The development of Peace’s Hope e. V.

I am Gabi Haak (née Geisler) and live Düsseldorf. I was born in a small town called Prüm in the Eifel, close to Luxembourg and Belgium. Early on, I was inspired by people who work for others in the so-called Third World. As a child, the desire to go into development aid grew constantly. But somehow my life turned out differently and I have been working in a big company for over 30 years now. I enjoy my work a lot, but the longing for development aid has never stopped.

When my oldest niece travelled to Ghana with her school at the age of 14 to teach English and help build a classroom, the desire was irrepressible. So I started looking for ways to participate in such a project also as an adult. After endless researches in the internet I found an organization which could realize my wishes.

In October 2014 it was finally done. My adventure began. At that time I did not know that this would not remain a one-off event. I was just full of tension. I had decided to start a project in which I would work for four weeks in an orphanage in Jinja. Jinja is located directly on Lake Victoria in Uganda.

From the very beginning I felt that it was my purpose to help in this orphanage. I immediately felt at home and have been able to establish a close relationship with many of the children. I quickly realized that I couldn’t just walk away after my stay as if it was only a four-week adventure. I took these children and all the people around this orphanage deeply to my heart.

In the next three years I was able to inspire more and more people for my heartfelt project. I was overwhelmed by the extent to which it grew in such a short time. Not only donations of money and goods grew steadily, but also the interest in active cooperation. In these three years many projects have been realised, e. g. the completion of a kitchen building for Sonrise Baby’s Home, the completion of a protective wall around Sonrise Baby’s Home, support for the construction of a school building with 8 classrooms for the Sonrise Children’s Home, support for the construction of a new residential building for the Mirembe Cottage of Street Girls, the purchase of large quantities of medical equipment, and the construction of a new school building for the Mirembe Cottage of Street Girls.

In 2017 I came to a point where I had to decide whether I should take the step to become an official association. I needed help and support in every respect to cope with the ever more labor-intensive organization of my voluntary work. Thanks to many wonderful people around me – on July 19th, 2017 it was finally done. This was the day on which our non-profit association Peace’s Hope e. V. was founded.

Foto von 2 Kindern, die sich an der Hand eines PH-Mitglieds festhalten

Founding members:

Foto von 9 Gründungsmitgliedern mit einem Kind

From left to right: Manfred Kirchhoff, Gabi Haak, Warren Weidhorn, Nina Jungholt, Bernd Farber, Guadalupe Sanchis Otero, Marion Schwenker, Nina Fitschen, Silvana Pölitz (Lea in the front, daughter of our founding member Nina Jungholt)

Organization of Peace's Hope e. V.

Like every association we have an organizational structure. We have been able to build a great team, which is performing the official tasks and duties of our association. We would like to introduce ourselves here:

Chairwoman

Gabi Haak

Co-chairman

Warren Weidhorn

In a world where the gap between rich and poor is widening, social commitment is becoming increasingly important. I don’t just want to talk about changing things in this world. I want to be actively involved.

E-Mail: gabi@peaceshope.com

The Peace’s Hope e.V. association is the result of Gabi’s long yearning to help other people, especially children. In 2014 she was finally able to realize this in Uganda and has since then captivated me and many other people. Donations require great trust in their use. Through her numerous visits to the site and proven donations for projects, she could inspire me as well. I am pleased that we have found a solid and trusting basis for the continuation of ongoing projects and the discovery of new ones.

E-Mail: warren@peaceshope.com

Treasurer

Nina Jungholt

Secretary

Guadalupe Sanchez Otero

Last year I helped Gabi packing donations to be shipped to Sonrise. Gabi immediately matched each piece of clothes with one of the children in Uganda and seeing her joy and eagerness to help others touched me deeply. She is so enthusiastic about the project and has built up a profound connection with the children of Sonrise and I wanted to be part of it. I actively work with Peace’s Hope e.V. because I enjoy helping others and making them happy. It’s nice to see that even the smallest detail can make a big difference.

