About Us
Who We Are
The Kinderhilfe & St. Thomas Hospital Association in Cameroon
The Förderverein Kinderhilfe und St. Thomas-Hospital in Kamerun e.V. (Children’s Aid and St. Thomas Hospital Association in Cameroon) was founded in 2000. It supports education and upbringing as well as the care of sick and needy people in Cameroon.
Our organization is recognized as a non-profit; it has branches in Germany, Cameroon, and France.
Promoting and Supporting Locally
We are pleased that we exclusively employ local staff on-site. However, specialists from abroad are always welcome to provide practical help in Cameroon.
Conversely, it is important to us that our African employees have the opportunity to gain an impression of our training in Europe through guest visits.
All European members work on a voluntary basis, without expense allowances or compensation. There are no administrative costs.
Our Employees
From right to left:
Gerhard Reisinger
- Transport and Logistics
- Setup and Consultation for Vocational School Center / Hospital and all other projects
Dr. Elise Bana
- Hospital Management and Medical Coordination at St. Thomas Hospital and the Mvam-Zamba medical station / Cameroon
Gerda Reisinger
- Transport and Logistics
- Setup and Consultation for Vocational School Center / Hospital and all other projects
Dr. Marion Fuhrmann
- Chairwoman
- Medical Support
- Documentation and Travel Coordination
From right to left:
Msgr. Dr. Philippe Mbarga
- Bishop of Ebolowa
- Project Manager in Cameroon
Petra Leinweber
- Chairwoman
- Transport and Logistics
- Setup and Consultation for Vocational School Center / Hospital and all other projects
- Documentation and Travel Coordination
Martin Leinweber
- Transport and Logistics
- Setup and Consultation for Vocational School Center / Hospital and all other projects
From right to left:
Erwin Völlinger
- Photographic and Film Documentation
- Public Relations
Wolfgang Reinhard and Anne-Christin Walther
- Planaris Law Firm – Accounting and Tax Returns
From right to left:
Sylvia Usbeck
- Website Setup and Support
David Usbeck
- Website Setup and Support
- English Translation
Leslie Scheuber
- Website Setup and Support
Cameroon
Diverse Cameroon
Cameroon lies at the intersection of West and Central Africa. Due to its north-south extension, it cuts through a wide variety of vegetation and climate zones: from the rainy coastal lowlands with huge primeval forests to the central plateau and the desert-like dry zones of the north.
Due to its geographical diversity, Cameroon is also known as “Miniature Africa.”
Health
Diseases such as polio, hepatitis, typhus, malaria, and worm infections can be transmitted through contaminated water. Mortality is alarmingly high, especially among children. HIV infection is spreading at an increasing rate. As a result, the tuberculosis rate is dramatically increasing.
Education
A good school and vocational education is often an unaffordable luxury in West Africa. Public schools are repeatedly closed due to stagnant salary payments. The costs for a private institution must be borne independently; many families cannot finance this.
Mvam-Zamba
In the middle of the rainforest, about 70 km south of the capital Yaoundé, lies the village of Mvam-Zamba. The people there live mainly from agriculture and hunting. Due to a lack of prospects, more and more young people are migrating to the big cities; often the old and the poorest remain behind.
Our association started its first aid projects here in 2002, initially with the construction of a well and a water tower. This significantly improved the health status in the village:
The well construction has greatly reduced the infection rate in children with hepatitis (jaundice) and parasites (e.g., worms!).
Nsimalen / Yaoundé
Due to its close proximity to the international airport, Nsimalen has a very good infrastructural location. Here, we were able to inaugurate our vocational school in 2013, followed in 2016 by the commissioning of the St. Thomas Hospital in the immediate vicinity.
Ebolowa
Since 2016, our coordinator in Cameroon, Dr. Philippe Mbarga, has been the Bishop of Ebolowa, which is located in the south of the country. As a result, our activities have naturally expanded into his new area of responsibility.