Archive
Cape Town, 4 June 2009
Lehmann spent a number of happy hours with the children and also stood in goal for a “friendly penalty shootout”. Martin J. Krug, founder of the Power-Child Association in Germany, also tried his luck from the penalty spot against the former German national team goalkeeper. The programme also included a joint visit to the World Cup Stadium in Cape Town and a meeting with the German Ambassador to South Africa, Dieter W. Haller. Ambassador Haller has also been a major supporter of the project since its outset. “The POWER-CHILD CAMPUS in Mfuleni is a fantastic and absolute exemplary project which sends out a signal to the people here that there is plenty of understanding in Germany for the position they find themselves in. The POWER-CHILD CAMPUS provides an important glimmer of hope. Martin Krug and Power-Child deserve our admiration for the initiative they have launched.”
One of the main objectives of the POWER-CHILD CAMPUS is to provide education about AIDS and the terrible consequences of sexual violence. At the same time, the funding provided for the children in Mfuleni Township is strongly focused on football, which the organisation sees as a game which can bring young and old together. Talent scouting is also a declared aim of the project, the idea being to offer young people in possession of the required talent an opportunity to use football as a vehicle for the pursuit of a better life. The message of football, a beacon of hope for the country and its people, remains a main component of the work the project undertakes.
“It may be that sport is able to act where politics has often failed in establishing the main prerequisite for international understanding and hope in a country which is facing a whole raft of problems. Merely looking into the smiling eyes of the children on our campus makes everything seem worthwhile!” says Martin J. Krug, who also acknowledges that the indefatigable support and high degree of commitment displayed by the Cape Town City Authorities under Mayor Helen Zille have been not the least of the factors involved in bringing all this about.
Martin J. Krug took advantage of a meeting with former South African President Thabo Mbeki at the Hotel Mount Nelson to provide a report on his own social commitment in the form of the POWER-CHILD CAMPUS.
Jens Lehmann, ex-keeper of the German national team and currently Number 1 goalkeeping choice at Champions League participants VfB Stuttgart and an Ambassador for the POWER-CHILD CAMPUS, is delighted at the visit. “My own commitment to the POWER-CHILD CAMPUS is something which is very close to my heart. My experiences in other parts of the world have taught me how happy we can make children if we go and visit them in person. I have become a very well known footballer in Africa and Asia through the time I spent playing in England and I try to help where I can. Martin Krug’s POWER-CHILD CAMPUS initiative is an important project which is being staged at a social hotspot just outside the city of Cape Town. The POWER-CHILD CAMPUS fulfils a vital function in terms of the help and support it offers to large numbers of children.”
The idea behind Power-Child is to appeal to the whole family, and the forthcoming 2010 World Cup is also being integrated into the concept. The POWER-CHILD CAMPUS provides an optimum framework for events to be staged in conjunction with the World Cup and is ideally suited to acting as a media platform for companies seeking to pursue a social commitment and maintain a presence at the competition.
Cape Town, 13th of November 2008
"You’ re welcome" – with these words Power-Child e.V. got the go-ahead from the town administration of Cape Town in September 2007 to establish the association's first international project: The POWER-CHILD CAMPUS, which is inaugurated with a varied programme in the township Mfuleni.
On this Thursday, the 13th of November 2008, Martin J. Krug, the founder of Power-child e.V. and initiator of the POWER-CHILD CAMPUS, inaugurates the POWER-CHILD CAMPUS in the township Mfuleni in Cape Town together with Veronica Ferres, the patron of the Power-Child association, and the Mayoress of Cape Town Helen Zille and in the presence of numerous guests.
The POWER-CHILD CAMPUS, the first international project of Power-Child e.V., is a meeting place for all residents of the township Mfuleni and should provide "help to help oneself" against illness, poverty and abuse of children and youths.
Education, strengthening and safety – these are the three pillars, which Power-Child e.V. focuses on with its campus against the destructive spiral of lack of knowledge, superstition and violence. The Power-Child e.V. concept is based on approaching the entire family – and the upcoming Football World Championship in 2010 is also integrated into the concept.
Thanks to the support of BASF the association created the POWER-CHILD CAMPUS with two football pitches, one basketball pitch, a soup kitchen and a safe house for women and girls within just one year of building time – Helen Zille, the Mayoress of Cape Town, who has just been nominated "World Mayoress 2008", made the property available to Power-Child e.V.
After the official opening in presence of the famous POWER-CHILD CAMPUS supporters, the actor Mario Adorf and the football coach Mirko Slomka a football tournament will be taking place on the two newly established football pitches.