E-Mail: nina.j@peaceshope.com

It was several years ago when I met Gabi first time. By pure chance, I learned about Gabi’s work in Uganda through a short conversation with the postman. Immediately she was able to arouse my interest in this project through her passion and enthusiasm. The fact that I was able to be a founding member of such a great project has connected me even more closely with it and at the same time gave me the incentive to want to do even more.

As secretary and part of the board I hope to be able to support the association in other ways as well, with determination and great motivation. My most ardent wish for the near future is to be able to experience the project on site in Uganda with my daughter! And, of course, to contribute to the children and the rest of the community getting better and better.

E-Mail: guadalupe@peaceshope.com

Cash auditor

Nina Lünne

Pictorial design

Bernd Farber

My colleague Gabi told me about this project in 2016. She torched me with her euphoria from the very first moment and the thought of supporting her was growing fast. Since the foundation of the association, I have therefore been committed to supporting the cash audit and finding ideas. It was fascinating to get to know the fertile and partly very green country and the wonderful and lovely people on site in 2018 during the team trip.

E-Mail: nina.l@peaceshope.com

Foto von Nina Lünne mit Kindern aus Uganda

E-Mail: bernd@peaceshope.com

Web Content

Sarah Kraft

Social Media

Bea Pina Romero

When Gabi and I met at the end of 2016, she told me about “her children” with so much love that I couldn’t get the idea to support them out of my head. Shortly afterwards I joined the newly founded association. I think it’s great that 100% of the donations go to the children and community of Sonrise in Uganda. The enthusiasm for this social project led me to Uganda in December 2018 and I documented our team trip in the social media. Now I know the children and caregivers in Jinja, Wakikoola and Kamuli personally, which further encourages the urge to support from Germany. I am happy to be part of the Peace’s Hope e.V. team.

E-Mail: sarah@peaceshope.com

My connection with Peace’s Hope began in 2017 when together with other colleagues I helped Gabi prepare parcels for Uganda. A few months later we found ourselves joining Gabi on a trip to Jinja. There, we could support through various activities. It was great to see how Sonrise and Peace’s Hope supports the local community, teaching the children to share with the less fortunate. I was deeply moved by the values instilled in the little ones, and it was impossible not to fall in love with the babies, the children, the girls from Mirembe Cottage, as well as the caregivers and the vibrant spirit of the country itself.

Since then, I’ve remained closely connected to Gabi and Peace’s Hope, supporting its mission from afar. I look forward to the day when I can reunite with this community again and see firsthand the impact of the work we’ve been doing.

E-Mail: bea@peaceshope.com

Administrative support

Katrin Nisters

Administrative support

Nadja Kraft

Foto von Nadja Kraft mit Kind aus Uganda

I got to know Gabi in 2017 and we kept talking about her project and the topic of charitable work. It was also about the fact that I wanted to make a social contribution and was looking for the right way to do so. Motivated by Gabi’s passion for her children, I looked for my own opportunities to gain initial experience in social projects and am now looking forward to getting involved outside of individual projects. It is a great wish that my path will lead me to Uganda in the near future to get to know the project on site.

E-Mail: katrin@peaceshope.com

At the beginning of 2018 I met Gabi and heard her rave about her children in Uganda. Of course I needed to start the journey to this beautiful country the same year. And what can I say? I also fell in love with these wonderful children, had one of the most beautiful Christmases and felt so much gratitude and love that I resist and found myself back in Uganda in 2019. I am sure that for the third year in a row a place on the plane will have to be reserved for me. I am very much looking forward to supporting Peace’s Hope e.V. now also in the organizational area.

E-Mail: nadja@peaceshope.com

Vision of Peace's Hope e. V.

Our goal is to ensure that 100 % of the donations we receive actually reach the recipients. This is a matter of heart for us. We are aware that this is a challenge because an official club inevitably causes some running costs. We want to realize this by encouraging as many people as possible to join our association and support us in reaching this goal with our low membership fee. The membership fees are intended to finance all association costs. Of course, the surplus goes into the projects. All active members work on a voluntary basis and without any compensation.

If you would like to support in our efforts join our association. You can find more information about this under the topic membership.

Our vision is very simple: