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

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 but poor pupils.
• Support of schools (material assistance for school building; financing of teaching and learning materials; 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 inundation.
• 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 since the 1970s. 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 was 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 multiplicators for 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 ameliorate 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 kids 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 opportunities like our information stand which is publicly present, 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 little is needed for luck, and those who received a bright smile from the thankful eyes of children known 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. Currently, there is a German-language application form only. Persons not speaking German: please contact our office; we will arrange for the necessary details.
Please make sure to fill out all required sections carefully to enable us to handle your application in due time!
   » Application form, in German (MS Word format)
   » Application form, in German (PDF format)
Upon request, our office will send you a copy of our statutes.
We would appreciate to welcome you as a new member!

Support by Donations
Even if becoming a member is not an option for you, you may support our work in Kenya by donating money. Details on our donation account have been summarized on our site-info page (note our new account number which is valid starting October 24, 2009). For your annual tax return, you will receive a receipt of your donation provided your name and address are known. Please contact us for additional detail --- you are always welcome.
We would be grateful if you would support us!

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.