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It is the early afternoon of the 4th of April. A truck and a van arrive at the estate of the Schmalfeld elementary school. Chairs and tables of four classes shall be removed. Their destination: The Elim Academy in Ayirebi, Ghana, far away on the globe.

 

When the school in Schmalfeld in the area of Segebert in Schleswig-Holsein recently got new furnitures, caretaker Rolf Möller did not like the idea just to throw the old ones away. It was burgomaster Klaus Gerdes, who established the contact with Werner Matutat, leader of "Internationale Paketaktion Ost e.V." Werner Matutat turned to Jan Pahl from the Christian Helpwork for Africa Ass. Booth helpwork organizations are based in Hamburg-Neugraben - they are small associations with few members, voluntary personnel and small budget, but effective projects abroad. Paketaktion Ost (IPO) sends relief goods to Eastern Europe, mainly Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldava and the countries of the former Sowjet Union. Christian Helpwork for Africa Ass. runs projects in Ghana and South Africa. This is not the first time that both groups support each others projects. This time, their co-operation guided Werner Matutat, Jan Pahl and three helpers to Schmalfeld, where they loaded about 80 single-tables with chairs into the two vehicles, assisted by the manpower of Rolf Möller, Klaus Gerdes and social worker Frank Jensen. Their first destination is some storage facility in Hamburg-Harburg. In autumn they shall set of for their journey across the Atlantic.

 

(excerpt from a press release of 5th April 2018)

 

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By: Jan Pahl