Speech on, Monday, the 2nd of February. 2009.
Thank you for the opportunity for us all to come together. It is an honour to be here at Telerane Orphan Care. I am also encouraged by the partnership between the Lilongwe Wildlife Centre and the team of the Telerane Orphan Care in making this day possible. At first I would like to introduce myself: My name is Nina Eggerath and I’m working for a small organization from Germany called “Kids for Kids in Africa”. KfKA and was founded a few months ago on a simple but beautiful thought: not grown ups are sending help and toys from Germany- it is the children, who are helping other children.
These children were raising money and are sharing their toys for the children in Malawi. To understand how special 'Kids for Kids in Africa' is to understand why this organization came into existence.Our inspiration behind the whole organization is a 78 year-old kindergarten teacher named Maria Loewigt.She is from my home town of Bad Koenigshofen in Germany. Maria has a big heart and cares a lot about the children in Africa. She has lived her whole life for children, organizing money and toys for those in need and have so little. One day she became very ill and over time became fully blind. Her illness forced her to change her life fully and because she lost her freedom she stopped being able to help the children in the same way she had before. So she prayed to God and asked him to give her back her eye sight. She promised that she would dedicated her life to the cause even more and be there for all the poor, hungry and blind children in the world.
When she woke up the next day a miracle had happened. She could hardly believe it but she could see again. She was so grateful to God that she immediately started being true to her word. And ever since that day she and children in Germany have been collecting money for poor, hungry and blind children in need. Maria’s children dress up as angels, Mary and Joseph and practice the nativity scene. They perform it in public and at selected festivals. The children sing and perform so well that people are touched and happy to support them and their cause. Many years ago as a child I myself was one of Maria's angels. We collected money and made toys for poor children. After many travels to my beloved Malawi as a grown-up I realized that with Maria's help and my connections we could help so many more children there. As a result this organization was born. The money that the children in Germany raised for the children in Malawi was used to buy clothes and shoes for the children of 'Tilerane Orphan Care'. We use the money to buy those things for the children that they need the most.
Maria's Angels also made some pictures and games for the children here. The game is 'memory' and it is a card game that hightens the children's concentration and attention span. The German children love playing it. Maria and her group of children spent many nights making the cards for these games themselves. It is a game that the children here can play in small or bigger groups, and in case they don't know it we will explain how it works later. Another idea we had was for the children of 'Tilerane Orphan Care' to make ribbons for us to take back to Germany. We will then sell these ribbons to raise more funds. It would once more be something from children for the children of another country. We also want to get the children of 'Tilerane Orphan Care' to memories small songs and plays that they can then perform in public or at festivals, just like the children in Germany are doing. There are many people in Malawi that would enjoy seeing these things.
The children of Kids for Kids in Africa didn't just sing and perform plays. They also gave away their own toys so that the children in Malawi could have them. They thought that there were children in Malawi that need their toys more than they do because they might be too poor to have any toys at all. The donated toys consist of many books, pads and pens. Things the children can use for school. But the toys are the most personal gift of all. The orphans have now friends in Germany. This teddy bear for example used to belong to a little girl called Alina. Alina is much happier at the thought that her beloved teddy bear now belongs to a new child in Malawi. To those German children it is the best gift of all to be giving away something they themselves loved. And to them it feels like they are being brought closer to children in another country. Even if they are 7600 kilometers away, it feels like they are still there for one another. I hope first of many, we can share more in the future and this will just be the start and that we can make a difference for children. I believe we should focus on children. Children are often the most vulnerable members of society, with no economic clout or political standing. However, children also represent the future and the hope of the community. KfKAs specific mission is to address the needs of the poorest children. We also know that there is a crucial window of opportunity for children’s health. If you can protect the children especially under five years of age they will learn better in school, enjoy better health for the rest of their lives, have healthier children themselves, and be better able to contribute to their communities and country.
As a Christian I have hope and faith in God. These children are the testimony. As long as we educate the children, and install good principles, they can be whatever they want to be.
Together we can create the will, find the solutions, overcome the obstacles and build a better future—where children experience life in all its fullness.
I look forward to your questions and comments.
Thank you for your attention.
