Lufthansa & Help Alliance celebrate with Kinder Paradise School

Accra, Feb. 14, GNA - Lufthansa German Airlines and Help Alliance, its aid organization, have presented a total of 5,300 Euros to Kinder Paradise School in Prampram to mark the 10th Anniversary of cooperation among the three bodies.

The anniversary was celebrated with a special ceremony at the school in Prampram, and attended by local staff of Lufthansa, led by its General Manager, Mr. Kevin Markette, and a special crew of the airline's flight to Ghana, whose members were all involved in fundraising for Kinder Paradise.

Mr Kevin Markette, who presented a check of 2,800 Euros to the school, on behalf of the airline, stated: 'Serving Ghana as good corporate citizens for almost five decades, it is a privilege for Lufthansa, together with our crew, to support and fund projects in Ghana such as the Kinder Paradise School, which we now celebrate 10 years of successful cooperation.'

The amount was raised during a sales conference of Lufthansa managers from Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.

Mr. Jens Stapelfeld, cabin crew manager, and Iris Sandoff, Purser, also presented a cheque for 2,500 Euros, proceeds from a Lufthansa flight staff party, held last year to support the School.

Kinder Paradise is a non-profit institution caring for children and youth who used to live on the streets or in perilous situations by offering them a place to call home at its school in Prampram. It also runs a day-care centre for street children in downtown Accra.

The facilities are run by a 40-strong team of Ghanaian teachers, care takers and auxiliary staff, dedicated to securing the future of hundreds of children.

The connection with Lufthansa began in 2005 and has continued to wax strong since Iris Sandoff; a Lufthansa Purser, met Silke Roesner, founder of the Kinder Paradise, and bearer of the German Federal Cross of Merit.

Since 2006 and with Sandhoff's involvement, Help Alliance has been funding Kinder Paradise; supporting the building of a Kindergarten as well as a computer lab and outdoor facilities such as a playground and sports fields and funded the acquisition of transport vehicles for the organization's facilities.

Children at the school thrilled their guests with special performances including poetry, choreographies and cultural performances.

The highlight of the day came when one of the children, performed a special song for Madam Sandoff, whom he affectionately called 'Ma Iris', having known her for the past 10 years, when he was 10. Some of the members also joined the children for choreography.

The help alliance was founded in 1999 by Lufthansa staff in order to better support a dozen projects that existed at the time. Since then, the organization has supported more than 100 projects around the globe.

All of these are run with Lufthansa staff acting as project managers. They link the local aid organization with the Help Alliance that is based in Lufthansa Frankfurt in Germany.

Help Alliance has also supported a mobile clinic in Kumasi, as well as an agricultural cooperative for women in the Chereponi District.

GNA