Children of the Elephants happy to see the “Heart for Africa” sent from Germany

The heart-shaped collage had travelled for almost 10 000 kilometres before Lars Gorschlüter, the founder of SAVE gave it to the “children of the elephants” a few days ago.

The children from our Bana Ba Ditlou project were moved by what more than 100 German children painted for them on the World Children’s Day in September in Düsseldorf. They painted what is associated with the motto “Heart for Africa,” so those were pictures of things that African children miss most: the rain, clothes, education, and accommodation. The children are born in tragic circumstances where they grow up without anybody’s love or attention and often become orphans prematurely, as their parent’s die of AIDS. Many of the neglected children live in the streets and search trash cans for food while young girls become prostitutes in order to survive. It’s a vicious circle that the devoted volunteers at our Bana Ba Ditlou Child Protection Centre try to interrupt every day.

Since these children haven’t seen a lot of good in their lives and cannot imagine how anybody could care for them, the enormous picture made of more than 50 photos was a great surprise for them. Most of them don’t know where Germany is or what the life of a German child is like, but holding in hand such a heartfelt greeting from a distant continent makes them feel very proud. The “Heart for Africa” collage will have a special place in the Child Protection Centre and in the hearts of the children there.