It’s a real hot morning in April. At the train station in Cochin it’s crowdy. When a train arrives there is a lot of movement: people jump out of the trains, often run across the iron rails, clack, clack, clack out of the train windows a lot of empty and half-full water bottles are…
Category: social impact
Talking to an artist from Cochin, India
I’m back in India. It’s Saturday morning and before going back to our project area in the hinterland of Coimbatore I talk to a few local people at Fort Cochin, in Cochin: Here are the famous Chinese Fishing nets and a tourist place, too. How does life look here? A young artist gives some…
Impressions from the life in the Philippines
The days in the Philippines have passed quickly. Before going back to India now, let me share a few impressions from this country with its more than 7000 islands, impressive landscapes and colours, its people and challenges. Related posts at a glance Philippines – life and princesses at the dumpsite The sugarcane children…
Where street kids & elderly people can feel at home – until the night comes
At 7 am some children already wait in front of the door of this drop-in center. Some of the children look very tired and want to sleep, others look forward to staying and playing together in the upcoming hours; a few of them are still under drugs. But they all have one common aim: washing,…
Nightlife in Cebu – about homeless people, biscuits and condoms
It’s night. In the streets of Cebu there is still a lot of traffic on the main streets, and huge promotional banners underline in a strange manner the special character of a world where poverty, prostitution and human trafficking is “normal”. We do a night walk with a priest in some “poor” parts and…
The Sugarcane children of Negros
When we enter the classroom they are already waiting. It’s Monday, a special and additional school day for the students who normally just come to school on Saturday. They are between 10 and 24 years old. They sit together, in one room. Some of them try to get the elementary school certificate, others are keen…
Good News from our past Manager trip in India
In November 2015, some international Corporate managers have run a leadership session in the tribal areas of Coimbatore staying and collaborating with a NGO, the Karl Kübel Institute for Development Education. Based on the Makingmorehealth program (www.makingmorehealth.com) they learned a lot about the local health challenges and discussed topics on social entrepreneurship. It was a…
The Coca-Cola mystery
“In the past people have always avoided this part of the island road. It’s a location with only a few houses. People say that something is magical here. When you pass along strange lights are visible here and there and no one knows what it is,” tells me one of the inhabitants of Bantayan,…
Philippines – Life and princesses at the dumpsite
I’m in Cebu, in the Philippines, for ten days on a round trip. Usually, tourists enjoy the weather, the beach, snorkeling or do some island hopping. But this travel has a different scope. It’s about learning and understanding how people live here. People who are living below or close to the poverty line. Life at…
Modern tech, trends and dreams of a healthier world – the pit of ignorance or the land of knowledge?
The need for a better world, for healthier people and happier people all over the world is still as big as many years ago. Even bigger. Maybe even more pressing. Promising solutions and trends are present everywhere: conferences, books, in the media – we are advanced, we have created high tech, the dream that…
Go India, go future! 