That was certainly the case for Child’s Dream – a charitable, not-for-profit association supporting children and young adults in Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand. Child’s Dream was co-founded by Marc Jenni and Daniel Siegfried in 2003 after “successful but unfulfilling” careers in banking in Switzerland, Hong Kong and Singapore.
Having witnessed the hardship faced by many children in Southeast Asia first-hand, they both realised that they wanted to do something meaningful for children.
“We sat there in a little guest house in front of a blank piece of paper, and through the nights our ideas formed,” says Marc. “The result was Child’s Dream. We are both so happy that it developed from there into something so meaningful.”
The organisation now employs over 70 people working to reduce childhood mortality and improve health and hygiene in schools and communities, while also increasing access to quality education.
A partnership with Roche was established in 2019, with three clear areas of focus in Cambodia – 1) improving school building infrastructure, with a five-year goal of 150 new primary, secondary or high school classrooms benefitting 6,000 students a year; 2) supporting computer laboratory facilities, with the aim of 10 fully equipped computer laboratories to vastly improve IT skills and knowledge; and 3) backing High School Scholarships to help marginalised students improve job and social mobility opportunities.
“The partnership works because we have a shared purpose and vision, and Roche is very engaged in the work we are doing,” says Marc. “And the impact is very real. We will provide new school buildings for thousands of children in Cambodia, some of whom are the most marginalised, with difficult backgrounds. And with computer labs comes digital literacy, which is so important to bring new opportunities.”
In 2022 alone, 2,280 students benefited from 57 new classrooms built in Cambodia with Child’s Dream.
The result? Hundreds of students with their own blank pages in front of them, their futures ready to be written. Not just a Child’s Dream – but a reality too.
Marc is a co-founder of Child's Dream, which is just one of the many children's initiatives in developing countries that Roche supports through donations raised via the Children's Walk.
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