The inauguration of the POWER-CHILD CAMPUS on the 13th of November will be concluded with a charity golf tournament in the Steenberg Golf Club in the Constantia Winelands and with a charity evening event. About 200 invited guests from politics, economy, show business and sports are expected in the Historic Castle of Good Hope, Cape Town, with its view to the famous Table Mountain for this charity evening, which will be presented by the charming South African presenter and Miss South Africa 2001 Jo-Ann Strauss. The summer night will be rounded off with a menu, which the star chefs Camil Haas, Harald Bresselschmidt and Ryan Smith have created specifically for this evening. The highlights of the event in the unique historic atmosphere of the castle certainly are the presentation ceremony of the charity golf tournament and the exclusive raffle, the proceeds of which go directly to the work on the POWER-CHILD CAMPUS.
Martin J. Krug, the Power-Child founder and Campus initiator about the POWER-CHILD CAMPUS:
"During the Football World Championship 2006 right in the centre of the fan-mile of Berlin I was fascinated by the fact how many hundreds of thousands of people enthusiastically watch one screen in the public viewing. Football brings people together in a unique way so that these people can be reached beyond the sport experience. Thus the idea was born for the POWER-CHILD CAMPUS, which in addition to the football and the campus viewing offers the people of the township Mfuleni in Cape Town above all with the opportunity to formation, education and protection against abuse and violence. Football should help to reduce aggressions and should be a motivation for a better future. The POWER-CHILD CAMPUS should be an opportunity for the entire family to meet and communicate in order to be able to provide direct and individual support for everybody. Right from the beginning of the idea Power-Child e.V. has also had strong supporters: BASF made possible the building and maintenance of the POWER-CHILD CAMPUS. DAIMLER AG makes available to the POWER-CHILD CAMPUS two Mercedes-Benz Vianos for the long-term support and securing of the project. The POWER-CHILD CAMPUS is close to my heart, as with the know-how of the Power-Child experts to provide help to those that need it most. This is our opportunity to set an example against illness, poverty and racism."
Veronica Ferres emphasises the hope, which the association focuses on with the pilot project in the battle against AIDS.
"The POWER-CHILD CAMPUS is the first international project of Power-Child e.V. Regrettably, South Africa is in the focus of sexual violence and abuse of children, which, in addition to all physical and emotional injuries, also leads to a shockingly high infection rate with AIDS amongst small children, already. With the POWER-CHILD CAMPUS Power-Child e.V. would like to help the townships of Cape Town to reduce the level of abuse so that the children can begin a better future. POWER-CHILD CAMPUS is a pilot project, which would not be possible without the generous support of partners. Therefore, I would like to thank BASF whole-heartedly at this point. Only with the financial support provided by BASF it is possible to realise the building of the POWER-CHILD CAMPUS in Cape Town. We are delighted that with BASF Power-Child e.V. has got such a strong and committed partner by the side."
Berlin, January 11, 2008:
At a press conference at the South African Embassy in Berlin with more than 40 journalists in attendance, the POWER-CHILD CAMPUS in South Africa was first presented to the public.
Present on the podium were Helen Zille, the Executive Mayor of the City of Cape Town, Power-Child founder and board chairman, Martin J. Krug, Veronica Ferres as well as Lothar Matthäus as one of the soccer patrons of the project. The guests and media representatives were cordially welcomed by the South African Ambassador George Henry Johannes.
Helen Zille began with a stirring talk on the current – to some degree
dramatic and threatening – situation of the children and adolescents in Cape Town. She expressed the great need for a comprehensive, enduring project to improve conditions in the townships and spoke of her hope and gratitude for the Campus project initiated by Power-Child.
Veronica Ferres expressed her enthusiasm for the fact that this project will be implemented “in the most beautiful country in the world”, yet dominated by so many stark contrasts, to which nobody can afford to close their eyes. She especially thanked the mayor for her assurance of a close cooperation and stressed the contribution of the sponsor BASF, without whose dedication the POWER-CHILD CAMPUS could never have become reality. Martin J. Krug thanked the hosts at the South African Embassy, Helen Zille as well as BASF for its support. The idea of the Campus project had come about during the 2006 World Cup Soccer Championships in Germany, where the enthusiasm for soccer had brought young and old together at the public viewing sites. A meeting place for the whole family is now the objective. Lothar Matthäus and his fellow soccer pros – speaking via a video hook up - Schalke coach Mirko Slomka and Schalke player Gerald Asamoah pointed up their enthusiasm and readiness to support the project actively with their knowledge as soccer patrons. All three owe soccer a great deal in their lives and would like to make possible this prospect and hope of a better life for many young people.
The highlight of the press conference was the signing of the MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) by Helen Zille, Martin J. Krug and Veronica Ferres thus transferring the property to Power-Child e.V. With this act, nothing more stands in the way of a successful collaboration between the City of Cape Town and Power Child, e.V.
©sabine brauer photos
©sabine brauer photos
©sabine brauer photos
©sabine brauer photos
Town), Martin J. Krug (Initiator POWER-CHILD CAMPUS)
