The School under the Sky project provides 30 street kids with informal education at different locations in Dhaka.
D – The textile specialist, Daiber, and the umbrella supplier, Fare, are supporting the “School under the Sky” project of the aid organisation Leedo Street Children in Bangladesh with attractive donations. Among others, the organisation asserts itself to enable street children to have an open-air school, to provide them with a basic education, convey morals and values to them and offer them a safe space to play and learn in.
An estimated 1.5 million street kids live in Bangladesh according to Caritas International, many of them literally under bridges or tarpaulin on the pavement. The non-profit-making organisation Leedo, which was founded in Dhaka in the year 2000, has initiated and executed diverse projects that support street kids and poor families, including also the establishment of orphanages and temporary accommodation. Outreach work on the streets, the medical provision of the children, financial support for families, who could not otherwise feed their children, or the preparation of school dinners are activities that are carried out in the background of the actual projects to help the affected children. The work is principally financed by donations.
The commitment of the two companies from the promotional products industry was important to them because it harmonises well with the basic alignment of their respective CSR. “Bangladesh is one of the main production locations of the textile industry,” explained Kai Gminder, Managing Director of Daiber. “And we too have many of our items produced in Bangladesh, which is why I feel we are responsible together with our local suppliers for improving the living conditions of the population.” He added that although Bangladesh had shown further development over the past years, it had only taken small steps forward compared to other production countries in the Far East and that the “gap between poor and rich” is still much worse than back home.” Which is why Gminder finds it all the more important to draw attention to the problems.
Leonie Schmidt, the daughter of Fare’s authorised signatory, Günter Schmidt, became acquainted with the project while completing an internship and is now actively involved in collecting donations.
Together with the local suppliers, Daiber is already involved in further projects, i.e. building an orphanage, so it was a logical step to extend the donation activities. “The nice thing is that we are often in Bangladesh ourselves so we can see how the projects we support are getting along with our own eyes,” Gminder stated.
Social commitment is also firmly anchored in the DNA of Fare. The umbrella specialist has been supporting socially committed institutions like the Lions Club, Viva con Agua or Lerose for decades in many different ways for example by donating money, offering donations in kind or actual physical support.
Kai Gminder, Daiber, feels his company is responsible for asserting itself for the improvement of the living conditions at the production locations.
Fare’s cooperation with the German child protection association Kinderschutzbund is a role model for the holistic approach towards the theme sustainability in the form of interaction between all social, economic and ecological actions: In the scope of the campaign, promoting companies, who purchase at least 96 Fare umbrellas from one distributor, can support the child protection agency with a minimum sum of 100 Euros. In this way, around 25,000 Euros have been collected in donations since March 2023. The CEO of Fare, Volker Griesel, stated, “Our social commitment always places a focus on supporting children and youths. Due to our targeted economic actions we are in a position to make the corresponding commitment to these worthy causes. Furthermore, the ecological alignment of our company is good for the environment, because it preserves it for the coming generations – for the children of today.”
For Griesel supporting the “School Under the Sky” project fits in well with his sustainability strategy. “It is sustainable in the best sense of the word to enable children a school education. It is the basis for both the opportunity for social and economic equality and allows them to gain an ecological understanding, which is ultimately indispensable for a liveable future.”
Volker Griesel, Fare, has always placed the focus of his social commitment on supporting children and youths.
The authorised signatory and Sales Director of Fare, Günter Schmidt, whose daughter, Leonie Schmidt, who is studying to become a social worker, is co-responsible for the project, established the contact to the project. Leonie Schmidt recently initiated a donation fund on the platform GoFundMe, to secure the ongoing operation of two School under the Sky projects, the financing of which is currently coming to an end. 30 children each receive an informal education and much more – from basic medical provision through to psychological support – in one location.
Anyone, who would like to make a contribution to secure this support, can make a donation at: https://gofund.me/5b2feefe. All money donated will be forwarded on to Leedo without any deductions with the aid of the partner organisation, Give One Back.
