The “Weilheim DERPART School” in Kagnigbara / Togo has opened - and the whole village is full of thanks, as initiator Uta Orawetz reports from the inauguration on February 10th. 250 children are already studying in the house that donors from Weilheim made possible. And there are other positive consequences.
Weilheim / Kagnigbara - It is a completely isolated area between a mountain range and the border with Ghana, in which the village of Kagnigbara is located. A small dusty road leads from Bassar, the next largest city, to the small Weilheim delegation, which took two hours to cover the 40 kilometers - and hardly met a handful of other cars. The houses and huts of Kagnigbara are all without electricity, reports Uta Orawetz: water is drawn from small wells in a bucket, outside the rainy season the country is so dusty that even the solar lamp at the school regularly fails.
But the woman from Weilheim also shows pictures full of joie de vivre: dancing children and adults celebrate the “Weilheim DERPART school” in her village. So far, teaching has been carried out in primitive shelters, from the palm leaf roofs of which teachers had to remove poisonous scorpions in the morning. Now there is a stone schoolhouse, made possible by donations from numerous Weilheim residents.
Cooperation with the "Fly & Help" foundation
In December 2017, the former travel company Reiner Meutsch first spoke about his "Fly & Help" foundation in Weilheim, which has implemented over 350 school projects worldwide since 2010. The idea of relieving hardship in a poor country with a “Weilheim school” did not let go of Orawetz. She supported the project with her two DERPART travel agencies and initiated a fundraiser. With her colleague Gerd Veit, she drummed up exactly 52 645 euros. In addition to the building, the school desks and desks as well as latrines (simplest toilets without flushing) are also financed.
Together with her husband, Anja Böhm from Weilheim and representatives of the “Aktion PiT - Togohilfe” association, Uta Orawetz traveled to the school inauguration in Kagnigbara - and came back deeply touched. She had been asked to “express the great thanks of the population to all Weilheimers who participated”. "And thanks," added Böhm, "you can feel it immediately when you arrive": not only in the official celebration with dancing and singing, but in every single encounter.
Lessons in two-shift operation
Around 250 children are taught in the "Weilheim School" - in three classrooms and in "two-shift operation". For two years they first learn French, the official language in Togo; this is followed by four years of elementary school. The positive consequences of the Weilheim commitment are already visible: because over 400 children were registered, the Togo government built a second school building opposite. The state also bears the running costs - this is the basic condition of "Fly & Help" - and it ensures that teachers are appropriately trained.
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Much remains to be done. That is why the helpers from Weilheim continue. Next they want to finance a simple well for the school. The “Togo help” then takes care of the construction, donations can be made directly to the association (contact see below), but also in Orawetz 'travel agencies. Sponsorships for children in Kagnigbara can also be taken on. 30 euros per month are necessary for this, "basically an entire family lives there," says the initiator. She and her fellow travelers have each sponsored one of these - and are now hoping for more committed Weilheimers.
95 percent of the money goes directly to the families, Orawetz assures, five percent needs the “Togo help” for their infrastructure. Because the association with five employees in the state also ensures the necessary control.
Information about the "Togo help": www.aktionpit.de.
Donation account: IBAN DE34 7005 3070 0031 0399 10
BIC: BYLADEM1FFB (Sparkasse Fürstenfeldbruck).
If you want to take over sponsorships, you can contact Uta Orawetz directly, phone 0881/3000.