we believe it is crucial that our research-base is drawn not just from previous scientific literature and expertise, but from our regional partners themselves. In this way we ensure that our overall understanding of development includes a strong local component.
utilitarian
- We are a small, grassroots organization comprised of young professionals, university students and recent graduates - from a spectrum of professions ranging from academic research to law - who are keen on making a difference.
- ATMA is entirely volunteer-run and we have no overhead costs that are covered by donations (overhead costs are covered by ATMA's Board of Directors). This means all donated money is directed to our development projects - where it ought to go.
- At ATMA we do not believe that sending volunteers overseas is a good use of resources. The costs involved in transportation and accommodation of a volunteer working in the local community outweighs the benefits; especially since that money could go considerably further in the hands of the local people and in the local economy. Furthermore, we feel that short-term volunteerism does not lead to long-lasting, sustainable development - an important pillar of ATMA's operating philosophy.