Education to avoid poverty: This is currently impossible for around 264 million children in the world.
A former Wartenberger wants to help at least some of them: Christoph Findelsberger, who now lives in Velden, set up the aid organization 264.education eV with some of his fellow campaigners, which builds school buildings.
He has helped far and wide all over the world, for example in Nepal, Uganda and Rwanda.
Wartenberg – The club's headquarters are in Wartenberg, more precisely with Findelsberger's grandfather Dieter Rilke, who is well known to the people of Erding as a long-time spokesman for the showmen.
How did the 30-year-old actually get involved in helping young people in poor regions of the world?
After his studies, today's management consultant became aware of a Nepalese mountain village through an article.
Findelsberger asked a local resident if he could come by: "There I got to know the poorest people ever and realized what a difference it makes if a child can go to school or not."
The nearest educational institution was an hour's walk from the mountain village, and Findelsberger noticed that only the eight-year-old boy from one family was allowed to go there: "The girl stayed at home because the parents could only afford the whole thing for one child," reports the ex -Wartenberger.
It was immediately clear to him that help was needed, so he asked Shamer Thapa, the host in the mountain village, if he could build a school directly in the village: “I approached the matter with youthful carelessness.
After he said yes, the first thing I did was make a fundraising video on Facebook.” This worked out quite well, and within six months they had raised the €25,000 needed to get started.
Dieter Rilke also had a not insignificant share in the first success.
He collected from his fellow showmen in Erding, and this raised quite an impressive sum.
With ten volunteers from western nations and 15 locals, Findelsberger built the first school, and this project ultimately gave rise to the idea of founding the aid organization 264.education eV.
He teamed up with development workers and professors to develop the best possible concept – and it became a success story.
Today, 14 people are permanently involved – all on a voluntary basis.
Each of them flies at least once a year to one of the countries where a potential new school location could arise.
There are now three each in Nepal and Uganda, and there is another 264.education school in Rwanda.
The 30-year-old met most of his helpers during his studies or through friends: “Everyone quickly understood how important education is.
And that only a few grow up in such luxury as we find it in Germany.
They work on a voluntary basis and are happy to help with their own money for the school projects.”
However, the association is dependent on donations: In the beginning, fundraising worked mainly via the private network: "Today we also work with many companies, in total we need around 300,000 to 400,000 euros per year," says Findelsberger.
His aid organization stands for one thing in particular: every single euro donated goes 100 percent to the children on site - there are no administrative or other costs.
Seven schools in three countries, around 85 teachers employed there and a total of 1,500 children taught to date.
What has already been achieved is impressive, but Findelsberger and his helpers are always on the lookout for new places that urgently need a school: "It's a bit like looking for a needle in a haystack," says the management consultant.
There are three sources: companies that build wells on site, for example, plus internet research and contacting local partners: "Once we've found a potential school location, one of us flies there," explains the ex-Wartenberger.
Does the village really need help, are the people there serious and trustworthy?
This and much more will be clarified by him.
The process takes several weeks, and if successful, the search for donations begins.
When school construction begins, the resources are bought from local companies and local workers are hired.
Findelsberger: "We are then almost a local employer."
Grandpa Dieter Rilke is proud of his grandson, who, like his three other grandchildren, has always had a great social streak: "At first I never thought that the project would be so big." Rilke is happy to provide his address as the company headquarters and will continue to support.
Findelsberger will soon be going far away again to find a new place for a school if possible.
Success is not always guaranteed, he emphasizes: “We already had a partner in Afghanistan to implement a project for girls there.” He was there for two and a half weeks and got to know the people: “Everything looked good, the fundraising started, and 60,000 euros have already been raised.”
However, the Taliban's takeover of power made the whole thing impossible: "We will spend the money collected for humanitarian purposes," says Findelsberger.
Hopefully the next visit to a place in a poor region will bring more success, more information about the aid organization and how to donate can be found on the homepage.
