Aid for Africa — Since 1992 by Foerderkreis Kenia e.V., Freudenstadt

UPCOMING EVENTS:
Saturday, June 23, 2012: Freudenstadt Africa Festival with our society's café-and-information tent — AND MUCH MORE.
Friday, October 26, 2012: 20th Anniversary Celebration of our society in Freudenstadt / FREE ENTRANCE / Great musical program / Opportunity for supporting our work in Africa / Information on the society's work in Africa / All visitors welcome! —> see our » new 2012 Agenda for additional detail.

Commitment beyond Borders

AIDS orphans, in Baharini, Kenya, who are receiving support from our society.

FOERDERKREIS KENIA E.V., a registered society with tax-exempt status that was founded in 1992 as an ecumenical initiative, aims at supporting charitable and other aid projects in Kenya.

• Financial schooling support for capable students who show need.
• Support of schools (material assistance for school building; teaching and learning supplies also incur fees; etc.)
• Education, training, charitable and medical aid for AIDS orphans and for street children whose parents died of AIDS.
• Support of individual families, for example after loss of harvest following drought, or floods.
• Donation of medicine in order to further the public health in rural areas (antisera; anti-retroviral medication for treating HIV/AIDS; etc.)
• Support of small-scale irrigation schemes for cultivating vegetables; training of subsistance farmers
• Advancement of the missionary and church-related social work of local churches irrespective of their denomination

Roots of the Society
The society's precursor was a group of friends and interested individuals who coordinated both church-related and private aid programs in East Africa beginning in the 1970's. Having among them not only volunteers but also church employees, mainly from the Evangelical Church of Württemberg (Southern Germany), part of this group's activities were officially done under the auspices or with the help of their church's institutions. Participating with Kenyan partners, they supported church-based educational, social and charitable work in East Africa, took part in exchange programs with the Kenyan YMCA and Christian parishes of various denominations in Kenya thus seeking to win and support competent coworkers volunteering in the development work of the church.

Details on our Work
Moved by the poverty and living conditions in East Africa that especially affect children of all ages, this group of individuals founded the society in 1992 with the goal to coordinate and support the population with non-profit aid programs, concentrating our efforts where help is needed most.

AIDS orphans who are living with their grandmother.

AIDS orphans, Baharini, Kenya.

Children whose parents have died of AIDS are especially burdened. It was published that this affects some 1.2 million children in Kenya alone, out of which approximately 90,000 AIDS orphans have no shelter at the homes of their relatives but are instead living as street children. Others can hardly be fed by their parents or are unable to attend school. Sadness or mere concern without action are in no way conducive to ameliorating this condition. When we met in the early 1990s to discuss ways of coordinating work, most members of our society had already had contact with Kenyans or had otherwise been involved in Kenya for private or business reasons. After an initial brainstorming phase, our society, Foerderkreis Kenia e.V. Freudenstadt, was officially founded with the main objective of ameliorating, within the humble potential of our society, the miserable living conditions many children face in East Africa. Due to the unceasing efforts of our members, all 54 being volunteers, our non-profit society managed to start, maintain or support small projects with a sum total of approximately 200,000 Euros since our work began (2009 figures).

Schooling Sponsorships
Americans and Europeans alike expect their children to be offered adequate schooling conditions — without having to pay any fees. This is slightly different in Kenya where only the public school education of the lower grades is now basically free. Students attending private schools, often the only viable option, and the higher grades usually have to provide for their schooling fees. Teaching and learning materials are equally to be paid. For many, this amounts to sums that are often beyond the reach of their families, especially in rural areas where income is usually considerably lower than in the cities. School sponsorship programs are therefore one of the major projects of the society — an investment for the future. Those graduating from school can opt for adequate vocational training thus enabling them later on to support their own families. Our school sponsorship program therefore constitutes an important step for self-help, enabling the students to stand on their own after leaving school.

Complete Distribution of All Donations

• Administrative expenditures and public relations costs are paid not by donations but by our membership fees.
• 100% of all donations are sent to the supported projects (without deducting a single dime).

The society is cooperating with several trustworthy persons in East Africa in order to make sure that 100 per cent of your donations reach their destination. Among this dedicated group of individuals we would like to mention members of the Anglican church in Embu, at the bottom of Mount Kenya, coworkers of the Kenya Evangelical Lutheran Church (KELC), members of the Catholic church in Hola, and a group of Fransiscans and nuns from Mpeketoni/Baharini.

Future of our Projects — The Society's Public Relations Work
The future of our projects depends entirely on the financial support we receive.
For this reason, we are reaching out to the public using

• Information booths, for example during the Freudenstadt Africa festival,
• Slide shows, and
• A newsletter which is published twice a year (Easter and Xmas editions).

We are looking for individuals willing to share with fellow humans living on another continent. We are well-off while others face a day-to-day struggle to survive. Only a little is needed for luck, and those who received a bright smile from the thankful eyes of children know why Foerderkreis Kenia e.V. is fighting for this good cause.

Becoming a Member
If you consider joining our society you are always welcome to complete the membership application form and post it to our surface mail address. Simply click the following link for additional detail:
   » Information on becoming a member of our society.
We would enjoy welcoming you as a new member!

Support by Donations
Becoming a member may not be an option for everyone. But even if you are unsure whether to become a member of our society, you may still support our work for those in need by donating money. Details have been summarized on our donation info page
We would be grateful if you would become part of our support network!

Additional Information
You will receive additional information by contacting the society's correspondence office. To this end, you are welcome to send an e-mail to the following address:
   » foerderkreis.kenya.freudenstadt@web.de
For the society's surface mail address the interested reader is referred to the site info page.