Why we are getting involved in Africa

Ferdinand Eisele has been maintaining business relations with South Africa for several decades. In 1996 we first participate in the Johannesburg Jewelex tradefair as exhibitors together with our local partners.
General Manager Alex Schickel takes advantage of those annual visits in order to get an idea of that country and its neighbours. He is enthusiastic from the start about the people, the landscape, the wildlife and the amazing variety existing there.
But also the countries’ immense problems such as the rampant crime rate, poverty and the AIDS disaster leave him with deeper impressions every time.
Therefore, the decision is maturing to get involved not only in terms of business, but also in a humanitarian way with that continent and its people.

 

 

What we do for Africa

Since 2008, Ferdinand Eisele GmbH supports humanitarian projects through NGOs and their local partners with an annual fixed percentage of sales and takes over sponsorships for children in need.

From 2008 to 2022, the company will use the services and opportunities of the professional charity organization "Kindernothilfe" (Children's Relief). For 14 years, eXtra4 has supported the AIDS orphan aid of the Thandanani organisation in KwaZulu/Natal, South Africa, and also holds 5 sponsorships. There, the aim is to support families in taking in and caring for orphans. Approximately 1,800 affected children benefit directly from this.

In 2023, eXtra4 is changing its strategy: other countries should also benefit from funding. Information on suitable opportunities is provided by the local press and social media with reports on initiatives by committed individuals and groups of various kinds in different regions of Africa.

 
  
2018 awarded by "Kinternothilfe": certificate for 10 years of donation loyalty

Our countries and partners

In order to achieve maximum efficiency of donations, eXtra4 wants to move away from professional aid organisations towards predominantly volunteer-run associations. Initiated by individuals and largely guided by their work, with a personal connection to the helpers on site, they can more directly guarantee the effective use of the funds expended.

 
 

Ghana

The linchpin of the association is Judith Scholz. The Koblenz (Germany) native travelled to Ghana for the first time during her social pedagogy studies in 1999 and worked there in a home for street children. The life and people impressed her so much that she returned to the African country several times. She is encouraged above all by the fact that she can help directly and visibly with her work.

 

Burkina Faso

The trained goldsmith and technical teacher Siegfried Straub from the Pforzheim (Germany) area is friends with the teacher Solo from Sindou in Burkina-Faso. They got to know each other on a bicycle tour in 2008. The personal impulse to help the children of the village has now turned into a completely privately run organisation. Currently, the association directly cares for about 150 children, without the slightest deduction.