Léman hope

My best moment was when we waved. I loved the feeling of flying over the water. I felt free! I tried new things I didn’t think I could do and it helped me feel more confident, like when I was steering or helping during maneuvers.

It’s the best experience I’ve ever had in my life.

Now I feel ready to try new things.

The sailing trip helped me to have confidence in myself.

Hoist the mainsail, remove the fenders. We sailed, swam and had fun!

My illness has made me understand that we must always try to go forward and never stop if there is an obstacle, we must always try to cross it to go further.

Sometimes it feels good to go out without the parents on the weekends.

On board each boat, the 4 children are accompanied by a professional skipper and an instructor from ARFEC, (the French-speaking Association of Families of Children with Cancer in Switzerland). A pediatric oncologist from the CHUV and a nurse are on stand-by throughout the cruise. A team of volunteers from the Chiki Foundation is also onshore, providing all the logistics and permanent monitoring.

Throughout the trip, children are introduced to the art of sailing while cruising through Lake Geneva. This experience allows them to discover a new world in which they are immediately empowered. Under the guidance of a professional skipper, the children help preparing the boat, putting up and down the sails, steering the boat, recognising the winds, giving advices on directions and many other tasks. All of which contribute to building self-confidence with a taste of freedom.

Sailing on Lake Geneva is above all, the opportunity to swim and play in the water in many different areas. Letting yourself be hauled by the boat at the end of a rope, water-guns battles between boats, are all water games that children love. Great moments of relaxation and laughter in a safe and reassuring environment.

In addition to sailing and swimming, Uno games and other board games also colour the programme of the Léman hope trips. The young sailors share great moments of complicity gathered around a table to rediscover the serenity of a joyful childhood far from the hardships they have previously gone through.

During the Léman hope trip, the children fully participate in the life on the sailboat. They contribute to the daily tasks on board the boat and are involved in the preparation of meals. This is an opportunity to discover community life in a small group where their voice counts and where they have the space to express themselves while listening to each other. 

Every day, Léman hope takes children to several ports on Lake Geneva. Whether in the mysterious atmosphere of the “Vieux Rhone”, on the outskirts of Chillon Castle or eating an ice-cream under the statue of Freddie Mercury in Montreux’s lake sides, the little sailors have the opportunity to visit several places that make up the beauty of the Lake Geneva region.