The Harambee association is celebrating its tenth anniversary with seven new educational projects in Africa. Harambee was born on the occasion of the canonization of St. Josemaría Escrivá, founder of Opus Dei.
“Pilgrims came from all over the world and each one donated five euros that we collected in a fund to be distributed to several projects in Africa. We thought that this redistribution might be the end of Harambee, but there was so much passion for the people in Africa that everyone's generosity and willingness to continue has led to our tenth anniversary.”
Harambee's work focuses on 40 education and communication projects in 18 countries. The programs aim to get the African people themselves involved in the projects.
“Aid in Africa is primarily a question of getting to know the needs of each person and how to help each one better. So it's not so much a transfer of the West into Africa but a mutual understanding to build a better world. In this sense, we know that we are very ambitious.”
Projects include improving the training of teachers and classes for children with special needs in countries like Kenya, Benin and Sao Tomé. The Harambee International Award is now offered every two years for the best documentary, feature story and photographs on Africa. The fifth edition of the award took place this year in Lisbon
“The idea is to open a window to Africa, a positive window. Too often, the West only sees negative news coming from Africa. It is worth taking the opportunity to also show positive values.”
Harambee tries to foster a mutual understanding between the West and Africa. This is where the name 'Harambee' comes from, a Swahili word meaning 'all together.'
