Looking back in 2024:
Fewer donations, but the projects are running
February 2, 2025
Last year, we were once again able to support the work of Holger and Kay Lorenz in
South Africa, who run a home for orphans in the Cape Town area, operate up to 30 soup
kitchens and offer life skills courses.
But the projects of Pastor Alfred and the team at CHA Ayirebi in Ghana were also on the move, both our general education school "Elim Academy" and the medical center that was inaugurated in 2023. Last year, when another year group was writing their final papers, our Elim Academy was among the top ten schools in the district, and almost all of the graduates were accepted into a secondary school with their results. In her annual report, Linda, our manager in Ayirebi, points out that the school has also been very successful in district competitions: "It triumphed" at the annual sports festival and "was unbeatable" at the cultural festival :-). A great deal of emphasis is placed on sporting and cultural activities because they highlight and help to develop talent. Free meals are still offered to the students, and many of the parents would not have been able to offer their children a daily lunch at home.
However, the school has also faced challenges: last year, Ayirebi and the surrounding area experienced a particularly heavy and prolonged rainy season. The unpaved roads suffered particularly badly, leading to the cancellation of some school buses and, as a result, to the cancellation of some lessons.
As far as time and resources allowed, work was carried out on two construction projects alongside ongoing operations: the expansion of a school building by adding another floor, and a school canteen, where the next step is to construct the roof. Money for the latter was already available, but then had to be used at short notice for school bus repairs.
The Medical Center has since set up an emergency room that is in operation 24 hours a day and has already saved many lives. But not all cases could be treated there: There were some severe cases after accidents that were beyond the capabilities of our Medical Center with its previous facilities, but fortunately the ambulance was available and the patients could be driven to more distant hospitals with better facilities.
A new project of the CHA in Ghana is to take out insurance policies that cost the equivalent of €5 per year to provide health insurance for a child. We promoted this project in Germany, and the first donors have since committed to it. Linda writes that 500 people have already been registered and given access to the health insurance system.
The team of doctors at our medical center has started another new project in which they visit schools in the district and offer outpatient services there. This has been very well received and contributes to the good reputation of the clinic. With medical equipment sent from Germany, other clinics could also be supported to some extent. However, other necessary items that were not available from Germany had to be purchased in Ghana, causing debts. These were repaid by the end of the year – but again at the expense of construction projects. And so the most urgent request from our team in Ghana is for us to provide further financial support.
Last year, we had a total income of €32,411.30 in Germany. After covering a small portion of our fixed costs in Germany, this money went to a container of relief supplies in Ghana and to direct financial aid to our partners in Africa. The amount of donations last year was significantly lower than in the previous year. Nevertheless, a lot could be achieved – thanks to the help of our donors.
Christliches Hilfswerk für Afrika e.V.
Jan Pahl, Administration
But the projects of Pastor Alfred and the team at CHA Ayirebi in Ghana were also on the move, both our general education school "Elim Academy" and the medical center that was inaugurated in 2023. Last year, when another year group was writing their final papers, our Elim Academy was among the top ten schools in the district, and almost all of the graduates were accepted into a secondary school with their results. In her annual report, Linda, our manager in Ayirebi, points out that the school has also been very successful in district competitions: "It triumphed" at the annual sports festival and "was unbeatable" at the cultural festival :-). A great deal of emphasis is placed on sporting and cultural activities because they highlight and help to develop talent. Free meals are still offered to the students, and many of the parents would not have been able to offer their children a daily lunch at home.
However, the school has also faced challenges: last year, Ayirebi and the surrounding area experienced a particularly heavy and prolonged rainy season. The unpaved roads suffered particularly badly, leading to the cancellation of some school buses and, as a result, to the cancellation of some lessons.
As far as time and resources allowed, work was carried out on two construction projects alongside ongoing operations: the expansion of a school building by adding another floor, and a school canteen, where the next step is to construct the roof. Money for the latter was already available, but then had to be used at short notice for school bus repairs.
The Medical Center has since set up an emergency room that is in operation 24 hours a day and has already saved many lives. But not all cases could be treated there: There were some severe cases after accidents that were beyond the capabilities of our Medical Center with its previous facilities, but fortunately the ambulance was available and the patients could be driven to more distant hospitals with better facilities.
A new project of the CHA in Ghana is to take out insurance policies that cost the equivalent of €5 per year to provide health insurance for a child. We promoted this project in Germany, and the first donors have since committed to it. Linda writes that 500 people have already been registered and given access to the health insurance system.
The team of doctors at our medical center has started another new project in which they visit schools in the district and offer outpatient services there. This has been very well received and contributes to the good reputation of the clinic. With medical equipment sent from Germany, other clinics could also be supported to some extent. However, other necessary items that were not available from Germany had to be purchased in Ghana, causing debts. These were repaid by the end of the year – but again at the expense of construction projects. And so the most urgent request from our team in Ghana is for us to provide further financial support.
Last year, we had a total income of €32,411.30 in Germany. After covering a small portion of our fixed costs in Germany, this money went to a container of relief supplies in Ghana and to direct financial aid to our partners in Africa. The amount of donations last year was significantly lower than in the previous year. Nevertheless, a lot could be achieved – thanks to the help of our donors.
Christliches Hilfswerk für Afrika e.V.
Jan Pahl, Administration
