Draft:Child's Dream

Child's Dream is a Swiss non-profit organization and foundation founded in 2003 by Daniel Siegfried and Marc Jenni. Its mission is to empower disadvantaged children, youth and communities in the Mekong sub-region, which includes Myanmar, Laos, Thailand and Cambodia. Child's Dream uses education, healthcare and vocational training as tools to enable young people from marginalized communities to lead successful, productive lives and become a new generation of leaders. Child's Dream's vision is to make itself obsolete by building sustainable and self-sustaining communities that no longer need external support.

History, development and organization
Daniel Siegfried and Marc Jenni, both originally from Switzerland, founded Child's Dream in 2003. During their young adult life they worked in the financial industry. While travelling in Asia, they were confronted with the economic and social problems of the continent, and so they decided to resign to their office jobs and start working on the non-profit sector. In 2003, they quit their jobs to set up their own NGO.

They focused Child's Dream's work on the Mekong sub-region. This region is known for opium cultivation, corruption as well as drug and human trafficking. As a result, people in the region are exposed to poverty, disease, sexual exploitation and political persecution. In 2003, the two rented an office in Chiang Mai and registered the "Child's Dream Association" as a non-profit Swiss organization in Zurich, Switzerland. Two years later, Child's Dream was also registered as a foundation in Thailand. In 2008, the organization moved into its own office building in Chiang Mai, Thailand. In 2010, the organization opened an office in Siem Reap, Cambodia, and in 2023 in Luang Prabang, Laos. In 2022, Child's Dream was registered as an international non-governmental organisation (INGO) in Thailand. As of May 2024, the organization consists of a team of over 80 people.

Marc Jenni is in charge of financial matters and ensures that Child's Dreams' administration and overall finances are organized in a cost-effective and efficient manner, creating the greatest possible transparency for donors. Daniel Siegfried is responsible for planning and implementing projects. He is part of a working group (Project Evaluation Committee) that jointly evaluates and prioritizes suitable projects.

Vision, mission and strategy
Child's Dream's vision and mission is to create better health and education for sustainable development and to empower competent people to responsibly shape their communities. Its strategy is based on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. In cooperation with partner organizations, they develop and implement measures in Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand and focus on current and future needs. They pursue the following eight specific goals:

Additionally, the following social issues are addressed as Cross-Cutting Themes (CCTs):
 * 1) Building Schools & other Educational Infrastructure
 * 2) Improving Access to Basic Education
 * 3) Improving Quality of Education
 * 4) Providing Skills Training to enhance Employability
 * 5) Supporting Youth Development and Empowerment
 * 6) Developing Future Leaders, Specialists and Entrepreneurs
 * 7) Supporting Basic and Essential Health Care
 * 8) Supporting Targeted Emergency Relief


 * Substance Abuse and Addiction
 * Environmental Sustainability
 * Social Protection
 * Diversity & Inclusion
 * Media Literacy
 * Peace and Justice

Values
Child's Dream is defined by these core values:

Work
By December 2023, approx. 1,300,000 beneficiaries had been reached by ongoing and completed Child's Dream projects. The ongoing projects reach around 250,000 beneficiaries, of which around 40% are in Cambodia, around 20% in Laos, around 20% in Myanmar, around 20% migrants or refugees from Myanmar and 4% in Thailand.

Health
Founded in 2006 by Child's Dream, the Children's Medical Fund enables life-saving operations and medical interventions for children, particularly in the case of congenital diseases. Every year, around 150 patients receive support to treat heart defects, anorectal malformations and neural tube defects. Without financial assistance and access to quality healthcare, many of these children die prematurely or remain disabled, making it difficult for them to attend school and overcome poverty. In 2023, the Children's Medical Fund saw a significant increase in new patient admissions and treated 271 patients, compared to 137 before the COVID-19 pandemic. This increase is due to the expansion of the programme and new partnerships with organisations and hospitals in Thailand, Myanmar and Laos. In addition to children aged 0 to 12 from Myanmar, Laos and refugee camps in Thailand, the fund also supports needy Thai heart patients and older children who were unable to receive medical care during the pandemic. A total of 2,562 cases have been treated since 2006 (as of 2023).

In addition to the Children's Medical Fund, Child's Dream is also committed to the health of children and young people in other ways. In 2023, 16,835 children took part in school health initiatives and 2,066 young people and adults received sex education.

Basic education
Basic education is a central component of Child's Dream's work. The program includes the construction of educational facilities such as schools, boarding school buildings, and playgrounds. This sometimes includes the provision of drinking water systems, solar charging stations and extracurricular activities. By 2023, Child's Dream will have constructed a total of 446 school buildings, 74 boarding school buildings, 102 water systems and 157 playgrounds.

Higher education
Child's Dream also offers scholarship program for disadvantaged young people. With the High School and Vocational Scholarship Program, Child's Dream offers educational opportunities to students from rural and marginalized communities in Laos, Cambodia and Thailand. The program increases the transition rate from middle school to high school by providing financial support that covers all educational costs as well as living expenses and transportation. The academic calendars and implementation periods vary in the three countries. As of 2023, 3,475 students have participated in the program.

Newspapers and articles

 * Health and Education for Change in Southeastasia: Child's Dream Unlocks the Power of Youth (Myriad USA, April 2024)
 * Education and health care for children in the Mekong Sub-Region: An interview with the founders of the Child’s Dream Foundation (Nishikawa Communications Co.,Ltd., January 2024)
 * Good-bye to fat pay cheque – Swiss banker gives up cushy life to help deprived children in the Mekong sub-region (thesundaytimes, July 2014)
 * Banker machen Kinder glücklich (SonntagsBlick, March 2014) – in german
 * Wenn Banker Gutes tun (Beobachter, December 2013) – in german
 * Higher Education: Child's Dream (HuffPost, August 2013)
 * Mehr Wert als jeder Bonus (Migros-Magazin, March 2013) – in german
 * Vom Banking zur Dorf-Entwicklungs-Hilfe (NZZ, May 2009) – in german

Television and film

 * Interview with Marc Jenni (Rondo Magazin, March 2022) – in german
 * Youth Connect Foundation (Mitenand SRF, December 2020) – in german
 * Interview with Daniel Siegfried and Marc Jenni (Aeschbacher SRF, December 2015) – in german
 * The movie Child’s Dream – Zwei Banker auf Sinnsuche by Urs Frey was broadcast on Swiss television on 30 December 2012 and 2 January.
 * Child's Dream was featured in the fourth episode of a Wheel2Wheel documentary shown on National Geographic and on Cathay Pacific and SBS entertainment programmes.

Podcasts

 * How to Examine Charitable Organizations with Child’s Dream Foundation’s Marc Jenni (Invest Like a Boss, Februar 2022)

Other
Volunteer ambassadors support Child's Dream from their respective home countries: Singapore, Japan, Switzerland, Dubai, New Zealand and Hong Kong. Germany is represented by Stephan Thiemonds. On 29 November 2018, the Saysa Morn Primary School, built under the auspices of Child's Dream, was inaugurated in the Cambodian province of Banteay Meanchey. The project was partly financed from the proceeds of Thiemonds' book series “Querweltein Unterwegs” and with financial support from friends and patrons from his professional environment.