As well as financial support, Bohle AG will enable adolescents from Ennerdale, close to Johannesburg, to take part in vocational glazier workshops and introduce commercial internships in the South African subsidiary in future.
After visiting the SOS Children´s Village in mid-January 2020, Bohle COO, Arne Klöfkorn, and the new General Manager of the South African subsidiary, Sebastian Till, were really impressed. Bohle has been supporting this project since the end of 2019. During a guided tour through the Children´s Village and the Ennerdale Township, Cherie Cusens, Major Donor Fundraiser, and Sam Motsitsi, Programme Director of the project, gave a detailed insight into their work. They talked not only about the activities of the SOS Children´s Village, but also the cooperation with the neighbouring community which plays a crucial role in securing a brighter future for these children and adolescents. They are provided with a stable environment, regular warm meals, help with their homework, and shelter with one of the families, if necessary. “It is of great interest to us to support an organisation like the Ennerdale SOS Children´s Village which makes such a critical contribution to the well-being of the children and adolescents in its surroundings”, says Arne Klöfkorn, COO of Bohle AG.
Bohle AG is planning to consolidate further this new partnership with specific projects in future. Sebastian Till and his team in particular will become involved personally on site; it is our aim to offer adolescents a first insight into professional life by means of internships and jobs training and, in this way, improve their opportunities in the local job market. Many of the children born here are disadvantaged from the very beginning. They grow up in poverty under precarious conditions. The criminal and unemployment rates are high, and many do not have access to education. Therefore, the support from an external organisation, such as the SOS Children´s Village, is all the more important to give them an element of hope about their futures. Arne Klöfkorn continues: “What is most important to us is not only to improve the children´s present situation but also to contribute within the scope of our possibilities to provide them with a long-term professional perspective. And if on top of that we manage to spark their enthusiasm for glass, we will be more than happy.”