CHARITY WORK

The Aarohan charity was officially established in 2005, although it was first conceived in 2003 by Rani Patel. Faced with the consequences of petty crime committed by ‘street children’ (her car was repeatedly vandalised), Rani realised that she had to do something to help them build a better future. Her journey began with seven children, with the sole aim of eradicating illiteracy.

Aarohan is a New Delhi-based children’s charity devoted to helping underprivileged children understand that they have a right to an education. Its aim is to assist children who are unable to attend school due to exceptional personal circumstances. Aarohan’s work focuses on the ‘slum’ children of New Delhi, who are forced to survive while being homeless. These young children spend their days collecting rags and sifting through rubbish heaps so that they and their families can survive.

Today, Aarohan has helped over 1,700 children, with more than 750 gaining access to mainstream formal schooling and over 350 children supported each year. All the children also receive a nutritious meal each day.

Our main fundraising activities for Aarohan include non-uniform days, used uniform sales, and bake sales.

IKOKU is dedicated to supporting the Turkana communities in northern Kenya and South Sudan. Our focus is on addressing critical challenges such as poverty, health, and access to essential services. Through strategic partnerships and initiatives, we work to alleviate these issues and foster long-term development. CDL has contributed to medical aid through a mobile clinic and is now expanding its support to include education, clean water access, nutrition, and sanitation. Our ongoing efforts aim to improve the quality of life and create sustainable solutions for the region.

MADS (Make a Difference Society) is the oldest charity at Collège Du Léman and aims to make a difference by increasing student awareness of, and raising funds for local and global issues by addressing both current humanitarian and environmental matters. MADS supports several charities and associations based on a continuous prioritisation of current needs.

Most recently, MADS has offered support to the following organisations:

Partage – In 2025, MADS will host our 4th annual collection of food and supplies. We love encouraging the whole CDL community and seeing the students, families and staff get involved as we work towards our collection target.

Gift Box Project – In the fall of 2024, MADS students shared this project with all ages of students at CDL. The families of CDL provided a total of 213 gift boxes for this worthy initiative!  

We are proud to support the following charities with our fundraising efforts:

Foyer Handicap - a Swiss charity founded in 1969 that works towards the inclusion of people with disabilities. 

Lemons – a charity in support of cancer research in Switzerland.  

Red Cross International – distribution of global humanitarian aid.

Serenje Outreach for Children’s Help is for the benefit of children with disabilities in Zambia where there is little or no provision for their needs. Originally named Serenje Orphans Appeal (SOA) the charity has evolved into a school and our focus is supporting children with disabilities.

In the creation of this new primary school, 10% of the numbers of each class will be reserved for SOCH children. Support provided for the SOCH children includes school supplies and uniform, boarding and welfare throughout the school year. The remainder of the school is self-sufficient.

As of January 2025, 23 disabled children are sponsored by SOCH. Besides their education and life essentials SOCH children receive physiotherapy, special provision for those who have impaired or no hearing, and provision of wheelchairs and prosthetics. Our fundraising is as essential as ever so we can support those in need.

WATU has supported 5 schools in the community of Moshi in Tanzania since 2001. The name was inspired from our full mission in promoting People’s participation in education and the word for ‘people’ in Swahili is ‘watu’. We believe that all people should work to ensure that every child is properly educated.

WATU has renovated crumbling infrastructure in the public primary schools, added new toilets, a science lab, new desks, and security fences. We have raised money for individual students who risk expulsion for deficient school fees, and provided school lunches for countless students, many for whom this might be their only hot meal for the day. We also support individuals at university to allow them to pursue higher education. One special recipient was able to earn a degree in electrical engineering at Mbeya University of Science and Technology thanks to WATU’s sponsorship. Opportunities for CDL families to sponsor individual students are available through our organisation.