The first Bambi home was opened in 1985 on the initiative of Swiss doctor Rupert Spillmann. Today there are four homes in Bogotá, Cali, Medellín and Darién. This global support program helps the whole family by restoring the psychological, educational, and physical balance of the children in the homes and offering courses and activities to the parents, often single mothers with two to six children, displaced, abandoned, without schooling or a steady income. They receive educational training, nutritional workshops, psychological and medical support, professional and personal development programs, and assistance with creating small businesses to strengthen autonomy.

“Tuwapende Watoto” is Kiswahili for “We love children.” The foundation of the same name is a children’s aid organization in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. It offers orphaned and abandoned children a loving home and a good education to secure their long-term future. Tuwapende Watoto has been running a children’s home since 2006. Right next to the children’s home, the foundation has been running a Montessori kindergarten since 2010 and an elementary school (English Medium School) for children from the children’s home and the surrounding villages since 2011. Tuwapende Watoto Primary School is one of the best schools in the Dar es Salaam region and guarantees all primary school leavers a transition to secondary school. 

Surgery for those suffering from a dysfunctional pelvic floor requires the expertise of highly specialized professionals. Dr. Verena Geissbühler, head of gynecology at St. Claraspital and titular professor of gynecology and obstetrics at the University of Basel, travels to Uganda several times a year to perform this operation on young women. The procedure allows sufferers to empty their bladder normally and enables them to become pregnant. The Dr. Rau Foundation supports the training of young doctors and nursing staff on site.

In Korr (Kenya), the Dr. Rau Foundation supports the training of 30 community health workers and 15 midwives who accompany expectant mothers and promote access to safe births. In addition, mobile clinics and educational programs are carried out in the villages to bring medical care directly to the communities. Through vaccination programs, children are fully immunized, diseases and infant mortality are reduced, and the health of the population is improved in the long term.

Inspired by this philosophy, the Swiss AIDS pioneer Professor Ruedi Lüthy traveled to Zimbabwe in southern Africa. Around 1.3 million people there are living with HIV or AIDS, and many of them are in urgent need of life-saving therapy. In the capital Harare, he established an outpatient clinic and a training center under difficult conditions. This proved successful: today, around 8000 patients receive comprehensive care at Newlands Clinic. In the associated training center, Ruedi Lüthy and his local team also train around 1500 nurses and doctors each year in the treatment and care of HIV patients. The Dr. Rau Foundation focuses primarily on supporting medical and preventive measures for mother and child.

United for Ethics in Sport connects children, sports enthusiasts, and professional athletes worldwide who share the goal of practicing sport according to ethical principles. As a global non-profit organization, it promotes moral values and behaviour in sport and in everyday life. The aim is to raise awareness of tolerance and respect among children and young people.

The “Health4Life” project run by the Life Choices organization educates schoolchildren from low-income regions in and around Cape Town, South Africa, on the topic of sexual health and supports young people with health issues. The organization also operates mobile clinics and tents. It carries out free testing for HIV, sexually transmitted diseases, and tuberculosis, as well as additional health checks (e.g. early detection of cancer and diabetes). It provides counseling sessions and helps those who have suffered abuse.

In Mozambique, the association Licht für die Welt Schweiz helps to save the eyesight of children. The association promotes eye healthcare and medical treatment for eye diseases. The “1, 2, 3 I Can See!” project works with schools to identify children suffering from eye diseases and visual impairments so that they can receive the help they need, ranging from appropriate treatment for eye diseases, or glasses to correct visual impairments to operations to save their eyesight.

In northwestern Bangladesh, the Dr. Rau Foundation supports the Fistula Project for the prevention and treatment of urogenital fistulas, which affect many young women and often lead to social exclusion and severe stress. Training for health professionals and midwives, diagnostic camps, operations, and strengthening the health system enable access to high-quality treatment, better care, and effective prevention. At the same time, affected women receive psychosocial and economic support, improving their quality of life.