2-play-on-earth

--- Help for... ---

Here you find social projects, which we did support with our travels.

Caroline's Guatemala projects.

In february 2010 we had the possibility to get to know the work of our friend and university classmate Caroline Jernej and her husband Julio Sapón in Guatemala:

Caroline Jernej and Julio Sapón have established the association "Guatemalahilfe zur Selbsthilfe – Winaq pu wi Utzilal", with the target to improve standards of living for the Maya. At the moment they are working on a perennial regional-aid-project in the home-region of the family, which is supported by the Carinthian government (a part of Austria) and the catholic campain "Bruder und Schwester in Not" (brother and sister in need). We accompany them when they buy "school-start-packages", including books, pens and more, for 100 children in need. They show us the new driveway, which is a huge improvement for the farmers in order to transport their goods to the markets. A small creek is running across the village, where women are doing laundry. Trees will be planted in the valley, that the creek returns to its original look, cleaniness and water-amount. Another project is about waste seperation. A number of waste containers will be put up and well ancored into the ground, so they won´t disappear over night. "In the beginning the chiefs of the village were very enthusiastic about the project, but at the moment some people, on whose land we want to put up the bins, are slowing down the process. I will not rush, and first start with education, and slowly we will install the bins. A few families will begin this year and the whole village will join seperating garbage soon", says Caroline.

Caroline and Julio´s principal residence is in Carinthia (Austria), but every year they spend two months in the Guatemalian highlands, where Julio´s relatives live. In 2005 they got married in Julio´s home village, in a traditional Maya-marriage-ceremony.

We will never forget the visit at Julio´s family and the insight into the Maya-culture. Many thanks to the extended-family Sapón! We wish you all the best for the future!

"FEMINA HIP", health-, HIV-, environmental-issues information project, in Dar Es Salaam, Tansania.

In Dar Es Salaam we stay with our friend Minou. In the past 10 years she developed an impressive project: FEMINA HIP. Informationwork in schools and in the public with magazines, TV-talkshows,... A great project but much too complex to put more details on our site. So just check out the interesting homepage of the project! www.chezasalama.com

"Center for Mentally Challenged Children" in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

In Addis we are staying at the Schmidt Family's place. Christoph Schmidt is working for the "Center for Mentally Challenged Children".

The center was established in 1986 to provide education and vocational assistance to children with special needs.

Since its inception the number of students has grown from 8 to 350. 

The "Early Care Program" offers physio-therapeutic help for 140 children and counselling for parents. Young girls and boys take part in a training to develop their self help abilities and to be less dependent.

This program is the only one of its kind in Addis Ababa and the whole of Ethiopia.

For More info about the center, the work with the children and how you can support the project, please check the page http://www.eecmy-cmcc.net/

"Yenege Tesfa", is helping parentless children in Gondar, Ethiopia.

In Gondar, Ethiopia, we learn to know the belgian couple Lea and Kobe. They are also cyclists like us (see bikers we met), but with another target. Their usual plan was to cycle to Central Africa and help there in social projects.

But things turn out a bit different. In Gondar, they get to know the young ethiopian woman Nigisti, who is running a small orphanage. Today the building is nothing more than a small house made of clay and wood with two rooms and an outhouse in front. The children get to eat leftover food from the towns prison...

There is a lack of many things: the building's roof is leaking, the outhouse needs to be rebuilt, there is no running water and no possibility to wash...

Fore more information on the project and how you can support the orphants of Gondar, please check the project's website: www.yenegetesfa.org or get in contact with Lea and Koba personally: