Only a few weeks left until 2012 comes to an end! A lot has happened at Casa Alianza Switzerland, so it’s high time we gave you an update on our activities. Thank you for your continued support, and we wish you a wonderful holiday season.
As always, please don’t hesitate to contact us for more information, if you have ideas for activities and/or fundraising, or if you’d like to receive a print copy of QUE PASA.
Our contact information is:
12 rue du Diorama
, 1204 Geneva
; Tel. 022 321 82 86
;
info@casa-alianza.ch.
On behalf of the entire Casa Alianza team, we hope you enjoy reading this issue!
Changes in the Casa Alianza Switzerland Team
This year was marked by Marjorie Granjon’s departure as executive director. But don’t worry—Marjorie hasn’t completely left Casa Alianza, as she is now a member of the association’s board. Emilie Anderson took over her position in January 2012.
There have also been changes on the Board, as Laurence Bagnoud-Roth has stepped down as president, with Eliane Hauri taking her place. Laurence, too, hasn’t strayed too far from the organization, as she has become a member of the Casa Alianza Switzerland Council. Julia Lambert has also had to leave the Board. Fortunately, the board was able to welcome a new member: Fanny Bauer, who, as an active member of Casa Alianza for several years, is already very familiar with the association.
Like their predecessors, the new leadership teams will be committed to tackling challenges and serving the cause of street children.
Annual General Meeting of April 17, 2012
This year, the General Assembly of Casa Alianza Switzerland took place in the very pleasant setting of the Curiositas restaurant with about twenty participants. This meeting provided an opportunity to present the financial statements, results, and main activities of our association.
2011 was a record year for fundraising, as more than CHF 600,000 was raised for the cause of street children and victims of violence supported by Casa Alianza. Part of this success can be attributed to the support of three new institutional donors who contributed significant amounts.
During the meeting, an excerpt from the film “Carla’s Arrival” was screened to give participants a glimpse into the reality of life for street youth. Finally, Eliane Hauri, the Association’s new president, who had just returned from a visit to Guatemala, closed the meeting by sharing the latest news from that country and reiterating the importance of Casa Alianza’s work.
Casa Alianza at the Fête de la Musique
Once again, Casa Alianza was able to participate in the Fête de la Musique. Unfortunately, although the sun was shining, there were few people at Beaulieu Park, where the Association’s booth had been set up, and, it must be said, the proceeds were very disappointing this year.
This was the first time this park had been included in the Fête de la Musique’s event area. And while this magnificent site deserves to be better known, the organizations running booths there paid the price for the park’s lack of popularity among Genevans (so spread the word: this park isn’t in Lausanne, but above Parc des Cropettes!). In any case, that didn’t stop the volunteers from bringing their good spirits. The atmosphere was really nice, the raclette was creamy, and the mojitos… delicious!
Casa Alianza Switzerland celebrated its 15th anniversary
Once again this year, Jérôme Joliat and Gerry Crompton put a tremendous amount of energy into organizing the traditional golf tournament and cocktail reception at the Esery Golf Club. The event took place on October 4 and also served as an opportunity to celebrate Casa Alianza Switzerland’s 15th anniversary!
Despite the threatening clouds throughout the day, only a single raindrop (or two?) fell during the competition this year, and the players were delighted with the excellent conditions under which the event took place. Those who didn’t participate in the tournament weren’t left out, as the event was followed by an absolutely superb cocktail reception prepared by Mr. Dominique Gauthier, chef at the Beau-Rivage in Geneva.
We would therefore like to extend our warmest thanks to Emmanuel Ballongue, Michel Cartillier, and Denis Harran of the Golf Club d’Esery for making their golf course available to us and for facilitating the organization of this event, as well as Dominique Gauthier for putting his talent to work in support of the cause championed by Casa Alianza.
Finally, the great news is that Jérôme and Gerry are already planning next year’s event! A huge thank you to both of them!
Guatemala’s Universal Periodic Review
On October 24, the 14th session of the Universal Periodic Review took place at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, during which Guatemala’s second review cycle was conducted. This review is a United Nations mechanism through which peer countries assess the human rights situation in each UN Member State.
NGOs have observer status and cannot make direct recommendations during the review sessions. However, they can submit a report to ensure that specific issues important to them are taken into account when analyzing the baseline situation presented during the review. Furthermore, NGOs can also engage in advocacy and lobbying activities prior to the review to encourage states to address specific issues in their recommendations during the review.
Thus, Casa Alianza, with the support of active member Casandra Feijoo, once again took advantage of its location in Geneva. We visited several permanent missions to encourage them to address to Guatemala, during the review, the recommendations that are particularly important to our Association.
Casa Alianza’s advocacy mission appears to have borne fruit, as several countries—including four of the 11 contacted—presented recommendations directly related to the causes championed by Casa Alianza. Overall, unfortunately, the issue of children did not emerge as a priority during this UPR, which can be explained by the many problems the country faces. However, we were pleased to note the new recommendation addressed to Guatemala to combat and eliminate the trafficking and sale of children, as well as the call to effectively enforce existing laws, including those that directly affect Casa Alianza’s target audience.
“Step into Action” Awareness Day
This year, on November 13 at Palexpo, Casa Alianza Switzerland participated in the “STEP into Action” educational project organized by the NGO Euforia. This project aimed to welcome approximately 800 high school students aged 16 to 19, with the goal of raising their awareness of global challenges and encouraging them to get involved with other NGOs and organizations. The day consisted of an interactive journey for the young people, featuring several stations with games, workshops, and testimonials on the themes of human rights, the environment, migration, health, and solidarity.
For the event, various NGOs and organizations were invited to present their work through interactive booths and to offer young people concrete opportunities to get involved and support their causes. This invitation provided us with a unique opportunity to raise awareness among this young audience about the causes championed by Casa Alianza, encourage them to reflect on these issues, and motivate them to commit to supporting us. About fifty young people took a direct interest in Casa Alianza’s activities and even agreed to participate in a short quiz on children’s rights and the issue of street children (a big thank you to Naya Joffre for allowing us to draw inspiration from her work in preparing the quiz!). It was a truly successful awareness-raising event! A big thank you and congratulations to Euforia for organizing this day!
News from the Field: The Growth of La Alianza
Last year, we reported that the new center for girls who are victims of trafficking in Guatemala could accommodate about a dozen young girls. However, due—sadly—to the high number of victims of sexual violence and trafficking, La Alianza had to quickly expand its capacity to meet the growing demand. As a result, the organization has already provided care for more than 120 girls in just a year and a half!
In June, the unexpected and sudden death of the Director of Development at La Alianza Guatemala came as a terrible shock to the entire team, which lost a brilliant individual deeply dedicated to the cause of the girls at La Alianza. However, despite this painful loss and the many administrative and institutional challenges faced since the center’s reopening, La Alianza has achieved a remarkable feat: being recognized by the Guatemalan government as the most professional and effective organization supporting girls who are victims of trafficking.
Both the president and the secretary general of Casa Alianza Switzerland had the opportunity to visit the country this year and witness the important work carried out by the organization and the significant support it requires.
Would you like to get more involved?
We always need our members’ time and ideas to support street children. Please feel free to:
- Join a Casa Alianza Switzerland team by emailing info@casa-alianza.ch or visiting the website www.casa-alianza.ch.
- Come help us with our mailing campaign.
- Contact us if you have ideas for activities.
Thank you for your support!
Edited by Emilie Anderson for Que Pasa No. 14
