Dear Mr. Michel,

regarding your question, which is why my husband and I decided very quickly and spontaneously to adopt two little girls, Mutheu and Koki as godchildren, I can tell you the following:

We ourselves have a large family - with our children, children in-law, grandchildren, grandchildren in-law and great grandchildren we are 28 people in our family - and therefore we know from our own experience about the needs and concerns of young people. Furthermore, after living in Brazil for 35 years, we know about the consequences they will face if they are not receiving enough attention.

In Kenya, we had to face the almost unimaginable suffering and misery of two little girl sisters (AIDS Orphans, their father had just left them!), who would have had no future without our support. It went without saying for us to give a little more of our “wealth” and thus allow these children to grow up in a friendly and secure environment. An environment, in which they receive healthy food, good education and schooling, and which opens up opportunities for them to find a way out of their misery.

We know that we cannot change the world fundamentally, but we know we can contribute a little bit to make it a better place. Also, we have learned to our surprise that the little extra effort that we invest duplicates manifold and comes back to us in many ways. The joy of children, their heartfelt gratitude, is deeply moving - not to mention the success that one can experience in their development.

Our little Mutheu was an underdeveloped, seriously ill, frightened child and has evolved in less than two years into a happy, hard-working and intelligent girl. Koki was from the beginning an adorable little beauty. She has become an open, alert and friendly girl and has developed greatly in that respect.

I hope that many people will have similarly blissful experiences with future godchildren.

With kind regards, Barbara Bartzsch