Dear families from Ukraine
The information on this page is constantly updated and supplemented. Check back every few days to always be up to date.
News
Here you will find the latest information that affects you every week. Please visit the website several times a week so that you are always up to date.
Cleaning advices
- Put all the chairs in the dining room on the table
- Empty all garbage cans
- Remove coarse soiling on the floors and in the bathrooms
- Just on this day: Bring all cleaning rags, floor rags, drying cloth, bed linen and shower towels to the storeroom from 08:30AM to 09:00 AM
- In case you forgot to take the bed sheets to the laundry, you only can bring it on the next cleaning day. Please do not wash the bed sheets in the washing machine in your house.
30.05.23
- House 5
08.06.23
- House 7
15.06.23
- House
List of Information
You can find an ATM in Trogen just opposite the train station.
With your status S you can open an account at any Swiss bank. Please open a Swiss bank account as soon as possible. Take your S-Status and your passport to the bank.
After that, bring your Swiss IBAN number to the care team at visitor center.
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Payments are made exclusively to IBAN in CHF.
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We recommend the Raiffeisenbank or the cantonal banks.
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Transfer costs/charges to foreign IBANs are deducted from the transfer (shared fees).
The exact calculations can be found under FINANCIAL SUPPORT
We received some bikes which you can borrow to explore the surroundings. In case you want to borrow a bike, please go to the Community Center. We will give you a helmet and a bike lock. Please return the bicycles to the bicycle station after every use. And please let us know if a bike is broken.
Parking:
The cars can be parked on the gravel parking lot next to the school house. All other other parking places are “rented parking places” and not to your disposal. Please register your car at the visitor center.
- Blue Zones: Monday-Saturday from 8 am until 6 pm for free of charge douring an hour with the blue parking disc. You can pick up such a disc at the visitor center.
- Yellow zones: Private or reserved
- White zones: Chargeable, often numbered and located near a parking meter.
Motorway vignette:
The use of the freeway is subject to a fee. For this a freeway vignette (40.-) must be acquired. The vignette can be bought at gas stations.
Car insurance:
Ukraine is a member of the so called green card agreement. People entering Switzerland from Ukraine must carry an International Insurance Card (formerly Green Card), which confirms that there is liability insurance with sufficient coverage for their vehicle. If they do not have such a card, they must obtain border insurance for liability upon entry. If a foreign vehicle is involved in a claim with a vehicle insured in Switzerland, the Swiss National Insurance Office will mediate. If the foreign vehicle is not insured, the Swiss National Guarantee Fund will cover the damage. Hull insurance, on the other hand, is not mandatory.
You can buy cigarettes in the kitchen.
Smoking is allowed in the village but please only smoke in the designated areas. Please put the cigarette buts in the ashtray.
If you think that you might be infected with covid, please make an appointment with the sanitary of the village. To make an appointment you can go to the visitor center or call +41 76 343 70 26 (during the week)
Dental bills are not paid by the Pestalozzi Children's Village. If you have an emergency, always contact the care team or the medical service beforehand. Otherwise you will have to pay the bill yourself.
In case you found another stay or you want to leave the village please do a regular check-out at the office in the visitor center.
Please bring your room key and train ticket with you to the check out. And before checking out, please clean the room, empty the trash can in your room and remove the bed sheets.
Don't forget to write your name on the letterbox in your new town and inform the bank etc. of your new address.
The water that comes from the tap is drinking water. There is no need to buy bottled water.
Driving on Swiss roads is free of charge. The only exception are motorways. If you want to use motorways, you need a motorway vignette. The price for the vignette is CHF 40. The motorway vignette can be purchased at service stations.
In the following document you can find some sentences in German and Ukrainian language - for better communication
In addition, here is an ad-free app for children to learn the German language better.
If you would like to explore the city of St.Gallen or the area around the Lake of Constance, you can find interesting information on the following websites:
Blog "this is my saint gallen"
Plus, we combine some activities in the following files to download:
If you have your Status S, you will receive financial support. Here you find the calculation per day.
- per adult CHF 14.00
- per 1. child CHF 8.00
- per 2. child CHF 7.00
- per 3. Child CHF 6.00
Transfer takes place at the end of the month. At the latest on the 5th working day of the following month.
Open on Monday and Thursday from 14:00 to 14:30 (Central Kitchen)
In the central kitchen you can pick up various ingredients for food preparation in your house.
Monday, Wednesday and Friday the kitchen will prepare lunch for you. From 12:00 it’ll be ready there.
In General Assembly the representatives of all the houses in the Children’s Village meet and discuss different matters. If you have a concern which should be discussed in the General Assembly you can tell it to your house representative. Every Thursday at 13:30 in the visitor center.
If interested, please contact the visitor center or ukraine@pestalozzi.ch
There are two grocery stores in walking distance. A small one is situated in Trogen just opposite the train station (10 minutes walk) and a bigger one in Speicher (30 minutes walk). The name of the shops is SPAR. If you go shopping by train, there is an ALDI and MIGROS within a 2 minutes walking distance from the main station in St.Gallen. If you go shopping by car, there is an ALDI, LIDL and OTTOS at Fürstenlandstrasse 122 in St.Gallen. The drive takes about 20 minutes.
There is a group chat and the idea is that all of you are part of it. In case you are not yet part of the group chat, please ask another guest to add you.
