Salzburg helps in Africa: short visit to another world
6,200 kilometers separate the two worlds of Salzburg and Singida in Tanzania. Martina Berthold (citizens’ list) and her team took countless moving pictures home from their trip to Africa. Unforgotten: the radiance and gratitude of the street children; Also the courageous appearance of young women and the enormous commitment of the community health workers, who fight above all against the malnutrition of the children.
In the city of Singida with around 150,000 inhabitants, which is located in the heart of Tanzania, the aid from Salzburg really does reach the weakest link of the largely poor population. “We maintain an ongoing exchange with our club,” emphasizes Berthold. The municipal councilors Anna Schiester (citizens’ list) and Johanna Schnellinger (SPÖ) accompanied them.
A centerpiece is the “Upendo Home”, a home for the otherwise forgotten children of the street. Thanks to the help from Austria, they get a second chance to gain a foothold again. 40 children live here. Her parents are drug addicts, ill or deceased. A school for deaf children and young people was also founded. Classrooms and teachers’ offices were set up. Thanks to new scholarship programs, more girls are now attending school. “Their biggest worry is often getting pregnant too early,” says Berthold, happy that violence against women is increasingly breaking out in Africa as well.