Let’s build two schools together - Stefan’s 50th bday fundraising

The trigger: Turning 50 is for me a moment to reflect, to be thankful and to give back. We are so fortunate with our 5 wonderful kids, who all are safe, healthy and are growing their wings now in school and university. We would love to support also kids in places with less positive conditions. Education is key. Thus, let’s help to complete building two schools in Sierra Leone, Africa. 

The organization: Since several years, I have been following and supporting the incredible efforts of Street Child. They go where help is needed most, i.e. to low-resource environments and emergencies.  Plus, they focus foremost on the education and safety of children. Street Child started its development work in Sierra Leone and is now active in more than 20 countries, having helped more than 1m children (learn more: https://street-child.org/ or https://streetchild.de/ ) 

The country: Together with Street Child I have selected two specific projects in Sierra Leone, for which I would ask for a kind donation. Sierra Leone belongs to the poorest countries on the planet. Today, children continue to face significant barriers to learning. 46% of children do not transition from primary to secondary school, >0.5 million children are out of school and 57% of women aged 15-49 are illiterate. Children risk getting stuck in a cycle of illiteracy and poverty. Street Child works to tackle this educational disadvantage by empowering communities to transform the quality of primary and secondary education provision. 

The project: We would like to raise funds to complete the financing of the following endeavors – building two brand new school buildings close to Kamakwie in the Sella Limba Chiefdom, Karene District, a very remote and rural area of Sierra Leone: 

Both locations suffer from massive overcrowding in the current classrooms – as previous constructions collapsed and no alternatives exist in the vicinity. The new schools will be built together with the local communities, mostly farmers. They would be finished by Summer 2026 so that hundreds of pupils could start the new school year in September in proper facilities. More details on the communities and schools can be looked up in the project description by Street Child. 

Your donation: It will entirely help the good cause! First, we strife to finance the Primary school in Kanarthara! Should we surpass its fundraising target of 4.000 Euro, we would then try to support the Junior Secondary School in Kagboray as much as possible. Ideally, we can also fill much of its required funds of 5.000 Euro.
Everyone can simply donate here on my Betterplace Fundraising page. This also allows you to stay in the loop on the progress we made together. Note: you will get a donation receipt from Betterplace.org, so you could deduct your contribution from your taxes! 

The platform: Betterplace.org is not only providing the donation receipt early 2026. It is trustworthy and it is easy to stay in the loop on the project. I also relate strongly to their story: It was founded by a German family after their trip around the world together with a sports guy who wanted to give back, supported by an ex-consultant, funded partially by someone who turned 50, etc. … Their underlying idea is to cater for the “long tail of charity”, i.e. to make a difference by giving a stage to many grass root projects. 

The visit: As you all know, I am enthusiastic about travelling, esp. off the beaten path. Thus, we will combine this personal passion (obviously at own cost) with the good cause of this fundraising activity. Hence, we as the Fuchs Family will visit both villages in the course of 2026 with the aspiration to experience the progress first hand. Ensuring that each Euro made an impact as well as sharing back with all of you how your generous donation changed the fate of these local kids!