It all began with a sabbatical in 2012. Pierre-André traveled to Thailand under the auspices of ADRA (Adventist Development and Relief Agency) for a humanitarian project (training young teachers in a Karen refugee camp and assisting at a shelter for girls protected from human trafficking). During his stay, people spoke to him enthusiastically about an orphanage, a dormitory, and a school in Siem Reap, Cambodia. He traveled there in the spring of 2013 and fell in love with the country and its people. He witnessed the vast needs in a poor country still paying a heavy price for its painful past. Very quickly, strong bonds were formed with the young people, and ad hoc, individualized assistance was put in place to provide access to education and self-reliance through work.

In December of that same year, Pierre-André traveled to Ethiopia, to the Tigray region, to visit an orphanage run by his school, which was supported at the time by ADRA Switzerland. There, too, he witnessed extreme poverty, but at the same time, he saw the determination of all these resilient and, despite everything, cheerful young people to make progress in life.

Since that experience and those encounters in Southeast Asia and Africa, Pierre-André has been traveling to those two countries every year to reconnect with the young people he mentors and assess their needs.

Recognizing the need to better organize his efforts, he founded a small nonprofit organization in August 2015: FaR.