In the Munich clinical center Grosshadern, for example, children with the most serious diseases have to stay for months or even longer. The distress of their families is often worsened when they come from another part of Germany and want to stay close to their child, yet are unable to afford a hotel. For these families, the Ronald McDonald foundation offers a temporary home directly on the hospital premises. In a family-like atmosphere in privately funded apartments, parents find shelter for the duration of their child’s medical treatment and surgery. They can care for their seriously ill children, spend time with them, take meals together, play, read and listen to music. Most of all, they can just be there. By funding a Barkawi family apartment for 3 years we hope to ease the distress and suffering of these families at least a little bit.

In addition, we are still actively supporting disadvantaged children in the Munich district of Hasenbergl: children who have few perspectives for the future due to their family or migration background and very limited financial resources. Susanne Korbmacher did not want to ignore hunger and neglect any longer, and founded the non-profit association Ghettokids in the year 2000. The organization offers help for self-help to around 250 children and teenagers by persistently encouraging and challenging them. They are supported by volunteers and private sponsors like us. This year we donated the first prize for a charity raffle for the benefit of Ghettokids and are going to double the raffle proceeds in support of this great initiative.

Our main concern this year, however, is a humanitarian project helping Lithuanian children who come from totally neglectful families or live on the streets. During the shooting of a TV documentary, the founder of this project was shocked by the living conditions in which she found “The Garbage Children of Lithuania”. On the dumps outside the Lithuanian coastal town of Klaipeda, these children live under horrifying circumstances literally in the dirt, without any perspective for the future. A therapeutic day center offers emergency accommodation, protection for girls from sexual abuse by drunken “uncles” in their families, food and drink and also teaches them basic skills like the preparation of simple meals. The north of Lithuania is still characterized by high unemployment rates, alcoholism, violence and a lack of opportunities which is reflected in Europe’s highest suicide rate. In this misery, we would like to offer a small ray of hope.