The “Twinkle Weeks” are back. For the 20th year, children in Switzerland and Liechtenstein are coming up with creative fundraising campaigns to help other children in need. This year, their motto is “Never give up. Help children in Bangladesh.” The “Twinkle Weeks” donation drive will run until Christmas.
©Jürg Keim
This year we mark a special occasion. For the 20th year, children in Switzerland and Liechtenstein will be working to help other children in need. This year, their motto is “Never give up. Help children in Bangladesh.” This country in South Asia has been one of the hardest hit by climate change. Rising sea levels pose a threat to a fifth of its land area. Rivers are overflowing their banks, causing soil erosion. In urban areas like the city of Khulna in southern Bangladesh, tropical storms with extremely heavy rainfall and severe droughts are forcing people to leave their homes.
One third of Khulna’s inhabitants – 500,000 people – live in slums, where hygiene conditions are disastrous. Poor access to safe water and working drainage systems increases the risk of the spread of diseases like cholera, skin infections, parasites or diarrhea, which can be especially dangerous in children.
The 2023 "Twinkle Weeks" are helping UNICEF provide relief to 80,000 children and their families living in the slums of Khulna. The donations will be used to install a water and drainage system that can withstand the effects of climate change. Hand pumps and toilets will be installed on raised foundations that will withstand flooding. More water purification systems will be installed with filters to improve water quality. And more water lines will be laid to allow more families access to clean, safe water. The local health clinic will also have running water and clean sanitary facilities.
The “Twinkle Weeks” campaign
“Twinkle Weeks” is a donation drive of UNICEF Switzerland and Liechtenstein and Schweizer Familie magazine. This year will be its 20th anniversary. Since 2004, over 125,000 children in Switzerland and Liechtenstein have collected more than 8 million francs to demonstrate their solidarity with the world’s children. Luca and Christina Hänni, Marco Kunz, Remo Forrer, Tina Weirather, Stefan Büsser, Andrew Bond, Sandra Studer, Rob Spence and other celebrities are supporting the children’s activities during this year’s 20th-anniversary “Twinkle Weeks. The “Twinkle Weeks” donation drive starts on November 20 and continues until Christmas.
There are many ways for children in Switzerland and Liechtenstein to raise money. Selling homemade jams, making Advent wreaths, even putting on theater pieces – the sky’s the limit with their imagination.
Every year, the most creative fundraising activities are recognized at the “Twinkle Weeks” Awards in the Schauspielhaus Zürich.
More information at sternenwochen.ch
