On the last weekend in September, members of Hand in Hand für Kenia e.V. gathered in Lower Bavaria. In addition to the annual general meeting, the 78th active members’ meeting took place and we celebrated the association’s 20th anniversary and a new board member, Christoph Schaller!
We met in beautiful weather at the lovely Gensleiten riding stable near Marktl am Inn and enjoyed coffee and homemade cake while we had our first discussions before the official part of the event began.
Our latest volunteers, Anna and Anton, who were at the MCC with Mykolas in July and August, kicked things off by reporting on their projects. Antonia Burghardt gave us an update on her short visit to the MCC with Rebekka and expressed her gratitude for the opportunity to visit the MCC and, above all, the kids once again. Antonia Baumann presented the results of her bachelor’s thesis, which deals with the downsides of aid projects and is based on experiences at HiHfK and her stay at the MCC, and is of great practical relevance to the association.
Finally, the formalities were dealt with and the association’s board was elected. The three previous board members, Barbara Krohne, Helen Milkau, and Anita Wimmer, were re-elected with loud applause. In addition, there is a new member, Christoph Schaller, who has been associated with the MCC for many years and represents the younger generation. This was duly celebrated with a toast during his inaugural speech!
For more details, please consult the minutes.
Afterwards, the cozy part began. A fire pit with a grill was the focal point for conversations and barbecuing, and the weather was warm enough that we could eat and chat on the porch. Later, we continued indoors, but some people stayed outside for a long time, gazing into the flames. It was well after midnight when the last mohicans said goodbye and went to bed after a thoroughly enjoyable evening.
After a relaxed breakfast the next morning, Jürgen Hansen offered a voluntary program item: a guided tour of the “Mühldorfer Hart” satellite camp of the Dachau concentration camp. There, concentration camp prisoners built a huge bunker complex, fragments of which still rise into the air in the middle of the forest. Today, the forest camp is a memorial—a reminder for the future and further evidence of how important it is to protect our democracy!
A few members continued on to Mühldorf for lunch, while the rest said goodbye and drove home.
All-together, we spent a successful weekend that was great fun and brought everyone up to date.
