Article published in the Westfalenpost, the newspaper in Menden, Germany, in May 23th 2015

In May 2014 our newspaper, WP, reported the visit of Fra Ivica Peric, the headmaster of the VTC Kivumu, Rwanda, to the Berufskolleg Menden (HBK), Germany. During this occasion Fra Ivica expressed his wish to obtain machines and tools from the carpentry workshops of the HBK for his school in Rwanda.

Since many machines and tools had become obsolete in the HBK because a restructuring of the vocational schools in the district, the administration permitted the friend’s association of the college to buy two different types of smooth planers, a milling machine plus technical accessory, a band saw, a belt grinder, a milling machine and assorted hand tools for a symbolic prize.

Then the transport to Rwanda had to be financed and organized. Together with the Franciscan Mission, Dortmund, a call for donations has been sent to companies and institutions in the district. Up to this day a sum of 12,000 Euro has been donated by companies, students, societies and many private citizens. At the same time the Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) agreed to be the professional partner for the logistics and to pay for parts of the transport costs.

This made it possible to buy a lot more hand and power tools and electronic devices according to the needs of the school in Kivumu. The noticeable price reductions many companies in Menden gave helped a lot as well. The aim for using the donated money was and is to upgrade the technical equipment of the VTC as a means of creating a modern up-to-date vocational training-centre. The HBK together with the friend’s association will continue to use all in-going donations for this purpose.

The big problem of getting the very heavy machines out of the carpentry workshop to a place where the container could be packed quickly (all else would have cost much more) was solved by the unselfish help of a local logistic and transport company which handled the packing and loading in an absolutely professional way. The loading of the container on the premises of the company even enthused the employee of the GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Internationale Zusammenarbeit) who had come to supervise the process.

So in May 2015 after a year of ‘problem-solving’ the Rwanda-Project found a good end. When the container, filled with hope for the partner school in Kivumu, left for Kigali via Rotterdam and Dar-es-Salaam, everyone sent with their farewells a lot of good wishes.

Translated by Uta Leymann