In many African countries, the period after secondary school is a major problem because every form of education costs money. Money that is not available.

In order to help young people who cannot afford school fees, we started a vocational training programme at our centre in Dar es Salaam in March 2025.

Father Endale Haile Fereja lives in our vicarage in Vienna and is writing his doctoral thesis here. Thanks to him, we are in touch with the reality of Ethiopia on a daily basis. The country is torn apart, exploited, at war and impoverished. People are suffering, starving and dying.

Father Endale is a Capuchin friar. Together with him, we thought about what we could do: The best way out of poverty is to educate young people. But that is difficult. The poor can't afford school, not even school supplies.

Father Martin Rupprecht's Christmas letter 2024 about the work in Dar es Salaam

As he does every year, Father Martin has written a letter to the people who support his foundation. Here is the text:

Appearance and reality

Zanzibar is very popular with European tourists. At the harbour, they see local youngsters having fun. But why do these boys have so much fun with the tourists? It's quite simple:

31 students from Hartberg Grammar School volunteer in Zanzibar

At the initiative of a dedicated religious studies teacher from Hartberg, 31 students set out for Zanzibar to make a positive impact on the local community. They were supported and accompanied by our foundation.

Religious education teacher Hannes Hamilton had previously spent several months teaching at the Machui College run by the Sisters of the Precious Blood of Christ in Zanzibar. It was a natural choice to propose a social project at this college to his students from Hartberg Grammar School (Styria, Austria).

We regularly receive videos of our projects. They give an insight into the lives of our protégés and also show the progress that has been made thanks to your donations.