Despite ongoing gang violence in Haiti, the École du Village Cécile Fatima remains open and has managed to create a place of peace amid the chaos. In addition to the escalating political situation, Haiti has been repeatedly devastated by severe earthquakes, hurricanes, and tropical storms. More than 300,000 people died in the earthquake on 12 January 2010. Staff at the small Waldorf school in Torbeck, not far from the port city of Les Cayes, are asking themselves what the country is trying to tell them – with this earthquake and the one that followed in August 2021. Myriam Silien Labbé, the school's founder, shares her thoughts with us and reports on the latest developments at her school:

The Zenzeleni Waldorf School has been in existence since 1999 in Khayelitsha, one of Cape Town's largest townships. Just over 220 children are taught in seven classes. Teachers Nobuhle Mbatani and Emma Stotko tell us what motivates them and what challenges and opportunities they see for their pupils.

On 27 June, Mr Handwerk, honorary Managing Director of the Association for the Dissemination and Promotion of Waldorf Education, was bid farewell by the board of the Friends of Waldorf Education. Mr Handwerk has made an outstanding contribution to the further development of Waldorf education over many years and, through his successful work, has in turn strengthened the commitment of the Friends of Waldorf Education. Anselm Cojaniz, assistant to Nana Goebel, thanked him on behalf of the Friends:

Rudolf Steiner and Emil Molt founded the first Waldorf school with the intention of accepting all children, regardless of their parents' financial situation. With this donation appeal, we aim to support Waldorf schools around the world that are particularly committed to helping children from financially disadvantaged families. As independent schools, they receive little to no government funding and therefore rely urgently on donations.

Escuela Caracol is a small Waldorf school with an integrated kindergarten located in San Marcos la Laguna on the beautiful Lake Atitlán. Around 130 children currently attend the school, which was founded in 2007 and is one of the few schools in the region where children are also taught in the Mayan language Kaqchikel – a big advantage for the indigenous children, who make up about 90 percent of the student body. Our colleague Johanna Ruber visited Escuela Caracol in Guatemala and shares her impressions with us.

The Hekima Waldorf School is located in the Goba district of Tanzania’s largest city, Dar es Salaam, on a spacious campus with coconut palms. Worn paths, washed out by heavy rains, lead to the school building. Founded in 1997, it remains Tanzania’s only Waldorf school. On our behalf, former Waldorf teacher and mentor Ortrud Schmidt accompanied the school’s educators from January 8 to March 29, 2025, and shares her impressions with us.

At the beginning of this year, Dr. Veronika Mayen, one of our most loyal donors, with whom we had maintained regular contact since 1998, passed away. She was born into a family deeply connected with the ideas and influence of Rudolf Steiner and enjoyed a close relationship with her parents. Nana Goebel, who was regularly in contact with her, looks back on her eventful life.

Waldorf teacher Angela Khadka has been in contact with the Friends of Waldorf Education at various levels since the beginning of her studies. She is now a class teacher at a school in Norway and, together with the children in the class, is a class sponsor for the second class at the Rudolf Steiner School Mbagathi in Kenya.

In this issue of Waldorf Worldwide, we look at the development of Waldorf education worldwide, which would not have taken place without Steiner’s impulses. In our current thematic focus starting on page 7, we explore these impulses and look at the diverse development of Waldorf education using five examples, each from a different continent.

The Cosmos Centre in Dormaa is a therapeutic education facility for children and young people with severe disabilities. At present, 24 children live and learn here in a loving environment and receive three healthy meals a day, which are prepared by the Mmas living at the centre and a cook. The team, consisting of the teacher Ayala, the manager Nana Owusu, the Mmas and the Aachen support teacher Patrice Reinhardt, is delighted that, about a year ago, it was possible to build some workshops and a guest house on the property opposite the centre. This was made possible in part by donations from our appeal for donations for therapeutic education and social therapy facilities in summer 2023. Patrice Reinhardt now tells us how the newly built workshops are coming to life.