Together with the Swiss Comedy Club, with Manuella Maury acting as patron and in the company of other celebrities, the 50th edition of the Terre des hommes sale of oranges will take place on 9 and 10 March 2012. Around one thousand businesses and an equal number of volunteers are staging this event to promote children’s health.

The over 320,000 oranges sold last year demonstrate the starring role that the sale of oranges on the streets of Switzerland can have on behalf of humanitarian aid. This year’s 50th version will raise the bar even higher. The comedians from the Swiss Comedy Club together with Manuella Maury, patron of the event, are setting off to meet up with volunteers and buyers in five locations in the French-speaking part of Switzerland. On Friday, 9 March, they will inject a shot of humour into Marin (NE) starting at 9 a.m., followed by Avry-sur-Matran FR starting at 11 a.m., Montagny près d’Yverdon VD at 1 p.m. and Lausanne at 3 p.m., and they will also present oranges in a symbolic gesture to young patients at the Maison de Terre des hommes in Massongex (VS) at 5 p.m. All through the day, a large vibrantly coloured stand will serve as a rendezvous point for people at St. François square in Lausanne.

More than 1,000 businesses will be selling or distributing oranges to their clients and/or employees. The same number of volunteers will be selling oranges at two hundred well-frequented locations throughout the country. Marie Clapasson, Alexandre Jollien, Alain Morisod and Jean-Marc Richard, among others, will also be selling oranges for a minimum price of two Swiss francs in several locations in the French-speaking part of Switzerland.

In the lead-up to the event, social networks have been collecting cartons of virtual oranges. Tdh is aiming for at total of 100,000 virtual oranges, and its sponsor, Coop, will donate 10 Swiss centimes for each virtual orange shared.

The proceeds of the sales will be given to Terre des hommes (Tdh) to promote the health of young children and mothers in 16 countries. In Burkina Faso, for example, child malnutrition has been reduce by four thanks to a better access to health centres in two districts. In these times of food insecurity affecting the Sahel region, such interventions are vital for the survival of many children.

Renseignements: Emmanuelle Raval, responsible for sales, 058 611 06 57, and
Pierre Zwahlen, spokesperson for the French-speaking part of Switzerland, 079 615 44 33.
Rudolf Gafner, Mediensprecher Deutsche Schweiz, 079 742 98 73.

Photos of the campaign or of the young beneficiaries are available upon request.