Chandanpur, West-Bengalen (closed since 2020)

As is the case everywhere in the world, children from poorer regions and households have significantly fewer opportunities and prospects. The school in Chandanpur has existed since 19xx and, despite its small and simple building, has provided hundreds of students with the opportunity for equitable education. Unfortunately, the school had to be closed in 2020 due to COVID-19 and severe storm damage.

As recently as 2019, we were able to visit the school in Chandanpur together with Christine Weitman, Sunil Das, and his daughter Debkalpa Das. The school was well attended and the teacher was highly motivated.

Unfortunately, the school building was constructed at ground level on agricultural land. During an unusually severe storm with heavy flooding, both the simple building and the teaching materials were heavily damaged, and the school had to be closed. The landowner of the plot on which the school was built, which had been used free of charge for many years, then claimed it for personal use and resumed using it for himself. The construction of a new school on a different site is currently being considered.

AGAPE-Fashion: A perspective for traumatised garment workers

On April 24, 2013, Rana Plaza, one of the largest garment factory buildings in Bangladesh, collapsed, leaving many of the surviving garment workers traumatized and unemployed. In order to provide those affected with a new perspective under better working conditions, Christine Weitmann, together with the partner association AGAPE Bangladesh, founded a small sewing workshop. The building is single-storey, features large windows for natural light, and provides sufficient space between workstations. The employees receive a fair wage for their work as well as a midday meal. The project is now self-sustaining.

Support for the elderly and the sick in Germany

There is also hardship in Germany. For this reason, honorary chairwoman Christl Weitmann became involved in the care of the elderly and the sick in Germany. In this context, she wrote in an information letter in 2021:

Dear members, dear friends of the association,
“30 years of AGAPE” – you have all contributed to this and can be proud of it! Warm congratulations and heartfelt thanks to each and every one of you! I would like to thank you not only for your loyal support and the trust you have placed in me over the years, but also in particular for the trust you have placed in the new chairman, Dr. Martin Maier. He is a worthy successor, and I am very grateful to him for his dedicated and successful work on site with such confidence. My thanks also go to our hospital visiting service “Senioren helfen Senioren” (“Seniors helping Seniors”), which now unfortunately has to be limited to phone calls. However, sick and lonely people are equally grateful for telephone contact (COVID has made us modest). Anyone who would like to participate is welcome to contact me. Tel.: 06221 – 337102