Principles of our sustainable aid

When providing help and support, 4 Smiling Faces applies these principles:

• Children are at the centre of everything we do. What is best for them? How do they benefit from it? What does it mean to them? Children always come first for us.
• We strive for self-reliance of the children/grant recipients/homes we support, so that – when the time is right – they can stand entirely on their own two feet: we do everything we can to reach that point, stimulate them and provide real, sustainable achievable improvements. Until then, we are here to think along, and give advice, help, and support to get there.
• In times of (natural) disasters and crises, the children/grant recipients/homes we support are not alone: we help and support them where and how we can in every possible way as much and for as long as necessary.
• We carefully choose the projects we do; this always happens in close consultation with the children/grant recipients/homes involved and always on the basis of equality and with respect for everyone’s input. We do not force children/grant recipients/homes that we support to change: we believe that change must come from within and do everything we can to initiate, stimulate and grow developments into actual, sustainable improvements.
• Except for our scholarship program, 4 Smiling Faces is not the sole or main sponsor of the homes and after-school program we support. We like to keep it that way. As far as we are concerned, all our recipients are completely free to collaborate with other parties. The only thing that matters to us is that the interests of the children always come first.
• We do not help for the sake of helping and do not impose anything; we do not have a monopoly on wisdom. We think along, advise, help and support if necessary, always in consultation with the recipients.
• We believe in flexibility, empathy, and adaptability; if it can’t be done the way it should be, it should be done the way it can be done.
• We like to work together with other like-minded people and organizations on the basis of equality in order to achieve our goals faster and better.
• We value our independence, which makes it possible to determine our own course/future and to provide the help and support that works best in our experience. We want this not only for our grant recipients, children, and volunteers in Nepal, but certainly also for our own organization and personally for the founder and directors.
• We believe in our own (fundraising) strength, experience and success, which have enabled us to do what we do for years.