In total, we support more than 2,200 children in slum areas in Bangladesh and India as well as remote regions in Kenya, who learn – and eat – in our schools every day! The free lunch makes it possible for many parents to send their children to school in the first place – as they would otherwise have to contribute to the household income as workers so that everyone has enough to eat. In this way, the children get a nutritious meal, as well as the education that changes their lives for the better.
Please help us to make education possible for many children – and thus break the cycle of ignorance and poverty.
We can only do this with your help! Please help now!
5 Euro – school lunch for one month for one child
10 Euro – school attendance for one month for one child
30 Euro – Learning materials for one school year
The founder of Austrian Doctors, Dr Werner Waldmann, recognized the importance of education for the local people during his first volunteer medical missions in Asia at the end of the 1980s. Patients often came back again and again with the same problems, which did not change because the overall life situation could not change. Starting with the youngest members of society through education and thus helping to change the entire environment seemed to be the right approach – and has remained so to this day. The foundation stone for the school projects in India and Bangladesh was therefore laid at the end of the 1980s and beginning of the 1990s; the schools still exist today!
Austrian Doctors’ largest school, the Manda School in Dhaka, is attended by around 1,200 children. Lessons are held in shifts, as the premises are too small to accommodate all the children at the same time. The second school supported by Austrian Doctors in Bangladesh, the Gandaria School, is attended by almost 300 children. There is also the St. Francis Assisi School in Kolkata, India, which is attended by around 500 children. And last but not least, another 250 children attend the Eroret School in Kenya.
Over the decades, this has had a positive impact on the lives of thousands of pupils and their families. The aim is not to educate only academics, but to give young people the tools in the form of reading, writing, arithmetic, etc. so that they are educated and enlightened for a better future.
In Bangladesh, however, we also fund a scholarship program for the most brilliant graduates of our schools, who are thus given the opportunity to complete their education at university. Many of these former students later find themselves as teachers in our schools. This closes the circle and breaks the spiral of poverty and ignorance.
Since 2019, we have also been awarded the seal of approval for donations. This is the highest seal of approval for fundraising associations in Austria. The basis for obtaining this seal of approval is an annual, strict audit by an auditor with regard to the use of funds, low administrative costs, etc. This gives you as a donor the assurance that your donation will be handled responsibly by Austrian Doctors. Furthermore, donations to Austrian Doctors are tax-deductible in Austria.
"Every single child who receives an education and a nutritious lunch in our schools justifies the entire work of Austrian Doctors. Behind every child there is a family, a destiny, wishes, hopes and dreams. I am happy to contribute through my work to making a better future possible for thousands and thousands of children through education!"
Severin Schwaiger, Managing Director Austrian Doctors
