Busch Group Supports Educational Project in Africa

A lot of basic necessities are missing in the savannah of Senegal: water, electricity, healthcare and, not least, education. To learn to read and write, children from the age of just six years old must embark on a two-hour walk to the nearest school – each way, every day, in the dark and through dust-dry terrain.

“The dangers on such a route scare most parents off. As a result, the children in the area have no chance of education. We have set ourselves the task of changing this with our project – because everyone deserves this opportunity,” says Bernd-Michael Langer, co-founder and chairman of the Karanjorro e.V. association from Asslar in central Hesse. This is also where the headquarters of Pfeiffer Vacuum, a Busch Group company, is located. For the globally active family-owned company, it is a matter very close to its heart to commit to social projects like this. For this reason, the Busch Group has shown its support of the association with a donation of 1,000 Euro.

Commitment to education and equal opportunities

Karanjorro e.V. is involved in the savannah of Senegal with the aim of making education accessible to all. It was founded by the married couple Gisela Langer-Simon and Bernd-Michael Langer from Aßlar, who founded the school “Ecole Latyr Diouf” in the M'bour region – about 80 kilometers south of Dakar – on their own initiative in 2010. The school is named after Latyr Diouf, the leader of the Windethioulaye district in the middle of the savannah. He donated 2,000 square meters of his farmland to make the project possible. What began as a temporary open-air classroom with oil canisters as seating has now become an attractive site with six classrooms, in which around 120 pupils learn across six grades. The school site also includes a well, a room for medical care, and some newly planted trees.

The institution pays particular attention to the young women and girls in the region, the first of whom are now completing their final exams in the district capital of Thies thanks to the school. A success that underlines the importance of equal access to education and which would not be possible without the financial support of businesses. “We are very pleased that the Busch Group is committed to conveying education and equal opportunities and are very grateful for the help. Our small association relies on the social commitment of companies. With the donation, we will set up new accommodation for the teaching staff at our school. This will make it possible to carry out the afternoon lessons we have planned. So far, these could not be offered because the teachers’ journeys to and from the school are too long. This will significantly improve local working conditions and thus the quality of teaching,” explains Bernd-Michael Langer.