How the foundation changed my life – Interview with Matthias

The first contact came about through my involvement in the first AEB-KinderHelden-Tag, where I was only able to play an organizational role. Closer contact with the foundation was established in 2019 with the Uganda project.

In 2022, there was an internal AEB appeal for the IT scholarship project at the St. Bruno School in Uganda, which is already financially supported by the AEB-Stiftung (together with the ADEPT association). The IT club with pupils – that immediately appealed to me (I'll go into more detail about why in question 3. 😉)

Currently, I mainly run the IT club at the St. Bruno School together with a colleague. In Uganda, the club is called ICT (Information and Communication Technology). The scholarship holders who are financially supported by the foundation with school fees and their IT teacher in Uganda take part in it.

We get together every two weeks in an online meeting and discuss everything to do with the ICT club. We communicate in English. Unfortunately, my language skills are not good enough to converse with the young people in Luganda.

At the moment, it's still a lot about technical support, how to set up an IT network, and so on. We are also struggling with the stability of the internet. Without a stable connection, we can't really communicate much. But everyone is working hard to improve it.

The aim is to gradually build up a technically sound infrastructure so that all IT options can be used online and offline. The next step is to provide the scholarship holders with practical application know-how. They should also act as multipliers in their classes and pass on their knowledge. And they also have to take care of hardware maintenance, etc., of course.

I spent a couple of weeks in Uganda a few years ago. At the time, I was visiting a friend who had been working there as a nurse for several years. This enabled me to get to know the actual situation of families in a very poor region. I also visited a school, gained impressions, and witnessed a lot of poverty in all areas. Since then, I've been sponsoring a child from this region. My personal experiences there have left a lasting impression on me. I wanted to help.

In addition, I am also a trainer in the field of education (I've also worked as a vocational school teacher for some time). I am a software trainer at AEB. With the ICT Club project, everything just fell into place. I wanted to do more than just contribute financially. This way I can get personally involved and provide support.

Overall, a certain inner restlessness has dissipated as a result. Since my visit to Uganda, I have wanted to actively support and get involved. To make a difference, to help people, especially the disadvantaged. I am also socially active in other ways, but I was still missing something. Filling this gap just feels good. Being close to things that matter and seeing what you do has an impact. With personal commitment. That's nice.