Many people have great opportunities and prospects for their education and career, yet many other people do not have the same opportunities. We want to change that.
And therefore we established the Bachner Foundation in 2020 to mark our 100th anniversary. Our goal is to promote tolerance in all areas of culture and international understanding. We want to break down prejudice and barriers between different groups and pave the way for cultural exchange Specifically, we grant scholarships to young people worldwide so that they can start their future with an open mind.
Our first scholarship holder is George Onyango. From his home country of Kenya, he applied to us for a trainee position as an electrical engineering technician for energy facilities in April 2020. Sabine Bachner, the founder of the Bachner Foundation, checked with Human Resources to see if and how it would be possible for George Onyango to obtain a visa to stay in Germany during his training. As it turned out, the condition for this was to acquire a B1 certificate that demonstrates “advanced language skills”. Onyango got help with submitting applications and compiling the required documents and certificates so he could submit the necessary documents by the deadline. In addition, the language school Sprachschule Aktiv in Freising, a qualified language services provider, offered him a full-time intensive course in German.
On July 23, 2021, Onyango finally received the visa he had applied for and was able to start his language course on time on August 1 after arriving in Germany. He now has a residence permit for enough time to complete his three-and-a-half-year vocational training in full.
According to Sabine Bachner: “George Onyango spreads the message of tolerance and international understanding far and wide. This makes me very happy. I am happy and grateful that George is doing so well here with us. Working together builds a solid footing for his life and ours. It is how we stand up for a free, intercultural society and for making the world a little bit better. We will continue to pursue this path.”