On the way to school, on the way to life
Dear Friends,
ten years ago, as I retired from serving 25 years as CEO of
STMicroelectronics, armed with a passion to improve our world, with a few
resources from my retirement, and with many friends and former colleagues
willing to join me, a new exciting chapter of my life began as I ventured
assuredly into the world of philanthropy through the set up a not for profit
organization to serve those who have no voice, the most vulnerable members
of society, and yet who hold our future – the children of the world. My
conviction was to bring efficiency and transparency to the sector, and
make the greatest possible impact to improve the lives of children in need with
the available resources. One decade on along this rewarding journey of
learning and partaking in the joy of giving, our results speak for
themselves: over 2,000 underprivileged children are enrolled in school and
have access to basic health care and nutrition; 335 students have
successfully completed Professional School; over 40 school and village infrastructure
projects have been completed; and over 30 village communities and tens of
thousands of indirect beneficiaries have been positively impacted by our
actions.
All this has been possible with a yearly average investment of
only 500,000 CHF, with an average overhead spending of less than 3% of our
budget, through careful and scrupulous project investment, leveraging on a
significant network of committed volunteers worldwide, and devolving every
dollar donated to our projects on location. The ripple effects and wealth
created by new productive members of society, village families that have
become self-sustainable, and projects that have improved health,
sanitation and nutrition in villages, are immense. This incredible journey
is the source of great joy when I witness the tangible and significant
development that the villages we work with have achieved and that
previously extremely poor children excluded from public school systems are now empowered with education and
can proudly look forward to a brighter future. These results enforce our
determination to continue to broaden our reach.
The year gone by has also been one of important milestones: our
new school building in Morocco has opened its doors under the blessings
and auspices of the Minister of Education, our project being applauded as
the best rolled out program of Official Non Formal Education for the
reinsertion of school drop outs in the public school system; we have
officially registered in Thailand, opening new offices and building capacity
to spearhead our flagship Chiang Rai Village Project, and one of our
schools has been honored by the visit of Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn; and
we have expanded our Secondary School in Burkina which now holds over 700
students and has equally been commended for being the best Secondary School in
western Burkina Faso. We have held major fundraising events in Singapore,
featuring the music band re:mix with the generous support of the Financial
Women's Association in Singapore, and the Palais Dance Studio 25th
Anniversary fundraiser, as well as initiatives by the Intel staff in memory
of Uday Marty, and we have benefitted from the support of the Tan Chin
Tuan Foundation. Likewise dedicated volunteers and donors have led
numerous fundraising initiatives in Italy, and we have received excellent media
coverage in these countries.
We are geared to reach new heights and goals in the coming
decade as we continue our journey. Yet we need your help more than ever.
Help us make our children's dreams come true starting today. No matter how
small your donation, every dollar counts and helps make a difference
to beneficiaries whose families live on less than 2 dollars a day.
A heartfelt thank you to all those who have been partners in
this journey – Board Members, Donors, Supporters, Local Partners,
Contributors, and Volunteers.
Sincere wishes for a Joyous and Peaceful 2015
Pasquale Pistorio
