News

Saturday, September 11, 2010, 10.00 - 17.00

Have young guides take you on a tour through their Children’s Village and learn how they see their daily life. Or get a first-hand impression of obstacles to education by participating in an exiting “treasure hunt”. Or join a presentation and discussion with our Programme Directors to gain insight and deeper understanding of the challenges we face. Culinary specialities, refreshments, stage shows and many further attractions will make our Open Day a special event for you.

Programme 

The countdown is on: The registration deadline for our youth competition “go4peace” approaches. Until July 31, 2010, proposals for youth and children’s projects promoting peaceful coexistence can still be submitted. A closer look at project proposals already submitted confirms: Projects are highly creative and the choice of project is entirely up to participants. Proposals so far received include a socio-critical musical, a music clip on the prevention of juvenile violence and an integration day. Numerous prices with a total value of 12,000 Swiss francs are waiting. Further infos on our website www.go4peace.ch

The tropical storm Agatha which hit Central America in late May 2010 has caused devastation in our project country Guatemala, leaving 174 people dead and 113 missing. 163,000 survivors were evacuated and 64,000 are homeless, now living in emergency shelter. 40,000 houses were destroyed, among them Julajuj Aq’ab’al, a secondary school in one of the projects we support. With the building’s roof blown away, 171 pupils cannot go to school. Houses and fields belonging to 80 families of children in our projects were also destroyed. The Pestalozzi Children’s Foundation supports an emergency project with 36'500 CHF.

Donation

Projects in Guatemala

Situation in San Lucas Toliman:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7U8zzIHpns

During Lao New Year holidays on 17th April 2010, the storm and heavy rain had destroyed the dormitories in our projects in the two districts Boakbor and Soploi. Other facilities and equipments like kitchen, sleeping materials, classrooms, teacher’s office, text books learning materials and student’s clothing were also damaged by the storm. Luckily during the storm no students were injured because they visited home. However, they have lost their shelters to continue and finish their semester. Their class rooms that are in better structure and have not been damaged by the storm are presently being used as temporary sleeping quarter for the children. It is very inconvenience for the students to use the class rooms for both learning and living purposes.

Some students went back to their own villages and dropped out from school because the unsecured shelter and food deficit. This will probably affect the passing rate to higher level in the next school year. Moreover, if dormitories were not built for the next school year, it would continue to affect the enrolment rate of the children to the schools especially at the secondary level that were just established in the two districts.

In 2009-2010 school year there are 173 students, of whom 38 are girls, living in the dormitories and the numbers of students have increased every year. Dormitories and other facilities such as kitchen, toilet, water source and latrines have been upgraded and expanded every year with contribution of the parents to accommodate the increasing number of students. Dormitories are very necessary shelters for the students from the remote and mountainous villages with no road access. All secondary school students stay in those dormitories during the school year and they visit home during weekends and school holidays. Those dormitories were constructed by the parents and the structures were not storm proof.

Donation

Projects in Laos

One thing is clear – when it comes to relating to people from different backgrounds freely and without prejudice, knowledge about their ways of doing things is the key to success. Test how much you know about different cultures and win one of the prizes!

Contest

In 2009, a total of 296'381 children and adolescents participated in one of our numerous projects all over the world. They attended school in Tanzania, acquired knowledge via radio in Honduras, discussed ways of peaceful coexistence in Serbia and discovered a place of education for humanity in the Children's Village in Trogen. This year's report presents a radio and school project in Switzerland, namely in Müllheim in the canton of Thurgovia. See our annual reports for further details.

PDF, 5MB | PDF, 3 MB

Detailled annual accounts (in German) (PDF | 2.7 MB)

72 million children worldwide are still prevented from enjoying their right to quality education. The education projects of the Pestalozzi Children’s Foundation reach almost 300,000 children per year, thus contributing to achieving the UN Millennium Goal of primary education for all boys and girls by 2015. The knowledge and experience made accessible through primary education will enable future generations to beat the vicious circle of poverty.

1Goal is this year’s motto of the Global Campaign for Education. The 1Goal campaign seizes the power of football to ensure that education for all is a lasting impact of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. It appeals to donors, governments, organisations and the public to contribute towards achieving universal education. 1Goal calls on all citizens to sign up and make their support known. You can add your support at www.join1goal.org

If issues such as education for disadvantaged children and adolescents, intercultural exchange, peaceful coexistence instead of marginalisation, and children's rights and human rights are close to your heart, you are the right person to join our Circle of Friends. Our members identify themselves with the spirit of the Children’s Village and are prepared to support us financially on a regular basis.
Circle of Friends