A birthday present for AIDS orphans
For Rotary International News - 13 May 2008
South African AIDS orphans are receiving a helping hand from the Rotary Club of Westerstede and other German clubs.
Photo courtesy of Rotary Magazin
On his 70th birthday, Bruno Steinhoff, of the Rotary Club of Westerstede, Germany, demonstrated his dedication to children in South Africa. In lieu of typical gifts, the international businessman asked his colleagues and friends to donate to a club project benefiting the country’s AIDS orphans. His prominence in the community helped him raise US$373,700.
Under Steinhoff’s leadership, the project is providing education, food, and medical treatment to 150 children living either in orphanages or with extended family in Johannesburg’s Soweto township. The birthday donations will be used to help an additional 100 orphans and provide more housing opportunities with the same high standard of care.
This isn’t the first time Westerstede Rotarians have shown a heart for South Africa’s children. With help from two Rotary Foundation Matching Grants, they’ve launched successful projects with other Rotary clubs in Germany and South Africa to provide equipment for a Cape Town children’s hospital and to furnish a Western Cape youth home.
This story was adapted from an article published in the March 2008 edition of Rotary Magazin, the regional magazine serving districts in Austria and Germany.