Strategy
The work of Child’s Dream is still very coloured by Jenni’s and Siegfried’s former careers, which strengthened the financial and administrative side of the organisation. They aim to be the most efficient in their work and also be very transparent to the outside. Consequently, the decision of which different projects to support is according to the greatest promised social benefit relative to the amount of invested money.
Therefore, the ability to listen carefully and to identify the needs of their customers, which they developed during their time as bankers, comes in handy. Child’s Dream expanded the traditional philanthropic philosophy of, “not just giving a man a fish, but also teaching him how to fish,” to, “ask the man if he even wants to learn how to fish”. For that reason, it is important for Child’s Dream to know whether the community even want their help and are willing to work together with them. Only when the whole community really want to change their own situation and are willing to work together with Child’s Dream, will the communities be supported. To prove their commitment, the villagers have to provide 1/5 of the overall costs of a project, mainly in form of labour. Consequently, it is essential that the relationship between the Child’s Dream staff and the communities is based on trust and respect. To ensure this, the Child’s Dream staff visit the projects and the communities on a regular basis. The good relationship with the community is also key to implement Child’s Dream’s mission to provide better socioeconomic opportunities for whole families and communities.
Before Child’s Dream implements a project in a community, there is a due diligence process. In the context of the due diligence process Child’s Dream analyses the different stakeholders (communities, government, students and their families, etc.) and their impact on the work. After an infrastructure, school building or boarding house project is implemented, Child’s Dream stays in contact with the community and monitors the condition of the building regularly. Child’s Dream also provides them with additional services such as playgrounds and water systems as especially water systems can improve the life of a whole community.
In general the work of Child’s Dream can be separated in three different focus groups: Health, Basic Education and Higher Education.
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