Back in 1972 – 1975, when Dorothea Wenzel (died in 2007) was a development worker in Kenya, she got to know the members of a local initiative, the Role-Models. They made sure that girls and women received an education. During Mrs. Wenzel’s visit to Kenya in 1996, her former colleague, Kauchi Chivumba, took her to see the projects. Dorothea Wenzel was deeply concerned by the bad condition of the school buildings and learned that only about 25% of the girls go to school.

Many girls have to work for their families and, very often and at a very young age, they are married to rich, older men to be their third or fourth wife. Their parents try to get as much profit as possible out of this early marriage.
Most of the girls went through a very difficult childhood. Those parents infected with AIDS suffer for a long time, and we can only guess what goes on in the shabby huts.
In Kenya, secondary schools are not free of charge, and families have to pay for school uniforms and school material, as well as for mattresses and bed linen at boarding schools.
BAHATI takes over these costs for girls who are skilled and willing to learn, so that they can go to a secondary school. In addition, our association bears the expenses for their professional education, and gives them the chance to lead a self-determined life.

AIDS ORPHANS

Unfortunately, for too long, Kenya did not want to admit it had an AIDS problem. AIDS was only declared a national catastrophe in 1999.
Nowadays, educational leaflets and posters are widespread. However, these means of information are not suitable for reaching the large number of illiterates. Therefore, it is vital that people learn to read and to write.
Together with our Kenyan partner association, the Role Models Club, BAHATI e. V. supports AIDS orphans and helps girls who are willing to learn.
Teachers, social workers and nurses constitute the Role-Models Club. Be it in hottest summer or during the rainy season, Kauchi and her co-workers are permanently underway to spread information, most of the time on foot, without any vehicle.
Thanks to our close cooperation with the local players we can meet the exact requirements of the girls. This means that donations arrive exactly where they are needed the most and where they help the most.

THE KWALE DISTRICT

Kwale is one of seven districts in Kenya’s coastal province. The tarred road ends approximately 30 kms behind the fertile coastal strip. On the coast, the climate is tropical and includes cool monsoon winds; the lowlands are hot and dry. The rainy seasons last from April until May, and from October until December. Agricultural products are cashew nuts, mangos, rice, oranges, coconuts and corn. There is intensive dairy and goat farming. Only very few people find work in the cities or in the tourist regions, and the standard of living is well below that in Europe. Poverty and diseases are widespread. AIDS is one of the country’s biggest problems.

THE ASSOCIATION’S GOAL

Our goal is to support African girls in the Kenyan Kwale district in order to assure their school education as well as their professional training. Our support is meant to be really reasonable and successful and, therefore, any help is tied in directly to scholarly achievements.

BAHATI e. V. is under the patronage of
Dr. Hermann Scheer,
Member of the German Parliament

He holds the following decorations:

1990 Cross of Merit by the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
1999 Awarded the Alternative Nobel Prize

DONATIONS TO BAHATI e. V.
Donations are directly passed on to Kenya, without any deduction. They are used for AIDS awareness measures and for the education of the girls and women in the Kwale district.

WHERE TO SEND YOUR DONATION
 
Volksbank Bruchsal-Bretten  

BIC: GENODE61BTT

IBAN:  DE32663912000093158903  

According to the German § 10b EstG, donations are eligible for tax deduction.

We will be pleased to issue a receipt for your donation

CONTACT:

President                                  Vice-President
Gabriele Renz                            Dieter Assmann-Maier
Hintere Gasse 17/1                   Brommerstr. 27
75038 Oberderdingen               70563 Stuttgart
Tel. +49 (0) 70 45-85 86           Tel. +49 (0) 7 11-35 14 25
presse@bahati.org                   

How the idea was going on :

Kauchi Chivumba 28.03.2009
Good news from Kenya!

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LETTER OF APPRECIATION

I am glad to inform you that I am recognized and awarded Presidential Award (2008) for actively participating on “Promotion of Girls Education” in Kinango District in the Republic of Kenya.

This noble and happy event would not have happened if you and your Organization did not give full support to enable our Club (Role Models Club) to achieve their intended goals towards the promotion of Girls Education in the District.

For this reason, on behalf of the Club (ROMOC) members, I sincerely extend our appreciations to your good and generous Organization for making our dream come true. May I kindly ask you to share with me/ us this happiness and pride because it is for both of us, (Bahati e. V. and ROMOC).

Once again I thank you and the entire Organization for the support you always granted to our Club for the educational activities in our District. It is my hope that we shall continue working together as partners of Education in Kinango District. 

Thank you and God bless you all.

Yours truly,

Kauchi A. Chivumba
Coordinator (ROMOC)