Last year, we reached 230 389 children and young people with our work. The impact of our commitment usually goes far beyond this bare figure. In this magazine, you can find out what moved us and what we were able to achieve with your help.
Well over 5 000 children and young people took part in an intercultural exchange in the Children's Village or a radio mobile project in 2024. The insights that the participants take away from these intensive encounters often have an impact far beyond the project itself and have a positive and multiplying effect in their personal environment.
In the current magazine, Karina from Ukraine, for example, reveals why the "Rebels for Peace" summer camp was the most instructive camp she has ever attended. Other project participants, such as Maxim from Moldova, have developed so significantly at the Pestalozzi Children's Village in such a short space of time that those around them at home were amazed: "It really has turned him into a different person - positive in every respect," enthuses his mother.
Our path towards a world in which children can learn freely and peacefully is also lined with such moving life stories in the 13 programme countries worldwide. One of the 225 090 children and young people who have gained access to high-quality and equal education thanks to your support is Jeneliva from Tanzania. The 14-year-old has learnt a lot about her own rights at the children's rights club at Shiwinga Primary School. And almost more importantly, she and her classmates know what to do if their rights are violated.
However, in order for children to be able to credibly exercise and demand their rights, it is not only up to them, but also to parents, teachers, head teachers and education departments. Last year, over 109 000 parents and community members as well as over 2 000 members of government and education officials took part in awareness-raising measures on the importance of high-quality education. In addition, more than 13 000 teachers took part in further training courses to expand their expertise.
We firmly believe that awareness of the importance of education is growing and seeping inexorably through all social structures. And if we imagine how all the people we have been able to touch with our work will in turn have a positive influence on their personal environment, our impact is definitely greater than the mere sum of what we have achieved.