A Sustainable Future for Children in Africa
May 04, 2021 8:00 AM
Katrin Rohde, AMPO International, Hamburg, Germany
A Sustainable Future for Children in Africa

An adventurous and fateful journey to West Africa prompted Katrin Rohde to sell her entire belongings, including a thriving bookstore, and move to Germany to one of the poorest countries in Africa, Burkina Faso, in 1995, to build a home for street children in the capital of Ouagadougou.

Today, after more than 25 years, what is now the AMPO organization includes two orphanages, a clinic, counselling projects, a teaching farm and projects for people with disabilities, operating on the principle of helping others to help themselves. Learning and education are the key targets to empowerment, allowing people to determine their own lives in their own country in the long term.

Sustainability is an ongoing concern in a country where the price of electricity is higher than in New York City. We have to look for sources of renewable energy to maintain our facilities. Katrin will outline the various projects and discuss plans for making our institutions more self-sufficient.