Restoring confidence in young people recovering from cancer

Theme(s)

Challenge

Duration

2026

Locations

Switzerland

Project funding

Context


In Switzerland, around 350 young people are diagnosed with cancer each year. In the face of this reality, returning to normal life is often an underestimated challenge. The physical and psychological after-effects of the illness, treatments, and hospitalization can have a lasting impact on the daily lives of these young people and their families.

Objectives


  • Offer children and adolescents in cancer remission a unique experience that supports their physical and psychological recovery.
  • Break the isolation often felt after illness, restore self-esteem, and help young people regain autonomy and feel useful and competent within a group.
  • Strengthen family bonds and provide a space for sharing and support for all those affected by the illness, including the siblings of survivors.

Actions


  • Five-day sailing trips on Lake Geneva and Lake Constance aboard live-in sailboats, for young people aged 8 to 21 in post-treatment and their siblings.
  • Supervision by a skipper and a trained instructor, with active participation in life on board (sailing, cooking, organizing).
  • Activities that shape daily life on the boat (swimming, games, etc.).
  • Daily stopovers to discover new places and environments.
  • 2026 goal: 80 participants on 20 sailboats.

Contexte

Context


In Switzerland, around 350 young people are diagnosed with cancer each year. In the face of this reality, returning to normal life is often an underestimated challenge. The physical and psychological after-effects of the illness, treatments, and hospitalization can have a lasting impact on the daily lives of these young people and their families.

Objectives


  • Offer children and adolescents in cancer remission a unique experience that supports their physical and psychological recovery.
  • Break the isolation often felt after illness, restore self-esteem, and help young people regain autonomy and feel useful and competent within a group.
  • Strengthen family bonds and provide a space for sharing and support for all those affected by the illness, including the siblings of survivors.

Actions


  • Five-day sailing trips on Lake Geneva and Lake Constance aboard live-in sailboats, for young people aged 8 to 21 in post-treatment and their siblings.
  • Supervision by a skipper and a trained instructor, with active participation in life on board (sailing, cooking, organizing).
  • Activities that shape daily life on the boat (swimming, games, etc.).
  • Daily stopovers to discover new places and environments.
  • 2026 goal: 80 participants on 20 sailboats.
© Leman Hope
© Leman Hope
© Leman Hope
© Leman Hope

Contexte

Context


In Switzerland, around 350 young people are diagnosed with cancer each year. In the face of this reality, returning to normal life is often an underestimated challenge. The physical and psychological after-effects of the illness, treatments, and hospitalization can have a lasting impact on the daily lives of these young people and their families.

Objectives


  • Offer children and adolescents in cancer remission a unique experience that supports their physical and psychological recovery.
  • Break the isolation often felt after illness, restore self-esteem, and help young people regain autonomy and feel useful and competent within a group.
  • Strengthen family bonds and provide a space for sharing and support for all those affected by the illness, including the siblings of survivors.

Actions


  • Five-day sailing trips on Lake Geneva and Lake Constance aboard live-in sailboats, for young people aged 8 to 21 in post-treatment and their siblings.
  • Supervision by a skipper and a trained instructor, with active participation in life on board (sailing, cooking, organizing).
  • Activities that shape daily life on the boat (swimming, games, etc.).
  • Daily stopovers to discover new places and environments.
  • 2026 goal: 80 participants on 20 sailboats.

Partner

Fondation Léman Hope

Depuis sa création en 2011 par Esteban Garcia, la Fondation Léman hope, anciennement connue sous le nom de Chiki Foundation, œuvre pour le bien-être et le développement de l’enfant à travers des projets éducatifs et de protection de l’enfance. Léman hope, un projet phare de la fondation, utilise la voile et l’aventure comme outils thérapeutiques pour aider les jeunes en rémission du cancer à retrouver confiance et espoir.