The foundation AVEC in Switzerland

The foundation AVEC in Switzerland

Introduction to the AVEC Foundation in Switzerland

AVEC Switzerland is a small association in which a lot of volunteers from the French and German parts of Switzerland work to support our children’s shelter.

They organize fundraising dinners, markets, yard sales, and collect funds in their companies too.

They often visit us in Cambodia, as it is a wonderful experience to spend a few days in the shelter;

they like seeing this small family grow a little bit more each year.

The shelter has low operating costs, so most of the money donated is used for direct action in Cambodia.

The president of the association
Philippe Cloux is the president of the AVEC Foundation in Switzerland, he fell in love with the work of the NGO AVEC during a visit to Cambodia where he was seduced by the NGO’s humanitarian work.

 

The Children’s Godmother and co-founder of the orphanage
Dany Frei quite naturally got the honorary title of the children’s Godmother. One day she read an article about us in a newspaper (“Le Matin”); having lived in Cambodia before the genocide, she immediately understood our action.

Thanks to her we got the essential funds to launch the shelter; then others joined to build our wonderful project.

When Dany speaks about AVEC you can see her eyes sparkle! She comes to visit the shelter every year and endeavours to spread the news of our action in the German part of Switzerland.

The Vice-President of the AVEC Foundation in Switzerland
Michael Rümmelein did us the great honour of helping us financially from the very beginning of the realisation of the shelter. A dream that was to create a place where children who had been severely abused could recover and have access to a first class curriculum.

The secretary of the foundation
Nadja Eppenberger is our indispensable secretary ; without her nothing would be possible. Her role and help are vital for our functioning.
She is also the one who sends the certificates that will enable people to file their donations for the purpose of tax-deduction.

She has been a volunteer for many years. She also helps us to translate texts for our Website. Moreover her family supports us in different ways.

 

AVEC Godfathers and Godmothers
They are marvellous people who have supported our action from the beginning; their monthly donations enable us to take preventive and protective action for the most vulnerable children.

Testimony: What we will remember about this refuge is the joy and the laughter of the children: these children who have all come back from far away, who have all lived through very difficult things, have found their childhood here again?
Nicole and Michel

Going as a couple as a volunteer in Cambodia...

The AVEC association in France

The AVEC association in France

Created in December 2010, AVEC France is the French relay of the NGO AVEC.

Based in Oloron-Sainte-Marie (64) in France, this non-political and non-confessional association of law 1901 with humanitarian goals is subsidized since 2012 by the town hall of Oloron Sainte-Marie. Two volunteers manage it:

Fabienne Lafargue

Fabienne Lafargue

President of the association AVEC France and school teacher

Anne-Lise Moulies

Anne-Lise Moulies

Accountant and lawyer

This is how everything began…..
The idea of creating a French local branch of AVEC goes back to May 2010. F. Lafargue was on holidays in Cambodia, enjoying beautiful landscapes but seeing a lot of poverty too.

This was when she met P. Roux, founder of AVEC, who showed her the reality:

in the remote villages, the misery is extreme and children live in terrible conditions where their rights are constantly violated.

Mrs Lafargue was appalled and decided to get involved by founding AVEC FRANCE in December 2010. Back in France, supported by two friends, she founded the French office of AVEC in December 2010.

Since then the association has been very active in fundraising, as money is essential to support actions in Cambodia.

What we will remember about this shelter is the joy and the laughter of the children: these children who all come back from far away, have all lived through very difficult things, have found their childhood here…
Nicole and Michel

Going as a couple as a volunteer in Cambodia...

Who are our volunteers in Cambodia

Who are our volunteers in Cambodia

After years of work in the field, years of dialogue and compromises, we have now some real experience.

Patrik Roux, NGO “AVEC” FOUNDER

Either at the shelter or through the countryside, thousands of children call him ”Papa”.
Before coming to Cambodia, “Papa” used to work with multi-handicapped people in Switzerland, helping them to find work. These activities confirmed his vocation to work for the most fragile people. Patrik works with his wife Theavy Bun. Together they are able to cope with the most awkward situations and respond to the requests for intervention from the local authorities.

Patrik Roux aime par-dessus tout apporter de l'aide et du réconfort aux familles les plus pauvres, il est un fervent défenseur de l'éducation comme facteur de changement...

Patrik Roux loves above all to bring help and comfort to the poorest families, he is a fervent defender of education as a factor of change…

THEAVY ROUX “AVEC” DIRECTOR Theavy manages the shelter and deals with the localisation of vulnerable children, talks with the families and the village headmen. Thanks to her, “AVEC” gets remarkable results in schooling.
Theavy Bun lors d’un sauvetage de quatre enfants en situation de maltraitance grave dans un village à la frontière avec la Thaïlande.

