The Hopemakers
Children need education. They need teachers, they need schools.
There are too few of them in Sudan. There is war.
We, the hope makers, are building schools anyway.
You can help us with this.
Everyone who wants to learn should be able to learn – anywhere in the world.
How we started – the movie:
Karakoulle – School (YouTube)
Very few people leave their home country voluntarily. If they are not threatened by hunger, war or environmental disasters, they want to live where they feel at home. In many countries of the global South, however, living conditions are so bad that people have to leave their homes in order to survive.
Improving local living conditions is therefore the goal of the hope makers, above all through education, because education is the key to development. Those who can read, write and do arithmetic have opportunities in a globalized world, participate in development and shape it themselves.
“Die Hoffnungsmacher e.V.” want to create the conditions for this. Together with local partners, we build and run schools that girls and boys can attend together, provide learning materials and take care of the children’s healthcare. We support the further training of teachers and continuing education measures after graduation. And we promote international exchange through school education.
Cooperation at eye level.
In January 2023, the time had come: I, Stefan Maier, who had been retired for a few weeks, started a project that I had been thinking about for years. As an ARD reporter, I reported from the crisis areas in the Middle East and North Africa, and since 2004 also on the civil war in Darfur in western Sudan. I had grown fond of the region and its people. Now I wanted to build a school there.
My research led me to Zain Alabidin Al-Khatir. Zain fled from Darfur to Germany in 2013 and recently acquired German citizenship. He was immediately enthusiastic – my project became ours. Zain told me that there is no school in his village of Karakoulle. We quickly agreed that we wanted to start building right there. So we flew to Darfur in March. Just two weeks after our arrival, we started building together with the villagers.
We flew back at the end of March.
Four weeks later, two generals started a war against each other – on the backs of the civilian population. Ten million people are on the run, thousands have been killed. Nevertheless, the people in Karakoulle have continued building and the school is finished now. We don’t want it to be our last, so we have founded a non-profit association:
“Die Hoffnungsmacher”, (The hope makers).
We are lucky. Were born in one of the richest countries in the world, grew up in prosperity. This should teach us humility, because most of the eight billion people on earth are less fortunate. In many countries of the global South, poverty prevails, environmental destruction and conflicts lead to hunger and displacement. The rich countries are not innocent of this; they have often created conditions under which people in poor countries are still suffering today. We are convinced that it is our responsibility to make a change. Not by giving clever advice with ready-made concepts, but by listening, asking people about their needs and looking for solutions together. “Die Hoffnungsmacher” have dedicated themselves to one of the highest goods, education. Education is a human right and an opportunity – but for many it is still out of reach.
Children must be able to go to school.
The hope makers need your support.
Donate an amount of your choice to our account 1992999 at Fugger Privatbank:
IBAN: DE30 7203 0014 0001 9929 99
BIC: FUBKDE71XXX
Of course, you will receive a donation receipt from us so that you can deduct the amount from your taxes.
Please let us know your first and last name, your postal address and, if applicable, your e-mail address for a donation receipt, which we will be happy to send you by e-mail or post. Please use the name and address fields on our contact page or enter your name and address in the “Purpose” line of your bank transfer form.
Then donate conveniently via GiroCode: Open the banking app, scan the GiroCode, enter the donation amount and then approve your transfer as usual with a TAN. Done! Please also enter your address so that we can send you a donation receipt.
Photo: Joris Bolomey/ AFP
