Archive 2016 - 2019

This year's Christmas donation goes to the project Feuerkinder (Firechildren) in Tanzania. The charity organisation treats children and adolescents who do receive no or only poor medical care free of charge. In addition to burns, leg deformities are one of the main areas of work. In the clubfoot outpatient clinic in the Usa River Rehabilitation Centre URRC, affected children are treated with the conservative clubfoot treatment according to Ponseti - and Tanzanian specialists are trained and educated in the method. In addition, the URRC is coordinating the establishment of five further clubfoot outpatient clinics, which are being financed with the support of the US NGO "Miracle Feet". The Project Feuerkinder needs further donations to purchase materials such as plaster, bars and shoes for post-treatment, as well as for training and further education for Tanzanian employees.  More information can be found at www.feuerkinder.de.

This year we support the aid organisation Mercy Ships, which has been operating hospital ships in developing countries since 1978. Volunteers from over 40 countries offer free medical care to affected people, for example in the fields of surgery and orthopaedics.
In addition to free operations and treatments, the NGO pursues a holistic approach with the aim of improving the living conditions of local people. Mercy Ships trains local doctors in the Ponseti method, the standard for non-invasive clubfoot correction. In order to ensure the necessary follow-up care, local partners are also trained in the production of the necessary orthopaedic splints. Learn more about Mercy Ships here (german website).

Also this year we refrain from sending Christmas cards to our customers. According to our tradition, we support a selected charitable project instead. This time we chose "Christmas in a shoebox". This project distributes Christmas parcels to children in need, many of whom have never received a gift in their life. All parcels are packed by the donors themselves and contain not only sweets and toys but also useful things such as crayons or clothes. Our employees enjoyed the gift campaign very much. Please find out more about the campaign and its background here.

As in previous years, we have chosen not to send Christmas cards to our customers in order to use the money to support a selected project. This year we chose “Cure”, a worldwide charity network of clinics and doctors which – among other projects – is highly engaged in promoting the club foot treatment after Ponseti in the poorest countries of the world. This non-profit organization deals with people affected in 18 countries, from Burkina Faso to Zimbabwe, from Haiti to India. If you wish to find out more about the commitment click here.