Association L'APPEL

Association L'APPEL (often simply L'Appel) is a French international humanitarian organization dedicated to the protection and future of vulnerable children. Founded in April 1968 in Paris by a group of doctors and friends, it was originally named "L'Appel – aide médicale et sanitaire aux enfants victimes de la guerre" (medical and health aid to child victims of war) and was created in response to the humanitarian emergency of the Vietnam War. Its first action was to organize a solidarity chain that brought around 110 sick, burned or injured Vietnamese children to France, where nearly 200 French families received them. Over more than five decades, L'Appel has expanded its work far beyond Vietnam. It describes itself as an international solidarity association engaged for the protection and future of children, acting in close consultation with local partners and adapting to local realities. Its work focuses on three main areas: health, education, and improvement of living conditions. In health, it has acted since 1968 to improve the overall health of vulnerable children through prevention of malnutrition, awareness of disease risks, and care for disability. In education, active for more than 30 years, it supports the development of educational institutions and vocational training, including for street children in El Salvador and Peru. It also supports community development projects such as the construction or repair of water supply structures. According to public information, the association operates in around nine countries across Asia, Africa and Latin America — including Vietnam, El Salvador, Haiti, Madagascar, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Peru, Rwanda and Burkina Faso — and has intervened in more than 18 countries over its history, among them Algeria, Cameroon, Poland and Armenia. Its headquarters are in Paris, with offices elsewhere in France. It reports helping around 10,000 children each year, and states that at least 85% of its annual expenditure finances field actions. Its income comes from private donors (reported at around 59%), corporate philanthropy, and public bodies such as the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the European Union. L'Appel presents itself as building "sincere solidarity" over time, with humility, dialogue and commitment, and emphasizes the sharing of skills between volunteer professionals and local actors to foster sustainable development and the autonomy of populations. It remains an active non-profit association.

Association L'Appel was founded in April 1968 in Paris, at the height of the Vietnam War, by a group of doctors and friends. It was initially named "L'Appel – aide médicale et sanitaire aux enfants victimes de la guerre" (medical and health aid to child victims of war). Faced with a humanitarian emergency, the founders organized a solidarity chain to bring around one hundred Vietnamese children — sick, burned or injured — to France. Nearly 200 French families received 110 children from Saigon, generating lasting exchanges, marriages and friendships. After ten years of work in Vietnam, L'Appel progressively extended its action to many other countries. By 2004 it had reached 14 countries across four continents, always in a spirit of fraternity and trust with its partners. The association describes its approach as building solidarity over time, with humility, dialogue and commitment, and it works with families to improve children's living conditions while respecting local cultures and fostering autonomy. A notable early story illustrates its model: in 1975, L'Appel entrusted five-year-old Nam to the Chabrol family for convalescence after major heart surgery. When the South Vietnam regime fell and borders closed, communication with Nam's biological family was lost, and what was meant to be a temporary stay became a lifelong placement. Fifty years later, the Chabrol children and Nam recounted how this temporary reception reshaped their lives. Over the decades, L'Appel's activities broadened into three main areas: health (active since 1968, including prevention of malnutrition, awareness of disease risks and care for disability), education (central for more than 30 years, including support to educational institutions and vocational training for street children in El Salvador and Peru), and improvement of living conditions (including construction or repair of water supply structures). According to public information, the association operates in around nine countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America — Vietnam, El Salvador, Haiti, Madagascar, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Peru, Rwanda and Burkina Faso — and has intervened in more than 18 countries, including Algeria, Cameroon, Poland and Armenia. Its headquarters are in Paris, with offices elsewhere in France. Private donors reportedly represent 59% of its income, alongside corporate philanthropy and public support from bodies such as the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the European Union. More than 85% of its budget is devoted to financing its programmes, and it reports helping around 10,000 children each year.

• 2004

  L'Appel's action had reached 14 countries across four continents.

• 1975

  Five-year-old Nam entrusted to the Chabrol family for convalescence after heart surgery; the stay became permanent after borders closed.

• 1968

  Association L'Appel founded in April in Paris as "L'Appel – aide médicale et sanitaire aux enfants victimes de la guerre".

• 1968

  Around 110 Vietnamese children received by nearly 200 French families.

International solidarity association focused on the protection and future of vulnerable children, working through local partnerships and volunteer professionals.

• Health programmes

  Prevention of malnutrition, awareness of disease risks, care for disability, improving children's overall health.

• Education programmes

  Support to educational institutions and vocational training, including for street children in El Salvador and Peru.

• Living conditions projects

  Community development such as construction or repair of water supply structures.

1. 1L'Appel – Association humanitaire pour les enfants dans le mondelappel.org
2. 2Notre histoire - L'Appel, Association de solidarité internationalelappel.org
3. 3L'histoire de Nam et de la famille Chabrollappel.org
4. 4Association L'APPEL – Wikidatawikidata.org
5. 5L'Appel (asociación) – Wikipediaes.wikipedia.org