Financial Report for 2023
Our association, Don du Choeur (DDC), which for the last 20 years has supported the education of children in need, committed itself this year to the realization of several events in Geneva and to the advancing of our education projects in Mexico, Madagascar and Cambodia.
After the long period of the pandemic, our objective for 2023 was to prepare new action plans for our activities abroad and to consolidate our financial base in Switzerland.
The year was marked by several defining events that bolstered the solidarity of our association and its capacity to evolve:
- – the continued support of our principal financial partners; the arrival of a new foundation; and an increasing number of individual donors
- – the facilitation of financial support from France, with DDC being accredited by the Fondation de France (allowing donations from France to be tax deductible)
- – a strengthening of our links with the private schools of Geneva, who mobilized in a wonderful show of solidarity with our association to ensure the success of our 2023 concert. Some of them have indicated their wish to become also involved in the follow-up to our education projects
- – the arrival of new volunteers with new skills, helping to keep our association up to date and relevant.
The profile of DDC has also been enhanced thanks to the greater media coverage of our last concert (reports in Léman Bleu and RSR) and an overview of our 20 years of activity in the specialist journal GatHope.
Our presence on social media continues to grow, with new clips regularly posted on Facebook and Instagram.
A photo of the concert, taken by the photographer Bruno Le Feuvre, was nominated in the Photosuisse 2023 competition, in the B&W category.
Here are the principal initiatives in various areas that have taken our energy in 2023:
ACTIVITIES IN GENEVA
In Geneva, the 7th Don du Choeur Concert in the Victoria Hall
The DDC committee worked closely with some 400 children and their teachers from 8 private schools in Geneva, to organize the association’s 7th concert in the Victoria Hall on 1 May 2023. The commitment of our conductors, the professionalism of the musicians and the dedication of our volunteers were key elements in the success of the concert.
The goal of the concert was to extend our junior high school in Cambodia and implement our project for social assistance in Madagascar.
The totality of our expenses for the concert:
– Advertising and payment of royalties (Suisa) CHF 1,396
– Renting the Victoria Hall CHF 6,170
– T-shirts for the 400 choir members CHF 4,410
– Technical expenses (sound, lighting, video) CHF 24,740
– Musicians’ and acrobats’ fees CHF 2,300
– Security expenses CHF 730
– Buffet at the Maison des Arts du Grutli CHF 1,147
TOTAL CHF 40,893
were financed by our partners.
The takings from the concert, which amounted to CHF 100,058 were divided between the two target projects: Cambodia (CHF 60,035) and Madagascar (CHF 40,023).
The goal of the evening was certainly attained!
We are immensely grateful to the 8 private schools for their commitment and team spirit: Collège du Léman; International School of Geneva: La Châtaigneraie; Ecole Mosaic; Externat des Glacis; Geneva English School; Institut Florimont; Institut International de Lancy; and Institut International Notre-Dame-du-Lac.
We also extend heartfelt thanks to our principal financial partners for their confidence in our work and for their vital contribution to the realization of the concert: Association Genevoise des Ecoles Privées, Brolliet Property Management, 1875 Finance, and the support of the Ville de Genève.
And many thanks are also due to all the volunteers without whom the concert would not have taken place, particularly the Lausanne-Renens circus school; the musicians; the graphic designer; the video team; and the photography team.
In Geneva, the collection of trainers for Vestiaire Social.
The Vestiaire Social de Genève is always heavily in demand to clothe families in need in Geneva. Our association wanted to continue to be active locally and also allow children from Geneva’s private schools to have the chance to help other children. To this end, in October and November 2023, DDC organized a collection of trainers in which 22 schools participated, allowing 1,087 pairs of trainers to be offered to families most in need in the city.
In Carouge, the famous Christmas market
For the first time, DDC was present at the Christmas market in Carouge, with a magnificent stall of products acquired thanks to the contribution of our local teams (Christmas decorations from Mexico; pepper and cashew nuts from Cambodia; vanilla from Madagascar). We welcomed friends of DDC during the three day period, helping to contribute to the end of year festivities. We collected CHF 4,704 which was distributed among our three projects – CHF 1,568 to each.
Projects in Mexico
Music Festival: 40 young people from the Santa Cecilia music school left Mexico for the first time to perform in France at the Festival des Petites Main Symphoniques in Verneuil sur Arve, in August 2023. Working with the French association Banda de Musica, the DDC team were present to help the young musicians make the most of the experience.
Sanitation work: major work was undertaken at the Santa Cecilia music school to facilitate access to drinking water. The installation of two water tanks had to be completed prior to the construction of the individual rehearsal rooms.
Construction of 7 individual rehearsal rooms in 2024 thanks to numerous activities undertaken by DDC: the evening in October 2022 at the Brasserie des Artisans; the evening organized by the chef Alexandre Conti at the restaurant Le Cheval Blanc in Vandoeuvre in 2023; the Christmas market in Carouge; and the sale of Mexican goods by the Mexican grocery store Los Tacos in Carouge.
Projects in Madagascar
In Madagascar, our collaboration with SOS Villages d’Enfants, renewed on 25 November 2022 for three years, is now in full swing. In one year:
– 200 children from the state primary school in Andohasatra (district of Betioky Sud, Province of Atsimo Andrefana) built by DDC in 2016, received their school supplies at the beginning of the school year in September 2023.
– 25 junior and senior high school students, former pupils of Andohasatra, received educational support in the form of accommodation rented by DDC in Betioky Sud and equipped with a canteen. A tutor paid by DDC assisted them on their educational path and helped them with their homework.
– 40 vulnerable families were selected in Andohasatra, at the end of December 2023, to receive training in income-generating activities, accompanied by 10 women leaders in the community, to encourage them to become more independent.
Projects in Cambodia
Priority given to secondary education
Our rural school in Ta Pen which welcomes 580 children from nursery school to junior high school (“cycle d’orientation” in Switzerland), focused on the latter in 2023.
– The construction, in only six months, of a second building for the school, comprising three classrooms and toilets. The classrooms are equipped with tables, chairs, lighting and ventilation. The building was financed by the takings from the 2023 DDC concert.
– Gold medal awarded to the Head of the College of Ta Penn, Ms Srey Mao DOEUN, by the Department of Education
– E-Learning. To help counter the bad internet connection in rural areas, DDC in collaboration with the Department of Computing Technology(?) of the Ministry of Education installed a local data server in Ta Pen. This new tool is greatly used by our 143 junior high school students (78 of whom are girls) and puts Ta Pen at the same level as city-based junior high schools.
– A year distinguished by good results for junior and senior high school students
– 100% success rate for the junior high school final exams
– 100% success rate for the senior high school exams in Grades 10 and 11
– Success for 9 pupils in the senior high school final exams (out of 13 pupils)
– An explosion in the number of former pupils of Ta Pen who are pursuing studies at senior high school or in professional training programmes, thanks to the support of DDC (57 pupils in 2023, compared to 37 in 2022).
Local presence intensified
The Ta Pen team attaches great importance in the school being well integrated at the local level. This year saw a strong mobilization of families from the village and the authorities of the Province of Siem Reap in participating in the inauguration of the new junior high school building.
It should also be noted that, at the beginning of 2024, DDC became an international NGO registered not only with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but also with the Ministry of Education.
Communication channels were regularly improved by DDC in 2023 with the updating our website; the development of our social media presence, in particular the production and distributed of videos; and by the publication of our newsletter.
THANKS
All the activities of Don du Choeur are undertaken by volunteers whose personal commitment allows 100% of our donations to be given to our projects.
The Don du Choeur committee gives its grateful thanks to all its volunteers on behalf of all children both here and elsewhere.