CLOSE UP E&V CHARITY
Ninon Völkers, her mother Ingrid van Aalst (on the left), and the children attending the Agbetiko school that opened in 2010.
A Matter of Sustainability
I
Education plays a crucial part in improving the prospects of children in Africa. The not-for-profit Engel & Völkers Charity has set up an elementary school in the Togolese village of Agbetiko, in which 120 children are currently enrolled.
t all started with a trip to Africa in 2006, when
Ingrid van Aalst traveled to Togo in her capacity as an interpreter. The country on the Gulf of Guinea is predominantly agrarian – roughly two thirds of its population work in farming. While she was there, Ingrid van Aalst met Elias Ahadzi, a customs official, who invited her to his native village of A gbetiko, situated approximately 120 kilometers northeast of the capital Lomé. This visit brought about a complete change in van Aalst’s life, and inspired her to set herself some completely new goals. What she wanted most of all was to help the children in the village, many of whom were orphans. Over the next two years, van Aalst made repeated trips to Agbetiko, and ended up receiving a plot of land as a gift. Wanting to open an elementary school there, Ingrid van Aalst turned to her son-in-law Christian Völkers. “The whole thing started off as a kind of family project,” says Ninon Völkers, the president of the foundation. “My mother’s dedication to this venture inspired all of us and swept us right along. When the
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idea for the first school building started taking shape, we all sat together at home, drawing up the blueprints.” In May 2009, the foundations for the Engel & Völkers School were laid. Only one year later, the school opened. It had three classrooms, all constructed in the traditional way, with clay bricks. The children are taught subjects like math, as well as reading and writing in French, the country’s official language. But for them, French is their second language because they speak a variety of African dialects in their home villages. The original school building was only the first of many ideas, some of which have already been implemented. Others are still in the construction or planning stages. Next to the school, for example, an orphanage has been built to provide housing for students who no longer have parents to care for them. A second school building was completed last year. “In addition to the new building there is now also a threemeter-high wall protecting the entire property,” explains N inon Völkers. “The children’s safety is one of our primary concerns.” There All names and addresses on page 200.
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