Theavy Bun during a rescue of four severely abused children in a village on the border with Thailand.

ADMINISTRATION For years Theavy did everything in the shelter. Now she is being helped by three young Cambodian academics who deal with accounting, localising the children in villages, distributing pocket money , etc…Taking care of about  40 children and following the training of  about 400 others demands very good organization
Volontaires humanitaires spécialisés dans la lutte contre la maltraitance et le trafic des enfants au Cambodge. L'ONG AVEC est une référence dans le domaine de la protection des enfants.

The whole team of volunteers of the NGO AVEC. There are the teachers, the substitute mothers, the teachers of the training centre, that’s not far from the 20 people who work for the good of abused children in Cambodia.

SEWING AND FASHION DESIGN In November 2014 a fashion designer training was launched by Jade Meyer, a Belgian fashion designer herself. She created totally new course material, as our training is a mixture between French and Cambodian ways of dress-making. The training is limited to 20 students because we have to adapt to many problems, such as illiteracy for example. Two Khmer seamstresses are now in charge of it.
Trois jeunes étudiantes stylistes-couturières qui pendant une année apprennent gratuitement un métier qui changera durablement le destin de leurs vies

Three young student fashion designers and seamstresses who, for a year, learn free of charge a trade that will change the destiny of their lives in a lasting way.

ENGLISH AND COMPUTER SCIENCE Our training centre opened in October 2014. 400 children follow English and computer science courses given by 5 young trained teachers. Every day you can hear children’s voices learning happily how to use a computer…when most of them don’t have electricity at home!
Quand on est un enfant pauvre de la campagne au Cambodge, avoir accès à l'informatique permet d'ouvrir de nouveaux horizons. Cette action fait partie de notre programme de scolarisation et de lutter contre la maltraitance des enfants.

When you are a poor rural child in Cambodia, having access to computers opens up new horizons. This action is part of our program to provide schooling and to fight against child abuse.

THE SHELTER MUMS In each room of the shelter, a Khmer mum lives and sleeps with the children. We call them “replacement mums”. These women are either widows or abandoned wives with dependent children; this is why this “job” is a good outcome for them; “AVEC” is happy to be able to offer it. Stewardship, cooking, caring of the children are their essential tasks in the shelter. Their own children go to the local school in the morning – as is the rule in Cambodia – and can come and take advantage of the shelter in the afternoon.
Les mamans de substitution qui vivent et s’occupent des enfants du refuge 24/24 sont des femmes souvent abandonnées qui vivent dans la précarité. Travailler au refuge est un nouveau départ, une nouvelle chance donnée à ces femmes courageuses.

The replacement mothers who live and take care of the children in the shelter 24 hours a day are often abandoned women living in precarious conditions. Working at the shelter is a new start, a new chance given to these courageous women.

Testimony: What we will remember about this refuge is the joy and the laughter of the children: these children who have all come back from far away, who have all lived through very difficult things, have found their childhood here again?

Nicole and Michel

Going as a couple as a volunteer in Cambodia...

Who are we ?

Who are we ?

In April 2009, the shelter “AVEC” opened.

« The NGO AVEC is one of those rare flowers that grow on rubbish piles and that, in a few years, is able to make it a land of hope » Patrik Roux, founder of AVEC History Patrik Roux and his wife Theavy Bun created their NGO AVEC in order to prevent and fight against the trafficking and exploitation of children.
Une grand-mère élève seule huit enfants dans un petit village d'anciens réfugiés internes au Cambodge. Scolariser ces enfants est une priorité et nous permet de suivre les enfants sur le long terme

A grandmother is single-handedly raising eight children in a small village of former internal refugees in Cambodia. Schooling these children is a priority and allows us to follow the children in the long term.

From November 2004 on, a team of four began to visit Battambang countryside villages. They soon began to discover a stark reality: many women were abandoned with dependent children. In April 2009, the shelter “AVEC” opened. This NGO takes in orphans, abandoned or very poor children; they live there and get intensive literacy lessons as well as basic education.
Les enfants qui vivent dans notre refuge de battambang

The children who live in our battambang shelter

“AVEC” is now officially registered in Cambodia, in France and in Switzerland. Twenty-one people work there most efficiently, especially locating children at risk. Its main aims are child protection and education.

What we will remember about this refuge is the joy and the laughter of the children: these children who all come back from far away, have all lived through very difficult things, have found their childhood here…

Nicole and Michel

Going as a couple as a volunteer in Cambodia...