IMPORTANT: In case of an emergency, please call the following number: +41 79 560 78 08 OR +41 71 343 73 32
Please use the group chat only for your conversations and NOT in case of an emergency.
Feel free to have visitors. Please meet them in the common areas of the Children’s Village. Visitors Centre, Community Centre, Outside. As your house is also the home for other people and families please do not bring guests to your house. It is for your own an other people’s sake.
There is a military training centre 15 kilometres away by air. If you hear shots, they are shots from the training centre.
Sporting activities
You are welcome to use the soccer field and volleyball court. It may sometimes be needed for projects. Thank you for understanding that you will release the field if the projects require it. You will find playing material in front of the schoolhouse, otherwise come to the visitor center.
While your house cleaning day from 08:30 to 09:00 in the Storeroom. Bring there your old bed sheets and get new ones.
Under this link you will find different school exercises for your children, which they can solve online.
You can buy a local prepaid SIM card in the Swisscom Shop in Neumarkt Shopping Center in St.Gallen.
You live together with many people in one house. Please take care of yourself and of all others. It is important that you communicate about all issues that might arise. We know that especially the kitchen is very small.
Please try to share it and also share responsibilities. If something is bothering you very much please contact the care team that we can figure out a solution that fits for all together.
To share responsibilities, we suggest you to use our duty board, where you can sign up to different tasks that have to be fulfilled throughout the day and week. We also suggest to sign up for fixed days for laundry.
We have a first aid room with a specialist at the Children's Village.
Open on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 10:00 to 12:00 and from 13:00 to 15:0.
The doctor only makes house visits in emergencies or when the person has difficulty getting around. If you run out of your medicine and you need new ones, please take the medicine package into consultation with you. There are no medical consultations at the weekend.
For medical emergencies at the weekend, please call +41 79 560 78 08
If it is not an emergency, please wait for the Monday morning consultation.
You can move around in the village freely. It is your temporary home. Please go and drink a coffee in the visitors centre, take walks or go to the next villages or towns.
Entry is free for all of you at the following museums
In the visitor center you can find Museum that tells about the history of the Children’s Village.
Please let us know if you are not staying at the Children's Village overnight. We don't need to know where you are staying but we need to know that you are not here during the night.
The Pestalozzi Children’s Foundation works to support children and youths. The Children's Village in Switzerland is a venue for intercultural exchange that allows young people from different backgrounds to meet, thereby engendering an understanding of different cultures. In its work abroad, the Foundation makes it possible for disadvantaged children to have regular access to high quality education. In case you are interested in the history and the mission of the Foundation there is a small Museum in the visitor centre.
Dogs should be kept on a leash for at least 120 days and cats are also not allowed to leave the house for 120 days.
Please keep the dog on a leash in the Children’s Village in general. When you leave the properties of the Children’s Village the dog is allowed to run around freely after the 120 days. Please pick up the dog poop and bring it to the dog poop station (green bucket at the village entrance). All pets must be registered in Switzerland. The Visitor Center staff members will help you with the registration process.
Train station: The local train station is called “Trogen”. The train ride to the next city (St.Gallen) takes 27 minutes.
Tickets for public transport have to be paid from your own money.
Exceptions: hospital, doctor, german lessions. Please contact us at the visitor center for those reasons.
In case you need a place for worship and prayer you can go to the Spiritual House.
At night there is a security service in the village.
Emergency number from 05.00 - 08.00: +41 79 560 78 08
Opening hours: The shop is open for every guest on Fridays from 3pm to 3:30 pm.
Location: House 13 on the lower floor.
In the shop you can find toiletries, nappies, clothes, toys, etc. At the moment all products in the store are free of charge.
STATUS-S gives you a temporary right of residence in Switzerland. It is a return-oriented status and even the Swiss authorities cannot yet answer many questions.
We have documents in Russian and Ukrainian at the visitor centre. Just ask us for them.
Information brochure (Russian)
Information brochure (Ukrainian)
Further helpful information: helpful.redcross.ch
We are at your disposal from Monday to Friday between 13.00 and 14.00
Please come to us with your concerns.
Feel free to come in for a coffee or tea. We have a self-serve coffee machine. Please leave the tables clean and put the dishes in the dishwasher upstairs. Please pre-rinse any milk residue in the glasses.
In the Visitor's Center you also find a small museum which tells about the history of the Children’s Village
Daily from 13.30-14.00
Recycling is very important for us. In your house you find different bins for different waste/recycling categories. When you need to know what goes into the respective bins please check the signs on the bins. Please separate and recycle the following things: plastic bottles (PET), food waste, glass, cans and metal, cardboard, paper. You can find the waste disposal behind the central kitchen.
- Please dispose your waste only at the recycling station.
- Organic waste only in the bags provided.
- Please tie them up
Weather forecast: www.meteoswiss.admin.ch
Persons with protection status-S are allowed to work in Switzerland. The employer must request a permit from the "Amt für Inneres".
The regional employment centre (RAV) will help you find a job. Good knowledge of German or English is required. You can register at the RAV in person at the counter.
Regional Employment Centre (RAV)
Obstmarkt 1
9102 Herisau
Feel free to go there and join the programme. It’s open from 19:00 - 21:30. We offer different activities and you can spend time together. An up-to-date activity timetable is always posted there.
You can borrow the scooters in front of the school building for free. Bring an object as a deposit and the visitor center will give you the key. Helmet wearing is mandatory.
Village Plan
