Roger Federer Foundation INSIGHTS

Written by: on 11th December 2013
Roger Federer Foundation INSIGHTS  |

Editor’s Note: The staff at 10sBalls.com all bought their Roger Federer calendars. You should get yours they are great and 30.00 dollars the best thing is that all the proceedes go to the Roger Federer Foundation. Get them at www.RogerFederer.com

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Interview with Roger Federer, Founder and President

Janine:It has been ten years since you started your own Foundation.What has been the most surprising thing?

Roger:My most surprising realization was the fact that we can really change things for the better if we do it right. You know, it is not just about giving money but about achieving sustainable impact in the field. It is not easy and means a major investment in terms of time, learning and know-how. This year, we reached more than85,000 children via the support of the Roger Federer Foundation. I would never have imagined being able to make a difference in so many children’s lives. I am honestly overwhelmed by the dimensions we have reached and I feel great responsibility making sure that our support has a sustainable and positive impact on these children’s entire lives.

Janine:What have been the most surprising insights you have gained in these years?

Roger:There are three key lessons I learned which I feel are crucial:

1. Doing good things well. This is what the beneficiaries deserve. Just like any other business, philanthropy needs to be professional: a strategic, focused, cost-efficient and cost-effective engagement.

2. We should be impact-oriented rather than output-driven. Understanding the difference between the two has been a tough lesson for me. It is not about supplying a school with books. It is about the proper use of these books in order to improve the performance of children in that school to prepare them for a successful life.

3. Our investments need to be sustainable in order to achieve systemic change. That is why our commitments are long-term and holistic and our beneficiaries should be in the driving seat and take responsibility in every initiative. We thus clearly need to strengthen local capacities and not weaken them by reducing them to becoming receivers.

Janine:From whom and what have you learned the most in your philanthropy?

Roger:The most inspiring factor in this regard was my parents. They taught me to keep my eyes open to other people’s needs. They showed me the value of giving something back in return. And a lot also originates from my personal experience as a child spending holidays in South Africa and being confronted directly with poverty. This made me aware of the fact that not everybody has the same privileges as I do. So I would say that my education, my parents as role models as well as my own encounters with reality were the key elements for my motivation to become an active philanthropist one day. And so I set up my own foundation at an early stage.

Janine:What are your plans for the future of the Foundation?

Roger:My ten-year-jubilee gift to the Foundation is that we set the goal to reach the 1,000,000children through our work by the end of 2018.

Insight story by the CEO about a community school in Zambia

The partnership between the Roger Federer Foundation and People’s Action Forum in Zambia (PAF)was initiated two and a half years ago. The aim of the initiative is to improve the quality of education in 41 community schools. Right from the start, I gained a first-hand impression of several schools such as the one in Monze – and was shocked. Two of the three existing classrooms there were being used for other purposes: a teaching couple was residing in one and the other was crammed with construction material, broken tables and benches. PAF ensured that the community had received this material eight months earlier by the district in order to build a house for the teachers. The only people I met there just before lunch was a small group of children playing outside the school. A large building next to the school was not being used as it was falling apart. The only classroom in operation was in a state beyond description. We were received by four disgruntled members of the school committee who hardly said a word during our meeting. As all our projects build solely on the initiative of the local population, I did not see and hope for this school. PAF explained that the population was blocked by witchcraft but they would nevertheless make one final attempt to stop the downward spiral. Two years later, past November, I returned to the community. Onlythis time it was like entering a different world. The classrooms had been renovated and decorated and were full of eager children. Four motivated and talented teachers were holding lessons on a level of quality that matches our own. The house for teachers had been completed and the run down building renovated, now also serving as teacher housing. And best of all was the large group of laughing and dancing villagers who came to greet us. The chiefs had also come for the occasion and were looking forward to my reaction. I joined the dancing in delight and congratulated the locals on their success in an emotional speech. They had turned a dull location for 60 children into an inspiring educational facility for 150 children in no time. I don’t know who beamed more that morning: the locals or myself!

 To try and to fail is not laziness (African proverb)

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Dear friends

 

Roger visited a:primo, one of our partner organisations in Switzerland, end of October this year. He participated in a group meeting with parents and as you can see on the title image of this letter he was actively involved in play and crafts with the kids. It was fun to watch other fathers remaining in the background at first, leaving the care for their children to the mothers. Seeing the handicrafting superstar they gradually reconsidered their roles and ventured into the world of child’s play too. Roger quite simply motivates further than by just being a world-class athlete. If you would like to learn more about a:primo, please read on the back of this letter.

For the Foundation, an eventful year is drawing to a close. But our aims and ambitions have not become any smaller for the coming years – on the contrary. We are all still committed with pleasure and enthusiasm. With these feelings, we would like to thank you for your trust and wish you a contemplative and restful holiday season.

How to support children in poverty in Switzerland?

Poverty is hardly visible in Switzerland, but it nevertheless exists. Around 100’000 children under the age of 15 are affected by poverty in our wealthy country. Unfortunately it is difficult to effectively help these children as their families live in isolation and it is often only possible to access the children as they enter compulsory education. It would be vital to support these children as early as possible in order to give them equal opportunities in life. This is exactly what our partner organization a:primo is doing.

The program works as follows:

1. Parents are coached primarily at home during 18 months, learning how to best serve the needs of their children

2. Mothers are supported onsite in playful learning meeting the child’s development

3. The lay helpers originate from the social environment of the families in care and are a key factor to reaching the families

4. Every fortnight, group meetings are held, allowing for social contacts to be made and information on the development and education of children to be passed on to the parents

5. Contacts to other institutions are arranged for the parents

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