Dear Members,
Time flies, and our spring newsletter is already followed by the fall edition. This is our chance to give you a summary of all the news from the summer and the start of the 2007 school year. We hope this newsletter will be just as informative as previous ones in keeping you updated on your Association and the people involved in it.
Of course, please don’t hesitate to contact us for more information, if you have ideas for activities 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, enjoy the issue!
Your Executive Director on a Mission: Guatemala, Mexico, and Covenant House in New York
From July 4 to 23, Marjorie traveled to the field to maintain the connections that are so vital to our work here, bring back the latest updates on our programs, and lay out our fundraising goals and plans.
“It all began with a week in Guatemala, where I reconnected with colleagues and friends I’d met last year, but also had the chance to meet new people. Among them was Rony, a street educator for the past 15 years. He grew up amid rival gangs and armed showdowns in one of Guatemala City’s most dangerous neighborhoods. A chapter in history. After all these years, he still has the same passion and faith in his work, in all these children, and in their future. Luis is a facilitator for the prevention program. You have to see him leading creativity workshops in a classroom of 40 children, helping them make figurines out of newspaper!
Claudia has taken the reins at Casa Alianza Guatemala. There’s a lot to manage. The boys’ program now includes electrical training and an agricultural program focused on crop cultivation and raising laying hens. The situation in the country was difficult in the run-up to the presidential elections, but Casa Alianza is staying the course, innovating, creating, and making a difference! Princess Anne of England even visited the headquarters, where I was able to mention our work here in Geneva to her!”
The trip then continued to Mexico, a program Marjorie had never visited before.
“Mexico City—a city of immense proportions, and yet so human and endearing. Casa Alianza in Mexico City is spread across five houses: the office and Level 1 and 2 boys, Level 3 boys, Level 1 and 2 girls, Level 3 girls, and teenage mothers with their babies. This situation is unsatisfactory, and Casa Alianza Mexico would like to consolidate into a single center housing all programs. The street program is a bit different from those in other countries; activities include much more play and impromptu workshops on the street as well as in other locations. Casa Alianza thus works in juvenile detention centers, motels, and other such locations. The educational materials are much more developed than in other countries: a card game about STIs, communication materials about CAM, posters for HIV/AIDS workshops, etc. Similarly, at the national level, it is worth noting the efforts of the national coordination body to prevent, combat, and eradicate commercial sexual exploitation of children. Numerous campaigns have been launched to prevent and expose the phenomenon. It appears that the gaps lie more in the area of victim support, which is Casa Alianza’s primary focus.”
Last but not least, we visited the Covenant House headquarters in New York. The stakes were high: to make ourselves known to our American colleagues, secure their support, and plan for the future of our collaboration. We spent a day visiting the programs at the Newark, New Jersey, site. The methodology is indeed the same as the one we use in Central and Latin America, but here the “children” are between the ages of 18 and 23. They are the ones left behind by the American social system; they have often been placed in institutions but find themselves, upon reaching adulthood, without any support or prospects for integration into society.
We established contact; the welcome was extremely warm, and there was immediate recognition of our work and a clear willingness to collaborate.
Casa Alianza Guatemala receives the Queen Sofia of Spain Award for its anti-drug program!
On September 19, 2007, Casa Alianza Guatemala received from the Queen of Spain the 6th edition of the award given to organizations that have distinguished themselves in the fight against drugs.
The award ceremony took place at the Zarzuela Palace near Madrid, and it was a great honor to receive this award from the Queen herself.
For more than 20 years, Casa Alianza Guatemala has been working to rehabilitate children addicted to drugs, and this recognition from across the Atlantic is a powerful gesture for all the psychologists, social workers, and educators in Guatemala who face the suffering of these children—whose lives have been stolen by drugs—on a daily basis.
Abel has left us...
You surely remember his face, his energy, and his personality—which, through the film *La vérité sort de la bouche...*, gave Casa Alianza Switzerland a communication tool of such power and sensitivity that it left a lasting impression on all of us.
Abel, a former street child who had managed to turn his life around thanks to the support of Casa Alianza and his own strength of character, was murdered on Tuesday, September 18, 2007. He was 24 years old when he was shot in cold blood, likely by a member of a dangerous gang (the “Mara 18”) active in his neighborhood. He leaves behind his 18-year-old partner, their 4-year-old son, and their 3-year-old daughter.
Jérôme von Burg has written a letter recounting Abel’s life and journey, from his first encounters with Casa Alianza’s street educators to his death. Please feel free to ask us for this document, which has already been mailed to all our members.
Don’t forget the Casa Alianza Volume 2 compilation!
It needs your support and word-of-mouth to sell! We’d like to remind you that this CD, featuring 12 tracks by up-and-coming artists from the Swiss music scene who lent their voices to support street children, is priced at 25 CHF. It’s probably a little early to be thinking about a Christmas gift, but do we really need a special occasion to give this kind of gift?
The event of the fall: the second annual Casa Alianza Golf Tournament!
This project was initiated by Gerry Crompton and Albert Gowen, and the first edition took place on October 27, 2006.
Gerry once again rallied his friends for the Casa Alianza Cup tournament, which was held on September 20 at the Maison Blanche Golf Club in France.
The 25 participants played along once again this year and graciously paid their penalty fees of 5 CHF each, which the players donated to the Association.
This event, along with generous donations from guests who were unable to attend that day, raised over 6,500 CHF for the Association. Last year’s record was easily broken!
Laurence Roth and Eliane Hauri from the Committee were present and presented Casa Alianza’s work in Switzerland and in the field. The evening concluded with a cocktail reception, and we are all eagerly looking forward to the third edition of the Casa Alianza Cup in 2008
A new baby for Casa Alianza Switzerland!
On September 25, little Jérémie made his debut, weighing in at 3.8 kg and measuring 52 cm. Our president and happy mom is doing well, so we’d like to welcome Jérémie on behalf of the entire Casa Alianza family.
Would you like to get more involved?
We always need our members’ time and ideas to support street children. If you’d like to become an active member, you can:
- Join a Casa Alianza Switzerland team. Please email info@casa-alianza.chou or visit our website (www.casa-alianza.ch).
- Help with stuffing envelopes? For our mailings, we’re looking for a few people who are available to help with stuffing envelopes. Please sign up at info@casa-alianza.ch
- If you have ideas for activities, please contact us by emailing info@casa-alianza.ch.
Thank you for your support!
Editor of Qué Pasa No. 6: Marjorie Granjon.
