In the anniversary year 2020, Hans and Sabine Bachner established the Bachner Foundation to help provide equality of educational opportunity for all. Over the last three years, the Foundation has succeeded in finding trainee positions in Germany for three young men: George Onyango, John Cherfils and Victor Lievano.
Support from the family
John had an important visit coming up this summer: his mother had decided to visit him. To do so, she flew all the way from Haiti to Germany. Back in his homeland, George’s family did not forget him either. In Kenya, tradition calls for the oldest son to build the garden gate of the family home – a task that George is taking on.
Give up? Never!
Although Sabine Bachner and the Foundation have already offered several motivated scholarship holders the opportunity to become a trainee in Germany, unfortunately there are always setbacks. Just recently, the application of an applicant from Senegal was rejected. “Unfortunately, these things happen. But we don’t give up. We simply submit another proposal. The best present for us would be celebrating Christmas together with the applicant,” said Sabine Bachner.
Plans for the Bachner Foundation's future
Sabine Bachner has many plans for the future of the Foundation. First, she would like an appointment with the German Foreign Office in Berlin to find out what she can do to improve the application submissions and what the case workers look for. She would also like to bring in more female scholarship holders to the Foundation. However, according to Sabine Bachner this is not always easy since women often have less access to education than men. “What I would also like our scholarship holders to have is mentors in the company,” she said. “This would give them the opportunity to turn to someone who can help them with everyday problems.”